OCT. 4® 
THE 
RURAL HEW-YORKER. 
vary in regard to what constitutes first-qual¬ 
ity tubers, yet vary as they do and may, there 
is scarcely any one who will not accept as 
good potatoes those that in boiling or baking, 
cook through evenly without any watery, 
salvey, or hard cove, and which crack open 
evenly when lightly piessed, presenting a 
mealy mass, floury and light without being so 
dry to the taste as to be flavorless, and which, 
when eaten with a little salt, tempt the appe¬ 
tite to crave more of the Bamu sort. Such 
potatoes I have received and tested from 
“potato breeders;” but I have seldom been 
able to grow them. The nearest I have been 
able to come to It, was growing on a sandy 
loam soil newly broken, with a light 6od, like 
a clover sod, fertilized with plaster and ashes. 
Animal and farmyard manure, unless thor¬ 
oughly rotted. I have found not good for the 
potato crop, and, when applied, it is better 
not to place it in contact with the tubers. On 
arable soil I have noticed that the best success 
was had on such as was in good heart from 
the manuring of previous crops, and which 
had not grown potatoes since broken from a 
sod. and that had been fertilized with miueral 
matter. Large growth of tubers 1 have ob¬ 
served to be less favorable to quality than a 
medium growth. The routine of culture will 
vary according to circumstances, so that it is 
not necessary to say farther here. 
Worcester Co., Mass. W. II. White. 
- - - -- 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL FARM. 
Potato Tents. 
The potatoes given below were planted upon 
moist ground and manured with well rotted 
barnyard manure only. Cut to single eyes. 
Seedling from D. S. Marvin; one potato, 
dark-red in color, narrow, loug. Planted 
April 24—six pieces. Dug August 19. Weight 
of yield, four pounds. 
Earlt Rose. —Same date ; one potato, four 
pieces. Dug August 19. Weight of yield, 9J 
pounds. 
Trophy. —April 26; four pieces. Weight 
2f pounds. These resemble. Beauty of Hebron 
in shape and color. 
Seedling from JohnF. Beard No. 1; four 
pieces—April 24. Yield seven pouuds—all 
large or medium. White, obloug, flattened. 
Seedling from John F. Beard No. 2; four 
pieces. Yield 11* pounds. Grow remarkably 
close in hill. Very white. Heavy, solid, of good 
flavor. 
Manhattan.— Planted May 20; one potato 
of good size; eight pieces. Yield, 18 pounds. 
Light-purple skin, often splashed with white. 
Average large. 
Washington. —Same date. One potato ; 
seven pieces. Yield 12 pounds, some large, 
many small. Color of Early Rose, long, nar¬ 
row; rather soggy when cooked. 
Eureka. —Same date. One potato; seven 
pieces. Yield 15 pounds. Color of Early 
Rose. Long, oblong, flattish; average large. 
Centennial. —Same date. One potato, 
small; Bix email pieces. Yield six poundB. 
All medium size, roundish, prominent eyeB. 
Reddish color. 
Beautt of Hebron. —Same date. One po¬ 
tato, small. Six small pieces. Yield 10 pouuds. 
Burbank's Seedling. —Same date. One po¬ 
tato, small; eight pieces. Yield seven pounds. 
Resembles Beauty of Hebron. All medium. 
Excelsior. —Same date. One potato, small; 
six pieces. Yield four pounds. 
Improved Peachulow.— Same date. One 
potato, small; five pieces. Yield two pounds. 
EXPERIMENTS WITH POTATOES. 
In order to test the relative cropping quall- 
ities of the few varieties of potatoes I culti¬ 
vated out of the multitude introduced to the 
public within the last few years, on the 5th of 
May I planted eight hills of each of the follow¬ 
ing kinds. The soil was a 6andy clay loam— 
a clover sod. No manure was used. The tu¬ 
bers were cut to single eyes, and one eye 
planted in a hill. The care given all was the 
same in every particular. At digging time I 
selected four hills of each variety, with the 
following results when the respective yields 
were weighed: 
Dumnore Seedling-. 
Genesaee Co. King. 
Comptou's Surprise. 
Early Rose... 
Late Bose... 
Tompkin'a Surprise. 
Calico. 
.13 lbs. 
as •• 
19 “ 
.11 *• 
22 '• 
Owing to drought during the past summer 
the yields were not large; but the figures 
show the relative productiveness of the various 
sorts. 
I al60 made the following tests with and with¬ 
out fertilizersI planted eight hills of the 
same varieties under each condition, and out 
of these I selected and weighed the product of 
four. These weighed: — without fertilizer, 
nine pounds; with a tableBpoonful of salt 
sprinkled at the roots of the vines after hilling 
up, 12 pounds; with a compost of one part of 
salt to five of unleached wood-ashes, 14 pounds; 
with one part of salt, five of unleached wood- 
ashes and three of decomposed beu manure, a 
handful of the mixture having been placed at 
the roots after hilling up. 22 pounds. I also 
used leaf-mold with splendid results. 
Concerning the cutting of seed, I made the 
following trial in ten hills of the same varie¬ 
ties under each of the named conditions. 1st, 
I planted whole medium-sized tubers, one to a 
hill; 2d, medium-sized tubers cut into four 
parts, one piece to a hill: 3d, I cut to a single 
eye and planted one piece to a bill; 4, I cut 
one eye into four parts and planted one of 
Beauty belongs, I believe to be healthier and 
longer-lived as well as less subject. to rot. The 
“Rural” keeps well and sprouts late in spring. 
Planting Potato** In the Fall. 
The only other practical notes of value I 
have to record, relate to the success of some ex¬ 
periments I have now been carrying on, for a 
number of years, in planting potatoes in the 
fall, instead of in the spring. My attention 
was first directed to the subject from observ¬ 
ing that voinnteer hills from seed left in the 
ground, grew with greater vigor, matured 
earlier, and yielded better than those planted 
corn as to potatoes, so that the great bulk of 
our potato crop is grown upon a reversed sod. 
The disc-harrow is an almost necessary tool 
for fitting this reversed sod for potatoes. Two 
methods of manuring are practiced: the 
first is to spread the dung upon the sod in the 
fall, and not to turn it until spring ; the other 
is to plow in the fall, dung in the spring and 
work fine with the Randall or La Dow harrow. 
In either case it is usual to use plaster, ashes, 
or superphosphate—the latter at the rate of 
about one barrel to the acre, applied in or 
uear the hill. I think the best results follow 
fall manuring and spring plowing. In properly 
bliss’s triumph. 
these small sets to a hill. The result of each 
lot of ten hills was:—Whole tubers, 20 pounds; 
quarter tubers, 27 pounds; single eyes 38 
pounds; one eye divided into four parts, 21 
pounds. A. Crawford. 
Lapeer Co., Mich. 
-♦ - 1 — 
POTATO NOTES. 
D. S. MARVIN. 
The “Rural” Seedling Potato.—(See p. 673.) 
The Rural Potato Number is the appropriate 
place to make a record of a promising new 
seedling potato of mine. In order that a bet¬ 
ter judgment may be formed of its character¬ 
istics I mail herewith a typical tnber. I have 
named it the “ Rural,” for, like its namesake, 
it is in advance of others, the best for the 
farmer, w r ell-bred, of high quality, healthful 
and refined. It is a seedling of Brownell’s 
Beauty, three years from the seed-ball, and 
among six bushels—all there are of them— 
there isn’t a single ill-Bhaped potato. The 
skin is white, rough and thick, so that worms 
can hardly affect the tubers which are of a 
medium and quite uniform size; the tops are 
small, healthy and expend all their energies 
in developing tubers. It will rauk in quality 
with the Snowflake which it looks like; but 
it matures three or four weeks sooner and 
yields better. I should be pleased to have it 
tested on the Rural Experimental Grounds, 
and perhaps the Conductors of the paper may 
like it well enough to distribute specimens of 
in spring. I have therefore found in practice 
upon a small scale, that there are i eally de- 
I cided advantages in this new method. The 
work is done at a slack season when it can be 
well done, and the only objection is the dan¬ 
ger of the seed freezing; but at the North 
where the suow lies deep, there is seldom any 
loss. The seed should be examined in spring, 
and if loss has occurred, the ground can be 
replanted, and will yield all the better for the 
fall fitting. A well drained, dry soil, must be 
selected, the tubers planted whole, and about 
four inches deep. I do not approve of plant¬ 
ing very small, refuse potatoes; but a better 
crop can thus be secured than from large ones 
planted in the spring. The culture and other 
conditions and management are the same as 
in spring planting. It is a good practice to 
spread long manure over them in the fall and to 
harrow the ground early, before growth in 
spring, with a smoothing harrow. 
Jefferson Co., N. Y. 
--- 
POTATO CULTURE IN NORTHERN 
VERMONT. 
T. H. HOSKINS, M. D. 
In the Vermont county of Orleans pota¬ 
toes are, after butter, the money crop of the 
farmers. We all raise them, and many of us 
make them a specialty. The questions of how 
to prepare the land, how to prepare the seed 
for planting, how to plant and how to culti¬ 
vate with au eye to the best results, are prom- 
centennial. 
It among their subscribers after next season. 
In comparison with it I have tested some 
others under the same conditions of soil, 
climate, manure, etc. Among theBc was the 
Beauty of Hebron which I find a valuable 
potato. The yields of it aud of the “Rural” 
are about equal; but the latter matures much 
the earlier. The Beauty, however, has more 
large tubers, and more scraggy oues, and 
evidently belongs to the Rose family. The 
• Garnet-Chili family, to which Brownell's 
inent topics among us. The following are the 
conclusions reached by, at any rate, quite a 
numberof growers within my acquaintance. In 
Preparing (ho Lnnil 
an effort is made to have a deep and mellow 
seed-bed. I have myself found the best suc¬ 
cess with potatoes after corn; the corn having 
been well dunged, the land fall-plowed after 
the corn 1 b harvested, and again the last of 
April before planting time. But, unfortunately, 
not one-tenth as much laud is here planted to 
Preporing the Seed, 
it is generally cut, though a good many farm¬ 
ers drop iu a hill one whole potato, just too 
small to be merchantable. My best results are 
uniformly from cut Beed, and this planted as 
soon as convenient after cutting. Two eyes to 
a piece are enough. I uever fail of a good 
stand this way; while in trying to “season the 
sets ” by keeping awhile after they are cut. 
there Is often a loss. Rolling the cut sets in 
plaster seems to at least do no harm. Two sets 
are dropped in a hiU. In drills one is dropped 
every ten inches. As an almost universal rule, 
Potato Planting 
here is done iu hills, so as to be cultivated both 
ways. A great deal of haud-hocing is yet prac¬ 
ticed, and is necessary where paius are not 
taken to have the hills at equal distances and 
iu tolerably straight rows. Different imple¬ 
ments are used for furrowing out aud cross¬ 
marking. Share’s horse-hoe, with the teeth 
removed and the wings closed, is the best tool 
I have over used for the former. Chains at¬ 
tached to a pole work well for cross-marking. 
I have, myself, in planting potatoes after corn, 
found the best results from planting in drills. 
When the Beed is covered four inches, there is no 
danger in cross-barrowing these drills with au 
ordinary harrow, just as the potatoes are 
breaking the ground. This, with two horse 
hoeings, makes clean tillage where the pre¬ 
vious corn crop has been properly tended. 
Upon sod plantings the sloping-tooth har¬ 
rows would he better for that purpose. 
Though it saves much work in weediug, and, 
indeed, renders hand culture unnecessary, 
this practice of harrowing potatoes comes very 
slowly into use. Hereabouts absolutely level 
Culture 
is not in all cases practicable with potatoes. 
But in drill cultivation, where the seed is put 
iu from four to six inches deep, there is uo 
ueed of hilling to secure the best results. 
Three-and-a-half feet is near enough for the 
rows in this way, and I prefer in the last cul¬ 
tivation to throw some dirt towards the vines 
to cover the small weeds, rather than to run 
the hoes deeply aud closely enough to the 
row to eradicate them. Those who plaut in 
hills, upon sod, usually hill up moderately at 
the last hoeing, but the hills are made low, 
broad and dishing. 
The crops in this county are almost uni¬ 
formly large. I think they will average nearly 
200 bushels per acre. I know many large 
fields that go over 250, and occasional yields of 
300 and eyeu 400 bushels are reported. Early 
Rose is still the priucipal variety grown. 
Prices range from 25 to 40 cents; or, in 
exceptional years like the last, 50 aud 60 
ceuts. At the latter prices, they pay well; at 
the former, poorly; yet better now than cows. 
sheep or hops. 
. -- 
POTATOES IN CALIFORNIA. 
LUTHER BURBANK. 
In California we have so many varieties of 
climate and soil that what thrives in one place 
may fail in another when the conditions appear 
to be about the same, yet the potato, like most 
robust-growing vegetables, may be grown 
from one end of the State to the other and from 
the mountains to the sea; but the beet results 
in its culture are always obtained ou a loose, 
sandy or loamy soil aud in a cool climate. 
These conditions are found along the coast 
where potato culture aud dairying are profit¬ 
ably carried on together. There the cool, moist 
trade winds aud fogs from the Pacific, aid in 
retaining iu the soil the moisture so ueceBsary 
to the. potato and iu keeping the grass fresh 
and greeu for the dairy. 
The markets of San Francisco arc furnished 
with large quantities of early potatoes from 
the islands and banks of the Sacramento River 
aud from the laud arouud the city and half- 
moon bays, hut the larger portion of the main 
crop comes from near Humboldt, Bodega, and 
Tomales Bays. Potatoes of excellent quality 
are also produced among the foot-hills of the 
Sierra Nevada and iu various places in the cen¬ 
tral part of the State. In the warm, fertile 
valleys which produce the beat corn and wheat, 
the yield of potatoes is usually small, though 
good crops of some of the early kinds may be 
raised if planted early euough to complete 
their growth between winter froBts and the hot, 
dry weather of June. 
Potato Cuxtuee here differs but little from 
that in the East. For the main crop the ground 
