fy84 TUI RUSAL NEW-YORKER, JAN m 
seedling, produced by Mr. Macomber of Grand 
Isle, Vt., called the Pecan, -which seems to 
have all the merits of its parent, with produc¬ 
tiveness added. 
“ My rule for selecting seed is to take well 
ripened, well-formed, medium-sized tubers. 
These I cut into pieces of two eyes each, and 
plant in drills, the sets ten inches apart. The 
drills are made from 2y to feet asunder, 
according to the variety. My soil is one of 
the best for potatoes, a rich, deep sandy loam, 
(“hard-wood land”). For potatoes I plow 
deep, eight or niue inches, and plant about 
five or six inches deep. The drills art made 
with a Share’s horse hoe with the teeth re¬ 
moved and the wings closed. The potatoes 
when planted in an open field, are covered 
by harrowing across the rows, and the ground 
is again harrowed as the earliest shoots begin 
to break the surface. I plant as soon as the 
ground is fit. As to manures, I never use 
dung the same season, but use a good super¬ 
phosphate, sown on the furrow at the rate of 
about 500 pounds per acre, sowing at the same 
time from 15 to 35 bushels of unleached ashes. 
Often 1 use ground bone in the same quantity, 
in place of the superphosphate. After the 
fertilizer is sown, the ground is well borrowed. 
This, with the subsequent opening aud closing 
of the drills, distributes the fertilizer very 
evenly aud completely. I never plant pota¬ 
toes on sod, but usually after com. My ob¬ 
jection to dung for potatoes is that it causes 
scab and predisposes to rot. With 1113 ’ system 
I never have been troubled with rot, and 
the potatoes show but little scab. I do not 
notice any other effect of manure or fertilizer 
upon the tubers. It will be seen by the al >ove 
that I practice deep planting aud fiat culture 
and have done so for 30 years. The digging 
is harder, but the crop pays half a dozen times 
over for the extra labor. The cultivation 
during the season is working with a horse hoe 
two or three times, and pulling all weeds in 
the rows. Diggingis done with common hoes, 
and the potatoes are sorted in the field, They 
are not left on the ground over-night; small 
potatoes are fed to stock. Occasionally they 
have been drawn to tbe starch factory, but not 
unless they fetch over 25 cents a bushel. I 
always dig my potatoes for the Winter as 
soon as the tops are all dead. They ar e stored 
in a dark cellar, in barrels. As regards market¬ 
ing, I sell as many of my potatoes early as 
I can; aud when the price drops below 75 cents 
the rest are left in the ground, aud are mostly 
sold the next Spring for .seed. I believe pota¬ 
toes always keep best in barrels, stored in a 
dark, dry, frost-proof cellar. 
As regards the “Ideal Potato,” I should say 
that a well-grown Snowflake comes as near to 
it as possible in shape, color and quality. But 
there is nothing practically to object to in the 
Beauty of Hebron, Early Vermont, Pearl of 
Savoy, or even in the Early Rose, if the latter 
would ripen clear to the end, I have aban¬ 
doned all late varieties as relatively unprofit¬ 
able, though some of them are of fine quality. 
But I do not like bug-fighting longer than it is 
necessary, and in this section rust is very apt 
to strike late kinds before the tubers are mat¬ 
ured. 
The average .yield of potatoes in Northern 
Vermont is probably not. far from 100 bushels 
per acre. But to make so low a yield, a large 
number who rarely grow less than 350 to 000 
bushels, have to be averaged with a greater 
number who are satisfied with a big crop of 
weeds and 80 to 100 bushels of potatoes to the 
acre. Exceptionally good crops of 400 bush¬ 
els and upwards are not uncommon with good 
farmers, or even with poor ones on newly 
cleared land. The profit varies, but is great¬ 
est on the large crops. Tbe average is not far 
from £20 per acre over expenses. Insects are 
fought with Paris-green. Prices have aver, 
aged about the same here for twenty years. 
Orleans Co., Vt. 
POTATOES—LARGE OR SMALL SETS. 
PETER HENDERSON. 
It is something not very easily understood 
why there should be so much difference of 
opinion as to what kinds of potatoes should be 
used for seed, whether they should lx? large or 
small, whether cut in single eyes or in halves. 
Now, although 1 have not bad much practice 
in the cultivation of potatoes, a large exper¬ 
ience in everything connected with horticul¬ 
ture leads me to believe that as good results 
cannot be got from cutting potatoes to single 
eyes, unless indeed a large portion of the nu¬ 
tritious substance of the potato is left attached. 
Experiments made with beans, peas, and other 
seeds that have been attacked by tbe weevil 
or other insects, where the whole or portions 
of the pabuluip of the seed is entirely eaten 
out, have shown conclusively, by frequent and 
careful trials, that when the pabulum of the 
seed is entirely eaten out, the seed 
germ, though left sound, will not 
start at all, and that when the pabulum is par¬ 
tially destroyed, it will start feebly and make 
a weak plant. This is just as true of the tuber 
of the potato as of the seed of the pea or beau. 
Nature provides this substance for the germ 
or bud to feed on until it is able to take care 
of itself; and if you rob it of this substance 
the result will be disappointment, less or more. 
It has often been the custom when new potatoe- 
were introduced, to cut them up into singl 
eyes, in the hope of producing a larger c.ro; 
from the costly seed; but I doubt very much 
if any additional weight of crop can be gain¬ 
ed, aud undoubtedly the vitality of the roots 
will be weakened for future crops, If wanted 
for that purpose, which with new potatoes is 
generally the case. 
I was one of the first purchasers of the Early 
Rose Potato when it was introduced, paying 
$ 2 . 00 , I think. for a single tuber weighing five 
ounces. In April I cut this five-ounce potato 
into two pieces in such a way that the surface 
should present the greatest number of eyes. 
The pieces were then placed on a shelf and 
kept there until they were dry enough so that 
the cut part had partly healed over. They 
were then placed on six inches of soil in a two- 
foot hot-bed, where the temperature, in the soil 
of hot-bed, shown by the thermometer, aver¬ 
aged from 80 to 85 degrees. The shoots soon 
began to start from the eyes, afid as soon as 
they got to be three or four inches in length, 
they were cut off about a quarter of an inch 
from the surface of the potato, or far enough 
from the surface uot to injure the dormant 
eyes that were yet to start,. The cuttings 
were then placed in what are called two-aud-a 
quarter inch flower-pots and placed in the 
same, hotbed and shaded and watered until 
rooted in the usual way. As the seasou ad¬ 
vanced, shoots in great number were thrown 
up by tbe potato, which in turn were cut off, 
and placed in the flower-pots aud submit ted to 
the rooting process. As the first shoots grew 
to a length of five or six inches, the tops were 
cut off from these ami used as cuttings, so 
that by the first of June this small potato of 
five ounces had given me about 150 plants, 
every one of which was equal to a set made 
from a tuber, for it must be remembered that 
the pots ,in which these cuttiugs were placed 
were now filled with roots. They were planted 
out about the 10 th of June, and the crop when 
dug weighed exactly 450 pounds, or an in¬ 
crease of about 1,800-fold. 
There probably would be no practical value 
in this practice unless with new varieties, and 
it is not claimed that there is any advantage in 
the practice wheu the potatoes are sold at 
ordinary rates;' but wheu they are sold at 
the rate of even 35 cents per pound, I think 
that it will pay to adopt this plan. For 
instance, one pound of potatoes wheu .so grown 
will easily produce 500 plants, making 500 hills, 
which with ordinary culture will give three 
pounds per hill, or 1,500 pounds. The manner 
of rooting the cuttings is not difficult, aud cau 
be done in any common hot-bed. An ordinary 
hot-bed sash 3x6 feet will hold 800 plants in 
“X-ineh pots. These as they grow, furnish 
other cutt ings from the tops as above described. 
Without resorting to hot-bed propagation at 
all, the potato crop may be doubled or trebled in 
quantity by takingslips from the plants plant¬ 
ed in the open ground in June.and planting t hem 
out at once in the open field, if there is a con¬ 
tinuance of rainy weather for a few days. The 
moderate thinning out of the shoots from the 
regular plants will do no injury to the plants. 
The growing of potatoes by placing the slips in 
hot-beds is uot new, alt hough there is but little 
doubt that this method has been suggested 
from the practice of gardeners propagating 
dahlias and other plants of that kind. But 
there is no doubt that it will lie new to many 
of your readers, though the principles involved 
have been long known to practical gardenei-s. 
Jersey City Hights, N. J. 
THE POTATO SCAB. 
MANY CAUSES AND PREVENTIVES GIVEN. 
DR. G. C. CALDWELL. 
There is a disease of the potato called, in 
Germany, by two or three names, which may 
be translated as scab, which is caused by a 
fungus parasite—Rhizoetouia solani, It ap 
pears first as small, roundish, black or brown 
spots, which reach about the size of a small 
pea. Then the skin of the potato cracks 
around or across these sjiots, and there follows, 
underneath them a rapid thickening of the 
layer of cork cells that, ordinarily, in uniform 
thickness all over the potato, forms the healthy 
skins. Still later, if the conditions are favor¬ 
able, the jxitato rots under the scabs and 
finally throughout; but wheu dug and stored 
in a dry place this decay is checked, aud there 
is only a black or brown cavity separated by a 
rough layer of corky matter from the starchy 
tissue underneath. The disease is stated to ap¬ 
pear in wot soils, or such as are over-rich in 
nitrogeu compounds, or alkali (potash). By 
better drainage and avoiding the use of fresh 
stable manure it disappears. Tliat, this is one 
of the kinds of scab met in this country is pro- A 
bably true. The observation so commonly 
made here that too much fresh stable manure, 
chip manure, rotting wood, or any other de¬ 
caying vegetable matter, favors the occurrence 
of the disease, gives some support to this prob¬ 
ability. 
Dr. Hexamer, in an April number of the 
New York Tribune for 1880, described the 
scab as “rough spots at first, which after¬ 
wards become raised like blisters, and later 
collapse, leaving irregular holes or pits iu the 
substance of the tuber.” Whether this is the 
same disease as that described above, one can 
hardly say; but if he is correct as to the cause, 
“mites, minute animals which have not yet 
been thoroughly studied,” the two accounts 
will not Lilly. Mr. Worthington .Smith, in a 
recent little book on Diseases of Field and 
Garden Crops, describes the scab and the 
cracking of the potato together as due to a 
mechanical cause, and as having no connection 
with any fungus, except such a-s may make an 
attack on the more delicate parts of the tubers 
after they have been thus exposed, aud insects 
or worms may also theu assist in the ruin. 
He gives no explanation of the way in which 
this mechanical injury comes about, except to 
say that “continued drought, or possibly sud¬ 
den and excessive moisture will cause one form 
of scab.” He also says that “lime rubbish, 
builder’s refuse, or some other irritating or 
corrosive substance iu the soil is said to cause 
scab and cracking”—and that when the er< >p 
on only a part of the field is scabby, the irrita¬ 
ting substance can usually be found iu the soil. 
The disease, accordiug to him, begins very 
early, and, whether scab or cracking, appears 
first as rounded spots or minute, open pus¬ 
tules. 
Many who have given their opinious on the 
subject believe very firmly that some kind of 
a scab is caused by the attack of worms. When 
so careful an observer as the Editor of the 
Rural insists that wire-worms were the cause 
of a bad case of scab iu his Experimental 
Grounds, one must believe: but it cannot be 
the kind of scab described by the German 
authorities or by Dr. Hexamer. No gnawing 
of worms could leave such a result as they 
describe, unless an imitation of it should come 
from an attempt of he potato to heal over the 
wounds made by th animals. The mere pres¬ 
ence of any u umber of wire-worms or any 
other animals in the ground with the potatoes, 
is not sufficient evidence that they cause the 
scab; but that is all the evidence which most 
of those who hold this opinion give us. The 
Editor of the Rural would not accept such 
evidence, and it must be presumed that he 
sa w more than this, or he would not be so posi¬ 
tive. Moreover, scab occurs where there are 
no wire-worms. Two correspondents of the 
Rural have borne testimony to this effect in 
the course of the past year, the potatoes being 
badly scabbed where not a single wire-worm 
was seen, nor, says one of these writers, a worm 
of any kind except augle-wonns. It is plain 
that we have not reached the root of this- scab 
business, or else there are many causes and 
different kinds of scab. [There seems very 
little doubt about it.—Eds.] No one of the 
causes assigned seems to cover all coses; cer¬ 
tainly there are many instances recorded in 
which the trouble cannot be traced to worms, 
aud others in which it apparently cannot be 
attributed to parasitic fungi. 
Even more numerous than the causes are 
the preventives, which is usually tbe case 
where the cause is uot well understood. Many 
are quite confident that, the use of commercial 
fertilizers, instead of stable manure, is a rep- 
preventive. Others avoid the scab by putting 
tobacco stems in the hill; auother would not 
grow potatoes twice on the same ground; but 
still another affirms that such a course will not 
secure freedom Horn the disease. Coal ashes 
scattered ou the hills are recommended by an¬ 
other; salt is auother preventive, and another 
would not raise potatoes on a peat soil. After 
giving to each of these and of other prescrip¬ 
tions the weight that they would appear to 
merit, it seems t hat olio would stand the best 
chance of getting a sound crop of potatoes by 
planting, in a well-drained soil that had not 
been recently manured with stable manure, 
and dressing the crop with a complete commer¬ 
cial fertilizer, one containing nitrogen com¬ 
pounds, phosphate and potash sal Is. As to the 
fitness of the scabbed potatoes for food, con¬ 
cerning which inquiry is sometimes made, 
there seems to be no definite information. Of 
course, one would not relish tho potato if the 
decay, beginning around the scab, had plainly 
made much progress, anil should 1 >e unchecked 
when the crop is dug and stored; but if, as is 
sometimes the ease, the substance of the potato 
is still apparently sound aud in good condition 
throughout, there would appear to be no good 
reason why it should be rejected for food. 
THE “IDEAL” POTATO. 
PROF. WILL. w. TRACY. (Supt D. M. Ferry 
& Co.’s Trial Grounds.) 
I am asked to describe the ideal potato, a 
request it is as impossible to comply with, as to 
describe iu a few words and to the satisfaction 
of all men the ideal wife, and many people 
seem to think that an ideal potato is not only 
possible, but that a. seedsman should offer none 
but these ideal sorts,and that he is little better 
than a robber if lie sells any sort that does not 
prove all that each and every purchaser hoped 
it would. The unreasonableness of this popu¬ 
lar notion may be seen by looking at a few 
facts. I certainly am spealdng within bounds 
when I say that there are now iu cultivation at 
least 500 distinct varieties. I am somewhat 
familiar with originators of new sorts, and 
have within the past five years talked or cor- 
con-esponded with the producers of at least 500 
varieties of vegetables, aud am certain that 
with an exception not exceeding five per cent., 
each uot only believes, but lias good evidence 
for believing that, under tho condit ions he had 
grown it, compared with the varieties he was 
familiar with and judged by his standard, his 
sort was better than any other, and all were 
houest iu their believing that the introduction 
of their particular varieties would tie a real ben¬ 
efit, and that ultimately they would come into 
general, if not universal use. Now it is fair 
to conclude that potato growers are equally 
honest, and that each of the 475 varieties was 
believed by somebody to lie worthy of univer¬ 
sal cultivation; yet the number of varieties 
actually iu general cultivation does not reach 
25, and I think that nine-tenths of all the po¬ 
tatoes produced are included iu five, or at 
most, ten sorts. 
The same thing is seen in individual eases. 
Five years ago, a seedsman received from a 
careful grower a dozen new varieties for trial. 
They were carefully compared with each 
other and the l ieet of the old sorts. One seemed 
to be very superior in quality aud in quantity 
of merchantable potatoes. The next season, 
the trial gave the same result. And a careful 
inspection of it, as grown iu large fields with 
simply good culture and by the side of those of 
the most productive sorts known, seemed to 
indicate that it was one of the best and most 
profitable sorts ever produced, and accordingly 
the stock was pm-chased, and the variety ex¬ 
tensively advertised and sold, and it proved a 
failure, many a man comlemniugthe seedsman 
as- an imposter and cheat for selling it to him. 
It is true that many reported it all that was 
claimed, and the seedsman received some strong 
recommendations of tbe variety; but with the 
majority of growers, it was a profitless sort. 
Now, did the seedsman err iu his judgment of 
this variety? 
I asked a man living at the West, and who 
is a good cultivator, a careful observer, aud 
has had as many as (100 varieties in cultivation 
at once, which three varieties he considered 
the most profitable, taking quality iuto con¬ 
sideration, and he replied, if he was to culti¬ 
vate them and had suitable soil, he would take 
first a sort which the originator never could 
get a seedsman to advertise; second, the sort 
we have been describing, and, third, a very 
similar variety-introduced by an Eastern seeds¬ 
men, and which has proved equally unpopular. 
I asked an extensive grower at the East, which 
variety he would use if he were to attempt to 
produce the largest possible quantity of table 
potatoes from au acre of his best land, and he 
selected this sort. 
Why, then, was this potato, which comes so 
near being the ideal of these experimental 
growers, a failure! Because, first, it needed 
for its best development a peculiar soil, and 
did not come to perfection iu auy other. 
Second, in order to get a full crop, it needed 
rich soil and the best of culture, and how im¬ 
probable it is that a new sort will receive the 
best of culture from the average planter may 
lx- judged from the fact that even in the most 
favorable localities, the average yield does not* 
equal 150 bushels to tin* acre, aud when the 
Rural reports a yield on its trial grounds, at 
the rate of from 800 to 1,000 bushels per acre, 
its contemporaries with uplifted bauds, cry 
“My! What a whopper!” 
Now, if I am to rely upon my own observa¬ 
tions, instead of ou the theory that a potato, 
being a cutting, cannot improve or deterior¬ 
ate by selection or cut ting. J should say that 
the potato is greatly modified in quantity of 
yield and quality of product by conditions of 
soil culture and by the season. A variety may 
do remarkably well one season, or under cer¬ 
tain conditions, and lx* almost worthless au¬ 
other seasou or under different conditions, aud 
the different v>arieties earn greatly in their 
susrrptibility to such modifications and to 
get the best possible result we must not only 
have a variety which is good, but which will 
resjxind most readily to the most favorable 
conditions; but such n variety will almost in¬ 
variably be subjected to corresponding deteri¬ 
oration, if it has to contend with unfavorable 
Conditions; so the ideal potato of experts in 
different locations or circumstances would not 
be tho same, and would be sure to be different 
from the ideal potato for general culture. 
