1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
39 
RURAL/SMS. 
(continued.) 
ages of all the potato fertilizer experi¬ 
ments we have tried during the past 20 
years. The fertilizer used was the same 
in every trial, viz.: Ammonia, 4% per 
cent; phosphoric acid 8, and potash, 6. 
TOTAL AVERAGES. 
Bushels. 
No fertilizer yielded per acre.187.77 
220 pounds yielded per acre.206.93 
440 pounds yielded per acre.242,72 
880 pounds yielded per acre.290 
1320 pounds yielded per acre.317.25 
1760 pounds yielded per acre.326.14 
2200 pounds yielded per acre.336 
20 tons of stable manure yielded per acre.300 
Fertilizer Under or Over. 
In a series of experiments conducted 
through five seasons, using at the rate of 
1,300 pounds to the acre of the same fer¬ 
tilizer, the following is a general sum¬ 
mary of the results: 
Bushels. 
Fertilizer over the seed pieces per acre.283.38 
Fertilizer under the seed pieces per acre — 273.70 
Being a difference in favor of placing 
the fertilizer over the seed pieces of 9.63 
bushels per acre. 
For three seasons in succession we 
tried to find out at what depth in the 
trenches the seed pieces should he plant¬ 
ed to give the largest yield of tubers. 
Here is the total average : 
Bushels. 
Two inches per acre.245.70 
Four inches per acre.289.60 
Six inches per acre.233.27 
Eight inches per acre.257.86 
Ten inches per acre.240.81 
It will be seen that, while the four- 
inch depth yielded most, the eight-inch 
yielded next, showing that, in this par¬ 
ticular soil, more trials would be needed 
to enable one to determine the right 
depth to plant, one year with another. 
No one can foretell with certainty 
what the season is going to be. He can 
only guess at it. The season of 1889 was 
about the wettest known at the Rural 
Grounds. Here we have the results of 
planting at different depths in the 
trenches: 
Bushels. 
Two inches per acre.226 
Four inches per acre.220 
Six inches per acre.185 
Eight inches per acre.177 
Ten inches per acre.148 
It seems reasonable enough to assume 
that potatoes will yield more in a wet 
season if planted from two to four inches 
deep. If in a dry season, they should 
yield more if planted deeper. We should 
never lose sight of the fact that it is the 
roots that suffer, both in wet and dry 
seasons; that it is the roots that sup¬ 
port the tops. A maximum yield of 
potatoes depends upon the full develop¬ 
ment of the tops and roots. These are 
interdependent. The tuber is merely an 
enlarged or swollen stem that develops 
just proportionately with the healthy 
development of foliage and roots. 
As to the size of the seed pieces, our 
persistent and cai’eful experiments go to 
prove that no definite advice can safely 
be given. All depends upon the variety, 
upon the soil, the distance apart and the 
season. Should the season be dry, the 
larger seed pieces will, probably, give 
the larger yield, because the sprouts 
have more to support them during the 
dry weather, than the smaller pieces. 
Again, whether we plant one-eye pieces 
or several-eye pieces or whole tubers, 
depends upon the variety. The R. N.-Y. 
varieties have few eyes. Pieces cut to 
single eyes would, therefore, have more 
flesh than other kinds, like Wall’s Orange, 
Peachblow, Hebron or Rose. 
Again, we should bear in mind that 
the buds of the “ seed ” end of most kinds 
of potatoes sprout more readily than the 
buds of the “ stem ” end. If whole 
tubers of some kinds be planted (the R 
N.-Y. No. 2, for instance), only the seed- 
end buds will sprout. The other “ eyes ” 
remain dormant, the entire energy of 
the tuber, so to say, giving itself to the 
support of the seed-end sprouts. In 
some other varieties, the body “ eyes ” 
seem to sprout as readily as the buds of 
the “ seed ” end. Such kinds, evidently, 
may be cut more safely to single eyes 
than those kinds in which the body eyes 
are comparatively slow to sprout. 
If we continue to shovel over or mix a 
pile of soil, it becomes more and more 
uniform, until finally, any portion is like 
every other portion. For a similar rea¬ 
son, the soil of a trench is more uniform 
than the adjacent soil, because it has 
been mixed more thoroughly. 
We urge our readers to try all of the 
new varieties of potatoes as announced. 
For this purpose, a single tuber, if of 
medium or large size, suffices. If they 
would ascertain with some certainty the 
comparative merits of the newcomers, a 
comparatively uniform soil must be pro¬ 
vided, and we know of no more economi¬ 
cal way of effecting this than the Trench 
system secures. 
The i - esults of trials of new kinds of 
potatoes raised at the Rural Grounds 
during the past season will be presented 
next week. 
Couldn’t Kill Sir Walter Raleigh. 
G. B. C., Remington, Ind. —Last April, 
I subscribed for The R. N.-Y., and shortly 
afterward, received by mail a package 
containing one piece with one eye of the 
Sir Walter Raleigh potato. I cut that 
eye into three pieces, and planted three 
hills in good rich soil. They came up in 
due time, and made a wonderfully strong, 
healthy growth, with several stalks to 
the hill. But I was taken sick, the 
potatoes became buggy, and my man 
deluged the vines with Paris-green and 
killed them while the potatoes were 
about half grown ; still I got 13 beautiful 
potatoes that I prize highly. 
D. A., Cass County, N. Dak. — I received 
one small Sir Walter Raleigh potato 
from The R. N.-Y. last March. It was 
kept in the house two weeks, when it 
began to sprout. Being too early to 
plant outside, it was planted whole in a 
box, and about May 1, planted in the 
garden with a half barrel over it and 
covered at night to protect it from frost. 
It sent up one stalk, which was a foot 
high. Thinking all danger of frost 
over, I did not put on the cover one night, 
but next morning it was frozen to the 
ground. So I cut it over, and it sent out 
four new shoots, and made a good 
growth. Twenty good-sized potatoes, 
and a few small ones, were lifted the 
first week of October, all fine tubers; the 
lot weighed 8*4 pounds, with four large 
ones averaging one pound each. Did the 
frost killing the first vines do harm or 
good ? 
Wants Free Rural Delivery. 
G. W. B., Newtown, Conn. —In your 
advocacy of free rural delivery of the 
mail. I am with you, heart and soul. City 
people have so many facilities for getting 
theirs without free delivery, that we 
often wonder why Uncle Sam left the 
most needy to favor those most able to 
take care of themselves. Here, with a 
population of about 5,000, we in the out¬ 
skirts of the town, cannot take a daily 
paper without chancing the getting it 
except at one, two, and sometimes four 
days after publication. Yet, on the aver¬ 
age, there are farmers living about one- 
fourth mile apart. One may happen to 
go to the post oftice one day, one the next. 
The cities could well afford to hire the de¬ 
livery of their mails to every inhabitant 
therein, but we country farmers (over 50 
per cent of the population) must get our 
mail as best we can. Of course, we take 
turns, generally, because we want some¬ 
thing from the stores. 
If your children are well 
but not robust, they need 
Scott’s Emulsion of Cod- 
liver Oil. 
We are constantly in re¬ 
ceipt of reports from par¬ 
ents who give their children 
the emulsion every fall for a 
month or two. It keeps them 
well and strong all winter. 
It prevents their taking cold. 
Your doctor will confirm 
this. 
The oil combined with 
the hypophosphites is a splen¬ 
did food tonic. 
50 c. and $ 1 . 00 , all druggists. 
SCOTT & BOWNE, Chemists, New Yorlfr 
Remember this 
sign 
whereby it 
Conquers Pain. 
St. Jacobs Oil 
Cures Rheumatism, Neuralgia, 
Sciatica, Lumbago, Sprains, 
Bruises, Soreness, Stiffness, 
and Burns. 
Iww rv ^wwwwvww* 
THAT OLD HOE 
the enemy of the farmer. It eats up his time and his profits—/ 
keeps his nose on the grindstone. The “Planet .Tr.” No. 15/ 
Single Wheel Iloe will cover more ground in an hour than/ 
you can cover in a day with an old-fashioned hoe. Besides /2 _ 
this, it lias cultivator, rake and plow attachments. f 1 
There are a score of the “Planet Jr.” Machines each a 
heinf? a marvel of mechanical skill. If you would As ?^ 
like to know what they do and how they do /y 
it, send for the "Planet Jr." book for '98. ^ A 
8. L. ALLEN A CO., 
110? Market St., Pliila. 
WOOD'S “ICE KING V 
A ilrst-class ICE 
Plow. Constructed 
entirely of Steel and Iron, for the use 
i of Dairymen, Butchers, Farmers and others, at half 
i the price of the Iceman’s Plow. Manufactured by 
i the most celebrated makers of line quality Ice Tools. For 
particulars, write to agent nearest to you or direct to the 
manufacturers, 
PRICE, $OK 
48 -pp. Illustrated 
Ice Tool Catalogue,and to alii 
who mention tins paper a . 
16-p. treatise on the lee ’ 
Harvest, free. 
I AGENTS: Sickels.% Nutting Co.,35Barclay St.,New York. 
Edwin II tint's Sons, ISO Lake Street, Chicago, Ill. 
Farwell, Ozmun, Kirk & Co.,3d Street .St. Paul,Minn. 
Simmons Hardware Company, St. Louis, Mo. 
Will. T. Wood & Co. 
Arlington, Mass. 
theFARQUHAR 
^PATENT VARIABLE 
FRICTION c FEED. 
Medal and Highest Award at the World'l Columbian Exposition 
SAW MILL & ENGINE 
RE8T SET WORKS IN THE WORLD. Warranted the belt made. 
Shingle Mllli, Machinery, and Standard Agricultural Imple¬ 
ment. of Be.t Quality at lowest price.. Illustrated Catalogue. 
FARQUHAR SEPARATOR 
LARGEST CAPACITY. 
Host economical, lightest draught, 
waste, no grain. 'Cleans ready 
_for market. Send for catalogues. 
A. B. FAUQUHAKCO.,Ltd., York.P*. 
UPRIGHT MS HORIZONTAL 
From 3 H.P, 
Upward, 
FARM 
ENGINES 
WITH 
Specially adapted and largely 
used for driving Grinding 
Mill% Feed Cutters, Wood 
8aws, 'Corn Shelters, Dairy. 
Machinery, Saw Mills, Etc. 
Send for pamphlet and state 
aize power wanted. 
JAMES LEFFEL&CO. Boxl 308 Springfield,0 
*18.50. Circulars Free. 
■ 1/13 nUWo n. PBAY, Clove, N. Y 
IOC D1 nilfC 0IC < 1 - K ■ BUCKLEY, 
lUk rLUTTd Olo Amenla Union, N. Y. 
Calvanized Steel 
PUMPING 
Write 
tor 
what you 
wantand our ‘ 
illustrated Cata- , 
logue—FREE. 
POWER MILLS 
’ are acknowledged to be the most powerful and I 
1 durable} they are self-oiling, direct or back- 
geared, and have the most perfect governor 
made. We make Ensilage and Fodder Cutters, 
| Corn Huskers, Com Shellers, Feed Grinders, 
Wood Saws, Sweep Powers, Tread Powers, Hay 
Loaders—full line of anything the farmer needs. 
APPLETON 
7 Fargo Street, 
MFC. CO.^ 
BATAVIA, ILL. 
FARMERS 
are appreciating the 
Chartir 6asollni Engine, 
STATIONERIES, 
PORTABLES AND TRACTION 
PROOF by addressing 
Charter Gas Englna Co., Box 26, Sterling. Ill 
kTHIS BEATS A DROUTH 
No matter how dry the weather or what the 
k ero.t in compowd of, you cun get a good well, 
•vary time, everywhere, with one ot out 
STAR DRILLING MACHINES. 
■ They are better than others. WhyT 
| Listen—No springs, no cog gearing, 
. longer stroke and more strokes per 
L minute,truss rodded axles, mounted 
F on best wheels, boiler with flues In 
l boiler waste, reverse link engine, 9 
_ .sizes. Full HnetooU,supplies. Send 
for f reas catalog. STAR DRILLINQ MACHINE CO. AKRON, 0. 
Cider Machinery .--Send for catalogue to Boomer St 
Boschert Press Co.. llSWest WaterSt., Syracuse, N.Y. 
Fire-Weather-Lightning Proof 
Black, painted or galvanized metal ROOFING 
and siding: (brick, rocked or corrugated) 
METAL CEILINGS AND SIDE WALLS. 
Write for Catalogue. 
Penn Metal Ceiling* Rooting Co.. Ltd., Philadelphia. 
Maple Evaporators. 
MOST Dim ABLE, MOST ECONOMICAL, 
CHEAPEST. Manufactured by 
McLANE & SCHANCK, Linesviile, Pa. 
THE IXL EVAPORATOR 
By Far the Best. 
man can operate -any size 
FOR 
SUGAR MAKERS 
without help. No waste. Sap cannot run ary, 
or run over. Works rapidly with little fuel. 
Booklet tells all about it; mailed free. 
WARREN EVAPORATOR WORKS. Warren, Ohio, 
One Cow Did It, 
the great Chicago tire. It requires but one to let 
down a few rails, or find the weak points In your 
"cheap" fence, and the whole herd follow. Why 
blame the cow! It were wiser to buy a stock 
proof fence. 
PAGE WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO., Adrian, Mich. 
[ADAM 
THE FENCE MAN 
Makes Woven Wire 
Fence that “Stands 
Up.” Cannot 8ag. 
I Get his newcatalogue. It 
I tells all about The Best 
I Farm Fence Made. 
J. ADAM, 
WOOD 
SAWING 
MACHINES 
‘‘Smalley” A “Battle Creek” 
§ attorns. Self and hand-feed Drag 
awe, 20to 36 inch Circular Machines 
Bolting Mills and Horse Powers, 
SMALLEY MEG. CO., « 
Manitowoc, Wis. 
A Mary s aved 
BY USING A FOLDINC SAWING MACHINE. 
One man can saw 
more wood with it 
than two in any other 
way & do it easier. 9 
cords in lOhrs.Saws 
any wood on any 
ground. Saws tree3 
down. Catalog free. 
1st order gets agency. 
FOLDING SAWING MACH. Co. 64-65 S. ClintonSt-Chicago 
KEROSENE Sprayers 
is simple indeed. Kerosene Kmuisioa 
made while pumping. Send for pho¬ 
tograph of our NEW PEERLESS 
ORCHARD SPRAYER, with BOR¬ 
DEAUX NOZZLE, the world’s best, 
THE DEMING CO. SALEM, OHIO. 
