4889 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
of tbe ground, and again in five or 10 days, or 
as often as crusts form on the land or small 
weeds and grass appear, until the corn is six 
inches high and the cotton has four leaves, at 
which time the plow or cultivator should ap¬ 
pear. If the value of the smoothing harrow 
were properly understood and if it were more 
used hy ilie S uthern farmers, it would save 
milli 11 s hy clearing and cultivating the 
young crops at the busiest season of the year. 
In such times a good team and harrow used 
at the proper time would do more work in 
one day than six plows and 10 horses could do 
m the same time. 
Anderson County, South Carolina. 
Ijorscmati. 
CHAMPION TANDEM TEAM. 
At Fig. 99 we show a picture of what is 
considered the champion English tandem team 
for 1888. Tbe horses are Elegance and Den¬ 
mark. The London Live Stock Journal has 
this to say of them : 
“Elegance, foaled in 1880, was got by Beat 
’Em from Graceful, by Dr. Barkley; Den¬ 
mark, foaled 1881, was by Lord Derby 2nd 
from a mare by Denmark. Elegance has won 
over $10,000 in prizes, and jointly with her 
companion Denmark gained most of the prizes 
at the leading shows in the United Kingdom 
last season. They have never been defeated 
in tandem, and Elegance is considered the 
and one and a-half foot in diameter; spread 
of branches, 33 feet. It is the largest and 
healthiest tree in the orchard. It bore 20 
bushels of apples last year. It is almost iden¬ 
tical with Vandevere, and Air. Ronk says that 
for profit it is worth any ether two trees in his 
orchard. It has stood the test when the ther¬ 
mometer has dropped to 30 degrees below 
zero. The apples do not rot, or drop prema¬ 
turely, as does the Vandevere, and they keep 
well into March and April in good condition. 
Trees of the variety are not yet for sale, and 
probably will not be for two years; mean¬ 
while we shall watch its behavior with much 
interest. 
THE SWEET POTATO. 
What shall be said here in regard to the 
cultivation of the sweet potato, is wholly for 
the Northern States. It is my intention to go 
into details, giving the results of my own ex¬ 
perience for many years, as well as what 
comes from observation. The sweet potato is 
almost universally grown in the North trom 
sprouts started in the hot-bed. In the South 
they are grown directly from the cut tubers 
planted in the hill, and they have been grown 
so North, but the former is the only reliable 
method. 
GROWING PLANTS IN HOT-BEDS. 
From the 38th parallel northward no tubers 
in the potatoes. Glass sash can be used for a 
covering and some use boards, but I think 
oiled muslin is better than either. This,tack¬ 
ed on frames three by five feet, makes a light 
cover, sheds rain and lets in a partial light. 
When the bed is in the right condition, fairly 
warm,place the tubers in rows across it about 
half an inch apart, then cover them with 
three inches of light soil and place the covers. 
Watch the bed so that it should not get too 
hot, and as the plants come through give air 
by raising the covers behind when the weath¬ 
er will permit, and, later, in warm, sunshiny 
days they may be left off in the middle of the 
day. As the plants grow they will need 
water. Commonly small tubers are used 
and if not very small they will answer. 
Those of medium size are preferable to either 
small or large. 
TRANSPLANTING 
Many are in too great haste in putting them 
to sprout, and equally so in transplanting. 
Nothing is gained by getting them in or out 
very early, or only in exceptional seasons, so 
that the 10th of May is as early as any one 
should begin to put them out, ana from the 
20th to the last of the month is better, for 
they are then not only safe from frost, but, 
the ground being warm, they start off quickly. 
They can be put out with success up to the 
middle of June, and crops have been grown 
that have been planted the first of July. A 
moist time will be chosen of course for trans¬ 
planting. but a gooa stand can readily be got 
in a dry time by watering as they are plant¬ 
ed, and I have had fair success at a very dry 
spell without it. The secret of all trans¬ 
opposite is what we need in case of the sweet 
potato. Some years ago I tried level culture 
in sandy ground without success. They need 
to be in ridges that the sun may have its full 
effect on them, and that they may be free from 
much moisture. Good crops are grown in 
seasons so dry that the Irish potato would be 
a failure. Having got the plants established, 
the plow or cultivator should be run close to 
them and cut away part of. the ridge. The 
next plowing should throw it back. This 
should be repeated so that at the fourth culti¬ 
vation the ridge would be as at the beginning 
and this is generally enough, except keeping 
the middles stirred until the vines cover the 
ground. It is important that the ridge be 
formed before the tubers are set, and especi¬ 
ally that after it has been done no consider¬ 
able dirt be thrown to them. One experience 
settled this for me. A man, late in the sea¬ 
son, was put to cleaning the rows in my gar¬ 
den. When seen he had drawn a large 
amount of soil on them. This was forbidden 
aDd the remainder were simply scraped free 
from weeds. The result was that the rows 
treated in the latter way yielded more than 
double in good-sized tubers than the other. 
As to cutting off the vines, 1 should not do it, 
and as to pulling them lcose from the ground 
where they have taken root, my own experi¬ 
ence has shown little difference whether it was 
done or not. 
VARIETIES. 
The Yellow Nansemond is the standard 
market variety and the best for home use or 
market and especially for the latter, for the 
large white and red ones will not sell except 
CHAMPION ENGLISH TANDEM TEAM. Re-engraved from the London Live Stock Journal. Fig. 99. 
finest tandem leader in the country, her owner 
having refused several offers of $5,(XX) for 
her.” 
Many English breeders and farmers fiud a 
very profitable business in producing animals 
for fancy driving. Strong, handsome animals 
with stylish action and plenty of spirit, are in 
good demand. There is a good market for 
such horses in the larger cities of this country, 
too, aud this market is capable of extensive 
development. 
|l oino logical. 
THE RONK APPLE. 
Some weeks since several of these apples 
were sent to the Rural by Messrs. Albertson 
& Hobbs of Bridgeport, Alarion county, Indi¬ 
ana. They were of such excellent quality 
that we have made a cut of a half-section 
which we present at Fig. 9S. Messrs. Albert¬ 
son & Hobbs say that this apple originated on 
the farm of Mr. Ronk, in Boone county, Indi¬ 
ana. In 18(52 Mr. Ronk dug some seedlings 
from his father’s orchard, and transplanted 
them to his own orchard, intending to top- 
graft such as did not bear desirable fruit. 
One sprout dug from under a Vandevere 
tree bore so well aud the fruit was so val¬ 
uable that it was not grafted. Since com¬ 
mencing to bear it has not failed to fruit 
when there were apples of any other variety. 
The tree is growing on rather low, moist, 
black soil, is now 27 years old, 25 feet high, 
should be placed in the hot-bed before the 
first of April, and the best time is from the 
lOtn to the 20th. For this, preparations for 
the bed should begin about the first and be 
completed by the 7th to 15th, a few days be¬ 
fore the potatoes are laid down. Stable 
manure as for any other hot bed should be 
used, and if prepared oy previous turnings 
as for early hot-beds, so as to take away some 
of the rank heat previous to its use, so much 
the better. At this advanced season less 
manure is needed than if the beds were made 
in February or March. A sheltered situation 
should be chosen and if the manure is not too 
strawy, 15 inches deep after packing will be 
sufficient, or, say, 17 inches at the north side 
and 13 at the bottom, aud it may be all on 
top of the soil, or a few inches of the soil may 
have been previously dug out aud put aside 
for bedding the potatoes. The manure should 
extend on all sides six to 12 inches beyond the 
frame. Place on this the frame five feet wide 
from north to south (five feet are preferable 
to six because of the difficulty of reaching to 
the center when pulling plants) and as long 
the other way as desired. A single sash five 
feet long by three wide will give room for 
about l)<j bushel of medium-sized potatoes. 
The frame should be about 12 or 14 inches 
high at the back and 10 at the front. This 
with the slope of the bed will give enough 
pitch toward the sun aud carry off the rain. 
Now put in three inches of soil—that partly 
sandy is to be preferred. Put on the sash 
and after packing manure around the outside 
of the frame, let that bed rest for a few days 
until the heat comes. If it is rank, raise 
the sash to let the heat escape and wait 
until it has partially subsided before putting 
planting lies in two things—keeping the roots 
moist until they are put in the ground, and 
making them firm by side pressure at the 
bottom and not at the top. 
SOIL AND PREPARATION OF GROUND. 
A light sandy soil is generally considered 
best. A light yellow loam well drained is also 
excellent. A black, rich soil although sandy, 
is not to be desired, although it may make a 
large crop, but this is likely to lack in quality 
and color. I speak now of the Yellow Nan- 
sernond, for nine-tenths at least of all those 
sent to market are of this sort, and these, to 
be of good bright color, which is an im¬ 
portant point, must be grown in both a light- 
colored soil aud a light one as to weight also. 
The ground should not be plowed deep nor 
should large hills or ridges be made. More 
can be grown to the acre in ridges than in 
bills, so that ridge culture is the common 
practice unless laud is no object. The rows 
should be about three and a-half feet apart 
and the plants 15 inches in the row. The 
ridges should be small both in hight aud 
breadth. Indeed I am satisfied, although I 
have not tried it, that a good crop could be 
grown without plowing the ground at all, 
(on light soil, I mean) simply by throwing up 
a moderate ridge; for it is important that 
the tubers should be short and thick and not 
long and slim. 
The sweet potato needs much warmth and 
little moisture, aud for this reason the sug¬ 
gestion that the Rural trench method would 
be suitable for their growth is seeu to be a 
bad one. The object of the trench for the 
Irish potato is that it may have depth and 
therefore coolness aud moisture, while the 
to a very limited extent. Out West we have 
been taught to think that the Yellow Jersey 
is a distinct variety, but it is evident that it 
is the Yellow Nansemond. Here in certain 
soils and with certain treatment it grows long 
and slim, while in New Jersey on soil adapted 
to it and with the proper cultivation, it is 
short and thick and of a bright color, and 
brings right here 50 per cent, more than home¬ 
grown, although they are grown from stock 
brought direct from New Jersey. The Red 
Jersey is fully as good as the Yellow aud yet 
it is not salable, for no other reason than that 
it is one of the notions of the public. The Red 
Bermuda is one of the largest aud earliest, 
growing to weigh six or seven pounds, some¬ 
times. It is coai se and not dry and is only 
wanted by a few. The Southern Queen, a 
white sort and nearly as long in growth as 
the Bermuda, is better in quality but its color 
is against it. The Yellow Strasburg or Early 
Golden is also large and early and better in 
quality than either of the two preceding sorts, 
aud is worth growing just for early use. 
This was introduced in the East by Bliss & 
Sons under the name of Early Golden, while 
in the West it is called Yellow Strasburg 
and had that name, as I believe, previous to 
its introduction East. 
A new variety—the Extra Early Carolina— 
gives promise of oeing a fine sort. I have 
not grown it yet myself, but on good author - 
ity I am told that it is actually two weeks 
earlier than the Yellow Jersey aud more pro¬ 
ductive, yielding for my informant 250 bush¬ 
els to the acre. The sample I have resembles 
the Yellow Jersey, being of a fine gold color. 
The shape is exceptionally good; iu size it is 
medium, and I find the quality superior to 
