266 
APRIL 26 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
day. When he first inherited the farm it consisted of only 40 
acres and was used only for ordinary farm purposes; but 
since he started gardening he has added to it 40 acres for 
which he paid $300. per acre. He has thoroughly under¬ 
drained tne entire farm, and now raises, besides garden 
truck, all the feed, grain, etc., consumed on the farm. 
J. H. Warn was born on September 17, 1859, on his 
father’s farm in Lenawee County, Michigan, on the banks 
of the’now famous summer resort, Devil’s Lake. In 1869 
his father and himself moved to the farm he now occupies. 
His father, being a mechanic, was not one of the best 
of farmers, and the boy’s early farming education was 
therefore somewhat neglected. At the age of 21 he mar¬ 
ried the daughter of a neighboring farmer and commenced 
to work his father’s farm. By perseverance, industry, 
hard study, experimenting and the knowledge gained 
through the best farm journals, such as the R. N.-Y., 
coupled with his years of experience, he has achieved such 
success that he is now considered one of the best farmers 
in Lucas County, if not in the State. He makes the tilling 
of the soil a constant study. Not only for the current 
year, but for one, two or three years ahead he always 
knows what crops he will put on a certain piece of ground. 
He is a firm believer in the good effects of a thorough cul¬ 
tivation of the soil; but he believes in thorough under¬ 
draining before the soil can be thoroughly and profit¬ 
ably tilled. He also believes that it pays to have 
the best improved machinery and implements for that 
purpose. By the use of all the stable manure he 
can save, and of a reasonable quantity of com¬ 
mercial fertilizers, he has succeeded in raising fair crops, 
when some of his neighbors have almost or entirely 
failed. Potatoes, wheat and clover are his principal crops. 
He has devoted more study to potato-growing than to any 
thing else, and thus far has been quite successful, having 
grown, on an average, over 320 bushels per acre in large 
fields. He approves of marketing most crops as soon as 
they are harvested. He sells a good share of his potatoes 
and wheat to seed merchants and finds ready sale for the 
remainder at the leading groceries and hotels in Toledo- 
only four miles from his farm. Often he gets five or more 
cents per bushel above the market price. From his boy¬ 
hood he has been a great fancier of thoroughbred fowls, 
and, after testing many .breeds, has finally settled on 
White and Laced Wyandottes as the best general-purpose 
fowls. Mr Warn is not one of the men who have received 
a present of a farm; what he has he has worked for, except 
a span of four-year-old colts that were presented to him 
when he came of age. At present he owns 43 acres of land 
valued at $150 per acre, and the tools which were pictured 
in the Rural New-Yorker last fall. These cost upwards 
of $2,300. He has also five good farm horses, five cows and 
a number of young cattle and such other stock and appli¬ 
ances as a farmer needs for his own use. He is Vice-presi¬ 
dent of the Lucas County Horticultural Society, Master of 
the Northern Light Grange, and Overseer of the County 
Grange. 
THE HISTORY AND PROPAGATION OF THE 
AMERICAN POTATO. 
Robert p. Harris, m. d., Philadelphia. 
What has been erroneously called the “ Irish ” potato, 
is purely and distinctively of American origin, and has not 
been found in a wild state, either in Europe, Asia or Africa. 
On the other hand, the “ sweet” potato, which became 
known to Europe through Christopher Columbus, whose 
followers ate it in Cuba in 1492, is not distinctively Ameri¬ 
can. as it is indigenous in India and Africa. It, with the 
yam, constituted the main food of the natives of Guinea 
before the Portuguese ever visited that part of Africa; and 
It will be found described as a native product in old India 
botanies. It is, then, a proper distinction to designate our 
white potato as American, and misleading to call it 
“ Irish” in our census reports, as has been done. 
The name ‘‘potato ” is an alteration of “ battata,” a na¬ 
tive term for tne sweet potato, which was introduced into 
Europe before the white variety. The two are of distinct 
families, the former being a Convolvulus and the latter a 
Solanum. The American potato was taken to Europe from 
two widely separated localities, Peru and Virginia, the 
product from the former having gone to Spain, where it 
was called the “ Peruvian,” and from the latter, to Eng¬ 
land and Ireland, where it bore the name of “ Virginian 
or American,” potato. The “Papas” of Peru, and the 
“ Openawk ” of Virginia, were found under cultivation, 
the one by the Peruvians, and the other by the Indians 
of Virginia, when the Spaniards invaded Peru, and Sir 
Walter Raleigh’s settlers visited Virginia, respectively, 
about 1535 and in 1585. 
Pizarro’s followers found the Papas growing near the spot 
on which he built Quito, where it had been reclaimed from 
its wild state, and the first tubers are said to have reached 
Spain prior to the year 1550, by the hands of Hieronymus 
Cardan, a returned monk ; whence it soon found its way 
Into Italy, where, according to Piedro de Cieca, it was un¬ 
der cultivation in 1553. 
Mr. Thomas Hariot, who was one of the party of settlers 
and explorers sent to Roanoke Island in 1585 at the ex¬ 
pense of Sir Walter Raleigh, and who occupied the 10 
months of his visit (August 17, 1585, to June 18, 1586) in 
studying the country, its products, and the manners and 
habits of the Indians, is credited by Dr. Threlkeld, the 
Irish botanist (1726), with having taken over to Ireland in 
1586, some Openawk tubers which he gave to Sir Walter, 
who had them grown in his garden near Cork ; doubtless 
in 1587. The sweet potato was grown in England or im¬ 
ported for the market from Spain prior to this and it has 
been claimed that the “ American ” tuber was also intro¬ 
duced as early as 1565, but this is not established. 
The botanical name of the American potato was given 
to it in 1596, by Prof. Gaspard Bauhin, of the Academy of 
Basle, Switzerland, a noted anatomist, botanist and phy¬ 
sician, who called it the “ Solanu m tuberosum esculentum” 
which title it still bears, with the exception of the “escu¬ 
lentum.” The sweet potato in the Herbal of John Gerarde 
of London, 1597, was called the Sisarum Peruvianum or 
Battata Hispanorum, both erroneous titles, and since 
dropped for “ Convolvulus battata, the tuber not belong¬ 
ing, as was then supposed, exclusively to Peru, or the 
Spanish possessions of America. Thus the way is per¬ 
fectly clear for calling our distinctive potato, the “Amer¬ 
ican.” 
The origin of the “ Openawk” of Virginia was for many 
years a puzzle to botanists who were possessed with the 
idea that the potato grew wild only in South America ; 
and the trouble was, to account for its transit from Peru 
to Virginia. But the settlers of our Pacific slope have 
within a few years solved the difficulty, by discovering the 
wild tuber on the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra Madre. 
Wild tubers from California, Arizona, Texas and Mexico 
have been tested in this State and New York, and compared 
with those from Peru and Chili. The plants produced were 
dark-green, light-green, recumbent and erect; the blossoms 
white; the tubers yellow-fleshed, white-fleshed, round, 
oval, and oblong, and from the ;size of a pea to that of a 
marble. The largest wild tubers I have heard of were dug 
in 1828 on the hights of the Island of. San Lorenzo, by a 
party of officers attached to the U. S. Frigate Brandywine, 
then lying in the port of Callas, Peru, as related to me 
recently by Dr. W. S. W. Ruschenberger, U. S. Navy. 
These tubers were as long as two inches, and somewhat 
flattened; grew at a hight of 1,200 feet, and were bitter 
when cooked. As this island is barren and not likely to 
be inhabited, from its steep declivities, the tubers should 
still be obtainable for cultivation : the island is about 
seven miles long, three-quarters of a mile wide and 1,400 feet 
high, and one-half mile from Callas. The wild potato 
plant has an advantage over its more refined descendants 
in the fact that the Colorado beetle will not eat it. 
The settlers of Jamestown, Virginia (1607), who founded 
the town under Captain John Smith only 20 years after 
the Openawk was planted in Ireland, do not appear to have 
grown the potato, being especially interested in Indian 
corn and tobacco, and it remained for a colony of Scotch- 
Irish who settled the town of Londonderry, in New Hamp¬ 
shire, in 1719, to reintroduce and cultivate it from de¬ 
scendants of the Virginia stock, brought over by them 
from Ireland, its foster-mother. Thus was the idea obtained 
that our own potato originated In the Emerald Isle, a notion 
not at all confined to the uneducated and ignorant, as I 
have found on inquiry. 
At a later period, Spanish descendants of the Peruvian 
stock were introduced under the names of “ Bilboas,” and 
“ Spanish Potatoes,” that were larger than the Irish 
stock, which were bright-yellow and kidney-shaped. 
Neither variety was popular, as the potatoes of that day 
were pungent in taste and smell, and some of them smarted 
the throat as they were swallowed. 
(To be Continued ) 
IMPROVED TREE AND PLANT LABEL. 
At Figure 77 we show a cut of an improved label de¬ 
vised by that venerable nurseryman, Isaac Hicks. The cut 
is nearly self-explanatory. The wire is about the size of a 
common knitting-needle, and may be of any desired 
length. The label is of common sheet zinc and may be 
made larger or smaller according to the amount of writ¬ 
ing. The one illustrated gives the name of the variety, 
date of planting and name of the nurseryman from whom 
it was purchased. The latter is, many times, of consider¬ 
able importance. The writing is done with a common pen 
and ink. This label is far superior to the common wooden 
kind, as it is practically indestructible, and may be appli¬ 
ed to any kind of stake, vine or tree. It is unpatented. 
WATER BY TELEGRAPH. 
Mr. L. S. Fleckenstein, of Easton, Maryland, claims 
to be the originator of the device shown at Figure 79. It 
will be remembered that some of our dairymen have been 
asking for help in this year of ice famine. Many of these 
parties have never-failing springs. If they can arrange 
for a constant flow of cold water through the tank con¬ 
taining their milk cans they can dispense with ice. How 
is this flow to be maintained? Wind-mills would answer 
if the wind were constant. The fall from some of these 
springs is not sufficient to work hydraulic rams without 
too great a waste of water. Mr. F. proposes his device as 
a cheap and simple way out of the difficulty. The patent 
on it has expired so that any farmer can make and operate 
it. The picture describes it so well that there is really 
little to be said about it. The water from the little brook 
turns the wheel and this wheel communicates motion along 
the wire to the pump handle. It will not cost much to try 
this device anyway. 
MAKING THE CROOKED STRAIGHT. 
Many fruit trees as they come from the nursery have 
crooked trunks, and if these are not made straight, they are 
liable to grow into deformed trees. The proper time for 
doing this work is when the trees have been transplanted, 
but it is too often neglected, yet crooked trees not more 
than two inches in diameter set in the orchard, may be 
greatly improved. If the trunk simply leans to one side in 
a gradual curve, drive a strong stake into the ground about 
20 inches from the tree ; connect the top of this with the 
tree near the branches, drawing the tree so that it will oc¬ 
cupy an upright position, as indicated by the dotted lines 
b, in Figure 78. A band of wire, leather or cloth can be used; 
Fig. 78. 
but the place where it comes in contact with the tree should 
be padded with cloth or a twist of hay to prevent injury to 
the bark. When a bad crook occurs along the trunk, as 
shown in the middle figure, instead of using two stakes, 
simply follow the plan shown at the left-hand figure. A 
strip of seasoned wood about one inch square or large 
enough not to bend readily, and long enough to span the 
crook, is laid on a few thicknesses of cloth where it touches 
the tree; the crooked portion is then pressed up close to 
the stick and retained in position by a leather band. One 
season’s growth is usually sufficient to correct any of the 
irregularities named, and then the guide may be wholly 
removed. 
Remember all these corrections of malformations will add 
to the tree’s beauty as long as it stands—in many cases for 
several generations. L. D. s. 
Yates Co., N. Y. 
TOO MUCH ORCHARD. 
T. H. HOSKINS, M. D. 
It is a pretty well known fact that small orchards, as a 
rule, pay a much better profit than large ones. The reason 
is not far to seek. One difficulty lies in a lack of propor¬ 
tion between the work to be done and the means for doing 
it. If a man has the land, the difference in the cost of 
setting out one or two hundred and one or two thousand 
trees is not very great. But after that is done, all opera¬ 
tions are thenceforward tenfold greater in labor and ex¬ 
pense. Here is where the would-be large orchardist, with 
small capital and insufficient knowledge, diverges irrecov¬ 
erably from the path of profit. 
This is, however, but one of the difficulties of the case. 
A small orchard can be managed mainly by its owner. He 
can plant, cultivate, dress and prune it himself ; and has 
time to do all the work carefully, with judgment and 
thoroughness. As the orchard is increased, numerically, 
this work must be delegated, and it is rarely possible to 
get and control the necessary assistance. 
The final profit of an orchard depends upon the exercise 
of good judgment and sufficient knowledge and skill in 
its owner from thelstart. We have no schools of orchard¬ 
ing, and the necessary knowledge has usually to be 
acquired slowly, by observation and experiment. Any 
man of fair capacity, beginning his orchard with a few 
trees, and adding to it gradually, year by year, making 
good use of knowledge as he gains it, can hardly fail to 
prove successful provided his location is not against him ; 
and this, even, he will have opportunity to find out before 
going too far. Thrifty trees of productive and popular 
varieties, intelligently handled and thoroughly cared for, 
will always yield a fair profit to the owner to whom a 
good market is accessible. Such an orchardist hardly 
needs to be a good salesman in these times, for buyers are 
sure to find him out, and for prime fruit of popular 
varieties their competition insures a good price. It can 
hardly be said that there is “ big money ” in orcharding; 
but the preference always accorded to good fruit of 
marketable varieties insures a paying business as safe and 
certain as any branch of forming. 
Any other course is hazardous, and tends toward loss 
rather than gain. Even with good kinds on good land, 
undue extension, beyond the point of perfect control, 
becomes an element of weakness and uncertainty. I have 
doubts whether orcharding as an exclusive business is 
better than mixed farming in which the orchard takes a 
prominent place. Somehow or other, great specialties, 
exclusively followed, do not often justify themselves in 
our American agriculture. There is something in our cir¬ 
cumstances which seems unfriendly to successful specialism 
on a large scale in farm operations. Theoretically it may 
be easy to figure out very large profits; but when it comes 
to reducing these flattering plans to practice, the profit 
seems to volatilize itself and fly away. 
I could but accept the wisdom of a recent remark attrib¬ 
uted to one of the Hale brothers of Connecticut, that their 
temporary success with peaches would probably cause a 
loss of $100,000 to their neighbors. I have noted that kind 
of thing in a good many places. The success (itself risky, 
though fortunate,) of some man who has made some 
specialty a study, and reaped a large profit—at least once— 
