268 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
APRIL 26 
tho noil by the potatoes would bo sufficient for succeeding 
crops until clover could bo plowed under. Last yonr’n po¬ 
tato crop was not satisfactory and we have decided to 
try it again.” The potatoes will be planted iu trenches— 
the name as last year and a heavy dressing of fertilizer 
will be given in two applications. We shall begin work 
with Breed’s weeder a few days after the potatoes are 
planted, and continue Its use at Intervals of a few days 
until tho plants are four inches high. Then tho’cultivator 
will be used until tho plants are too high. Tho potatoes 
will be dug as early in the season as possible and the 
ground worked with t.hoCutaway, and seeded to wheat and 
Timothy. The acre referred to is the one on the hillside 
on which the Mapes fertilizer was used. Wo shall use the 
“ Mapes ” again.. 
Kua RECORDS. —Many poultry-men insist that egg pro¬ 
duction In poultry will be transmitted as surely as butter 
production in the Jersey cattle or milk production in 
Holsteins. So far as we know, few, if any facts, are pre¬ 
sented to prove this statement, which, if true, would en¬ 
able poultry-men to revolutionize their business by 
establishing egg-records similar to those which did 
so much to popularize the Jersey cattle. The R. 
N.-Y, proposes to try a little experiment this year, 
which may prove useful in creating an interest in the 
matter. The best laying hen on the R. N.-Y.’s "Annex” 
farm is a bird apparently of no particular breeding. In 
appearance she seems more like the old Black Spanish 
than auy other breed with which we are familiar. She 
was bought in the New York market in the fall of 188U. 
She began laying about December 1, and since then has 
laid regularly. No careful record has been kept, but from 
the best estimate possible it is concluded that in 180 days 
she laid over 80 eggs. She lias been bred to Wyandotte, 
Patagonian, Dorking and White Leghorn roosters and her 
eggs from all these will be hatched. We are curious to see 
if pullets from her eggs will show her laying powers, and 
also if there will be any perceptible difference between 
her chickens from the White Leghorn and the Dorking. 
It is not pretended that the egg record of this old black 
hen is in any way remarkable. It is tho best we can show, 
however, and we hope that her daughters will be able to 
shame their mother into a better performance. 
Contracts for Sweet Corn.— Farmers near the large 
summer hotels frequently find it profitable to make a con¬ 
tract to supply a certain number of ears each day during 
August and the latter part of July. Varieties must be 
selected that will give a complete succession. One of our 
subscribers in Rhode Island has contracted to supply 850 
to 450 ears per day and has decided upon the following 
seed, to be planted at one time: 
Four quarts of Cory Corn, two quarts of Boston Early 
Market, two quarts of Moore’s Early Concord, two quarts 
of Livingston’s Evergreen, four quarts of Squantum, two 
quarts of llickox, two quarts of Stowell’s Evergreen. 
WHEN AND HOW TO SET OUT PLANTS. 
J. M. SMITH. 
There are but few things in either the market or the 
home garden, that are of more importance than setting out 
plants. If thesoil is a heavy clay, I know of nothing better 
in the way of tools than a good garden trowel. 
My own soil is a light sandy loam, and of course never 
bakes or becomes hard. Hence we seldom use auy tools in 
setting plants. If the soil seems a little heavy for the set¬ 
ter to open it easily with his hands, as it sometimes does, 
we send a man ahead with one of the common four-pronged 
potato-diggers; the ground having been previously pre¬ 
pared and marked, he strikes the prongs of the digger into 
the soil and loosens it, until the setter has no difliculty in 
running his hand down five or six inches deep into the nice, 
mellow earth. What shall we do about the weather f if 
I could have all things as 1 wanted, I would prefer some¬ 
what damp and cloudy weather rather warm than cold, 
but 1 would never set plants in a heavy rain. But as we 
cannot have all things in this world as we would like, we 
have learned to set our plants with splendid success at any 
time when we are ready, with but very little regard to the 
weather, except that we never set any tender ones, like 
tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, etc., when there is danger 
of frost. I n preparing thesoil, it is made about as mellow as a 
bed of ashes. The compost heap is the main reliance for fer¬ 
tilizers. Its contents are generally put on the ground 
after plowing, and harrowed in. Insetting plants people 
make two mistakes that in hundreds and thousands of 
cases are fatal to the final success of the crop. One of 
them is neglecting to press the earth sufllciently close 
around the plant, and the other is, in dry, hot weather neg¬ 
lecting to put on a sufficient quantity of water to get tho 
plants started before the earth around them becomes so 
dry as to prevent them from throwing out new roots at 
all, or if any are thrown out they are so feeble that the 
plants make a feeble growth and never do what we wanted 
and hoped for when we set them. 
Suppose we are setting cabbage plants. The ground is 
in first-rate condition, and marked off both ways. Be 
sure to have it so mellow that the setter can work rapidly 
and well; the man goes ahead with the pronged hoe above 
mentioned. The boy with a basket of plants goes ahead 
of the. setter just far enough to keep out of his way. The 
reason for this is that if it Is a hot, sunny day, it takes 
only a few minutes of hot sun upon the roots of plants to 
damage them very much, even if it does not kill them out¬ 
right. The setter is upon his knees between two rows. 
He picks up a plant in his right hand, and at tho same 
time runs the fingers of his left into the mellow earth and 
opens a space sufficiently wide and deep for the roots of 
the plant. 1 Ie sticks the roots of his plant into the opened 
earth a little deeper than it stood in its original Iwsd. He 
then draws his left hand from the earth which falls back 
to its original postlon. 
Now with both hands closed, and one on each side of the 
plant, I10 presses the earth firmly about tho roots, and In 
so doing makes in the earth around the plant a depression 
that will hold the water in case it is necessary. The whole 
thing is done in an instant, and after a shorj, practice it is 
well done, provided the man is reasonably careful. If one 
is setting strawberry plants, and they are good, the earth 
should bo opened much deeper than for cabbage plants. 
The roots are longer, and should run their entire length 
down into tho new earth. The roots that are upon the 
plant when it is set, do not grow themselves, but must sus¬ 
tain the plant until now ones are formed from which it 
can sustain Itself, and renew its growth. 
A few years since I lost heavily upon some of my straw¬ 
berry beds owing to some careless setters who, when 
neither my sons nor myself were with them, merely opened 
the earth and laid the long, beautiful roots about two or 
three inches deep, and covered them with earth. It came 
on very dry, and I soon noticed that they were suffering 
much worse than there was any apparent reason for, even 
though it was dry. In fact, some of them were dead, and 
many others nearly so. Upon examination I soon found 
the cause of the trouble; but it was too late to repair the 
damages, and tho next season I suffered a loss of hundreds 
of dollars through the carelessness of the men who set 
those plants. Hence the necessity of exercising care and 
watchfulness over those who are setting our plants. Let¬ 
tuce, cabbage and cauliflower plants are about tho only 
liot-bed plants that wo set until we suppose the frosty 
nights are over. They will bo checked for the time in 
their growth, but not permanently damaged by even quite 
heavy frosts after they are set out in open ground. Toma¬ 
to, pepper, sweet potato, egg-plant, and ail kinds of vines 
require a warm soil and warm weather, to enable them to 
do their best. 
We commence setting plants as early in the spring as 
the ground and weather will allow, and continue until 
about the first of August, closing with celery plants for 
our winter supply. During the season we set about 
250,000 plants. For many years past we have paid but 
very little, if any, attention to the weather, setting tho 
plants whenever we got ready. We have set tens of 
thousands of cabbage plants about the middle of July, 
when the dust would fly from the bottoms of the furrows 
while the plowing was being done, and still we obtained 
fine crops of fall cabbage. When plants are set at such a 
time, we rather prefer to do so in the afternoon, and water 
immediately after setting, putting nearly or quite one 
quart of water around each plant. This will wet the earth 
around it so thoroughly that it will generally get started 
before the soil becomes entirely dry, though sometimes 
when the weather has been as hot as it was dry, we have 
had to go over and water the plants a second time. 
I can see no difference in the results whether plants are 
watered morning, noon or evening, except that more water 
will be needed if it be put on during the heat of the day. 
The hot sun and earth combined cause the water to evap¬ 
orate at such times much more rapidly than at evening or 
during the night. 
I am often asked how. much it costs me per 1,000 to set 
plants. Not a great while since, while in company with a 
number of gentlemen, one of them asked me how many 
cabbage plants my men would set per day. I replied from 
5,000 to 8,000 or even 10,000 if we were in a hurry. They 
expressed great surprise, and one of them said; "Mr. 
Smith you cannot mean what you say. You must 
moan from 500 to 800 per day.” I told them no, I meant 
just what I said, and it was strictly true. I have an old 
man at work for me to-day, who has worked for me I do 
not know how many years, and is now about 78 years old, 
and he would set 5,000 plants per day, for week after week, 
ii I wished him to do so, and would do it well. There are a 
number of younger men who would set any one of the 
numbers above named, and do it well. In setting the 
largest number, I refer to cabbage, cauliflower, and celery 
plants. They will not set quite so many strawberry plants, 
and do it well. 
The Farmers Club. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
LKvery query muit be accompanied by the name and address 
of the writer to insure attention. Before asking a question, please 
see if it i*t not answered in our advertising columns. Ask only 
a few questions at one time. Put questions on a separate piece 
of paper. 
North Carolina Sweet Potatoes. 
F. H. D„ Raleigh, N. C.—In a recent number the 
ItORAL promised to give us an issue largely devoted to tho 
sweet potato. I hope the article from New Jersey will not 
be considered a fulfillment of the promise. The true homo 
of the sweet potato is in the South, and it has always been 
incomprehensible to me that the dry, yellow, almost taste¬ 
less variety, principally grown in New Jersey, should not 
have long since given way to the various kinds of greater 
excellence grown from Muryland to California. Tho va¬ 
rieties have so many local names, differing in almost 
every county, that it is difficult to write with precision 
concerning them; but the subject deserves attention. 
Can’t Mr. Munson, or Mr. Massey, who has recently moved 
to Raleigh, or M r. Berckmans give an exhaustive treatment 
of the potato from our standpoint of the .Spanish, the Ber¬ 
muda, the yam (at least six varieties are called the 
"yam”) tho Bahama (corrupted into the "lluymun”) 
etc., etc. Tho sweet potato on the table deserves better 
treatment than it bus received—especially from tho better 
class of cookery books. 
ANSWERED UY W. F. MABBKY. 
To one used to sweet potatoes grown north of the lino 
between North Carolina and Virginia, tho average sweet 
potato raised and sold in North Carolina is a very poor 
article, and I fail to understand the North Carolina preju¬ 
dice against dry sweet potatoes. One coming South who 
is fond of sweet potatoes would naturally suppose that he 
would find here potatoes of the beat quality, as the Boil and 
climate are both favorable for their culture. I was very 
much surprised on coming to North Carolina in early 
autumn to see such uncouth and uninviting things called 
sweet potatoes as are offered in the Raleigh markets. 
Usually no lot offered is composed of less than two or three 
varieties, and none of them have tho smooth and handsome 
appearance of the Virginia-grown potatoes. North Carolina 
people wonder how Northern people can prefer potatoes 
which to them are dry and tasteless. The truth is that the 
Nansemond,Virginia Red Nose and other dry, yellow pota¬ 
toes which are so fine in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and 
New Jersey do get rather more tasteless as we get south of 
Virginia; but even here these dry, hard, yellow potatoes are 
far better than the bulk of the trash raised ami sold in 
North Carolina under the name of sweet potatoes. In the 
Raleigh market the Barbadoea potatoes, or, as the darkles 
call them " Baydoos,” are the popular variety, and every 
dealer claims that his Htock is pure "Baydoes.” Month 
after month I have tried to And out what is tho genuine 
“ Baydoes ” potato, and have tried sample after sample 
only to get potatoes not fit for a pig to eat, and I have con¬ 
cluded that “Baydoes” potatoes are a myth, for nine- 
tenths that are sold under that name are the Dayman or 
Southern Queen, and tho other tenth.is made up of Spanish 
and pumpkin yams. 
After a search I found one grower who had some 
Nansemonds, and it Wiis a relief to get a real sweet potato 
after the nondescript mixture which had been put upon 
me. I used to wonder, when reading the market reports, 
that North Carolina sweet potatoes sold for less money 
than Virginia potatoes. It is because Virginia potatoes 
are better, and North Carolina people allow their prejudice 
against a dry potato to interfere with their growing the 
Nansemond, which, they declare, is good for nothing except 
to feed to hogs or send to Northern people. It is simply a 
matter of local taste and prejudice, caused by the fact that 
the Virginia potatoes get still drier southward. The Hay- 
man or Southern Queen is very poor here, but it rapidly 
improves in quality as we go north, and is, in my esti¬ 
mation, the best potato that can be grown in Piedmont, 
Va., and northward. It is early and very productive. 
It is a little curious that the potato which is dry and corky 
here, is in Central Virginia as soft and sweet as the best 
Norton Yam is here. The Norton Yam is one of tho best 
sweet potatoes I have yet seen in North Carolina, but it 
does uot get good until midwinter, and, in fact, none of 
tho potatoes of which North Carolina people, are so fond 
are fit to eat (to a Virginian) in autumn. The Nausemond 
is vastly superior in autumn to any of tho sorts popular 
here. In the late winter tho North Carolina varieties get 
very sweet and palatable. Their rough and uncouth 
appearance will always prevent any of these potatoes from 
selling in tho Northern market in competition with the 
Nansemond. The Horticultural Department of the North 
Carolina Experiment Station will investigate tho sweet 
potato question with the view of flndlng the variety which 
will suit for shipment and will bo acceptable to tho taste 
of North Carolina people. I fear that I have uot written 
this as Mr. B. desires—from a North Carolina standpoint- 
hut it is from the standpoint of one who was raised in a 
sweet potato country, and who freely admits that he does 
not admire North Carolina potatoes. We have lately found 
a grower not far from ltaleigii who grows a very line 
potato under the name of the Jewell. It is by far the best 
sweet potato I have seen grown in North Carolina, and I 
think is nearly identical with the l’oplar Chunk Potato, 
which is popular in Southern Delaware. There are few of 
the yam class of sweet potatoes that recommend them- 
Belves to one who has been accustomed to the splendid 
potatoes grown on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and 
Maryland. The Spanish potatoes are good and sweet, 
but are not worth growing for market because of 
their unproductiveness and crooked shape. We always 
grew a few of them for home use on the Eastern Shore. 
The potato of all potatoes to an Eastern Shoreman is the 
Red Nose. This is uot a red-skinned potato, as might be 
supposed, but a flue yellow skinned and yellow-flesh 
potato, splashed with brownish red at the top when first 
dug. There is a Southern variety called the Nigger-killer, 
which I ate years ago and found good, and which I am 
testing this year. It has a dark red skin and white flesh 
and is dry and sweet. From the North Carolina stand¬ 
point, which Mr. B. I suppose refers to, the kinds of sweet 
potatoes which the people of that State prefer are the only 
ones worth eating, and they think that every one north of 
them, who prefers a different potato is to be pitied os one 
whose potato education has been neglected. Now I think 
the North Carolina people are perfectly right in growing 
for their own use tho kinds they prefer; but when they try 
to convince other people that those are the best, and ship 
them to the Northern markets, they invariably lose 
money. Therefore if they propose to grow potatoes for 
shipment to tho North, they must grow those that their 
customers like. North Carolina potato growers could 
learn a valuable lesson by visiting the great sweet potato 
growers of Accomoe and Northampton Counties, Va., 
where they could learn how to grow potatoes for market; 
for tho art of doing so is comparatively unknown here, 
though they are grown so largely. The great fault with 
North Carolina growers is their carelessness as to varieties 
oven of tlie.kinds they do grow, as it is almost impossible to 
find any unmixed sorts. Another thing they have not 
learned is that it always pays to cull potatoes. In tho 
Raleigh market little aud big are sold all mixed together, 
and altogether they look very uninviting to one used to 
smoothly grown aud well assorted potatoes. I cannot 
write " from u North Caroliuu stand-point ” about sweet 
