34 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
January 18 
We now had all roupy liens on the far side of the 
brook with eight clean houses and a clean soil on this 
side. The question was, Can we raise any young 
chickens, and keep them from contracting the disease? 
One of the cast-iron rules adopted at the outset is to 
burn every dead bird, or bury it as deeply as one 
would a case of smallpox. Towards spring, a large 
building was set apart for a hospital, into which we 
began putting the worst cases as fast as we discovered 
them. Another rule was that a hen which once went 
into the hospital never should go back among the 
other hens. If she lecovered and got fat. she went to 
the butcher ; if not, she was buried or burned. 
As the hens began to get broody, we had to be very 
careful. If upon examination, a hen was found to be 
all right, we brought her across the brook into one of 
the empty houses, and set her. If she remained 
healthy during the three weeks of incubation, she and 
her chicks were carried across the road and placed 
upon new ground. Every chicken coop which had 
been used the previous season, was thoroughly scalded 
before using. 
It was late before we got started, but we succeeded 
in raising about 600 chicks which have been as healthy 
and thrifty as any I ever saw. 1 have seen only one 
case of roup among them, and that was evidently 
what the doctors w ould call a sporadic case. Except 
a few that died when very young, from getting wet 
and chilled, we have lost only this case and one other 
from this lot of 600, except a few from accident. We 
hatched another small lot of late ones August 1. 
They were put in a couple of houses across the brook 
that had not been fumigated. The result was a 
malignant outbreak of roup among them a few days 
ago. Among the 800 hens in that sec¬ 
tion, 1 have not been able to find a 
single case in five months. o. w. M. 
(To be continued.) 
SOME FAVORITE OLD- 
FASHIONED PLANTS. 
A few weeks ago, on opening the 
door of a neighbor’s greenhouse—an 
old-fashioned affair, by the way—I 
w r as greeted with a well-remembered 
and grateful odor, and knew at once 
that an Olea fragrans was in bloom in 
the house. There are but few more 
desirable plants than this. It is very 
nearly hardy, asking for but very 
little care ; it thrives well from year 
to year, and at this season of the year, 
and lasting for, perhaps, six to eight 
weeks, there are numberless, small, 
white, sweet-scented flowers. It needs 
but to be kept from freezing in the 
winter; but with a little heat, it 
blooms earlier. It is just the thing 
for a cool greenhouse, or a cottage 
window. 
In the same greenhouse and under 
the same conditions of treatment, was 
a little plant of the Magnolia fuscata, 
a Chinese plant, thriving in the South, 
but not hardy here. Where there is a little heat, it 
keeps its leaves all the time, and in late winter pro¬ 
duces brownish-colored flowers of delicious fragrance. 
It is grown a great deal in the South, and its pretty 
green leaves place it among desirable window plants, 
even were it not to flower. 
Still another old favorite was present, but not in 
flower, the Cape Jasmine, Gardenia florida. Unless 
in a quite warm temperature, it does not bloom till 
towards spring. Its flowers are creamy white, sweetly 
odoriferous, double and beautiful. It has rather 
large, bright green leaves. As with the others named, 
it is easily managed, and really asks for but enough 
warmth to keep from freezing. 
Two other plants not often seen in collections, yet 
which seem just suited to this old-fashioned cool 
greenhouse, were the Photinia serrulata and Cerasus 
Lusitanica. The former has handsome foliage and 
white flowers, as also has the Cerasus, and the 
wonder is that they are not grown more than they 
are. True, small plants do not flower, but the foliage 
of both is handsome, and even a little freezing in the 
window, should it occur, would not hurt them. In¬ 
deed, there is reason to think that both are hardy, 
as far north as Philadelphia, at least. 
When it comes to considering plants for their orna¬ 
mental foliage alone, the fine old Magnolia grandi- 
flora should not be overlooked. It is as good in its 
way as the India rubber plant, which is saying a good 
deal. In the South, though hardy there, it is much 
grown in pots and tubs for inside use, because of the 
beauty of its very large, shining green leaves. Should 
it become too large in time, it maybe set out of doors, 
planted in some sheltered place, and, if protected for 
a year or two until its roots get well below the frost 
line, it will have a goad chance of proving hardy, if 
not north of Pennsylvania. 
The common English ivy is a charming plant for 
windows or rooms. But few plants have darker green 
foliage, and this color is maintained in spite of bad 
treatment It may be treated as a vine, trained up 
the sides of the windows and over them, in which 
position it is much admired ; or it may be kept more 
in bush shape. Wire supports to give any shape de¬ 
sired, may be used, as the ivy is very tractable. There 
are dozens of variet es of this plant, small-leaved, 
large-leaved and cut-leaved, and some with variegated 
and others with golden foliage, making in themselves 
a nice collection for a window or a cool greenhouse. 
Pennsylvania. .Joseph meeuan. 
HOW “STRAW POTATOES" ARE GROWN. 
A WESTERN LESSON FOB EASTERN GROWERS. 
Mulch Irrigation; No Cultivating; Big Yield. 
We have had many strange and wonderful stories 
about growing potatoes. Now we have another that 
will take rank with the best. In this great big 
country of ours, there are all sorts of men, markets 
and conditions. No single rule can cover them all. 
The farmers who succeed are those who breed up 
methods of their own, so to speak. They modify the 
general rules of culture, and adapt them to the 
climate, soil, rainfall, market, labor and other special 
conditions of their own section. We wish you to re¬ 
member that in reading about these “straw potatoes,” 
for it does not follow that, because Mr. Miller grew 
his great crop in this way you can do the same. There 
are certaiu things in his method that may be a benefit 
to you, and your business is to pick them out and use 
them. Early in December, Mr. D. F. Miller, of St. 
Clair County 111., sent the photograph that is shown 
at Fig. 10. Here are 512 bushels of Carman No. 3 
potatoes piled up in the barn as they came from the 
field—the product of two barrels of seed. These are 
called “straw potatoes,” and Mr. Miller has giveu us 
the following facts about their culture. The two 
barrels of seed were started from New York on April 
1, and were just one month on the road to Illinois. 
In spite of this long journey, the seed was in good 
condition, and the potatoes were cut to one eye and 
planted May 5. Now let Mr. Miller tell his own story: 
Details of Straw Culture —“ The land drained 
well naturally has the best of subsoil. It was not 
disturbed until May 4, when it was plowed about 
eight inches deep, harrowed and rolled until it was 
in perfect condition. But by this time, it was tramped 
too much to suit me for straw potato ground, so it 
was plowed again, harrowed with a 12-foot harrow, 
teeth up, and drawn by two horses. I have converted 
an old haytedder into a marker which can be set deep 
or shallow by the lever used in setting the tedder. 
It has three four-inch shovels, marking six furrows to 
the round, about three inches deep and three feet two 
inches apart—one row between the horses, and one 
on each side. The seed was cut to one eye, and 
dropped 20 to 22 inches apart. To save drying out, 
the furrows were not made faster than they could be 
dropped. The furrows were at once filled with a 12- 
inch plow drawn by one good horse, going once 
around the row and throwing all the soil between the 
rows on to them. We have no machine that will 
make this ridge as well as the plow, that will not run 
over and injure the rows. 1 aim to have about four 
inches of soil on the seed, and prefer to have the 
ridge slightly flat on the top. 
“The straw was then hauled, using two wagons 
and four men. We make a driveway every 16 rows, 
never turning on the field, but always driving through 
with the empty wagon, making a continuous pile on 
both sides of the wagon t hrough the field and enough 
to cover it evenly without bunching, from six to seven 
inches deep, and never letting the men tramp on the 
ridges while spreading the straw. The straw may be 
spread at any time before the potatoes come through. 
We spent about 1)4 day pulling weeds on this acre, 
going over it at two different times and while the 
weeds were quite small. 
“The yield of this acre or. rather, the yield of two 
barrels of Carman No. 3, was 512 bushels. In this 
field, three acres of new varieties were grown On 
May 3, we planted au acre of Banners, using 5)^ 
bushel*' of seed ; the yield was 390 bushels. The next 
acre was Carman No. 3, and the third acre was planted 
to Carman No. 1. On this acre, we used about 6% 
bushels of seed ; but cut off the seed ends of most of 
them. The yield of Carman No. 1 was 330 bushels. 
The Carman No. 1 did not get the benefit of the late 
rain which came at the eleventh hour and so sparing 
that the digger would throw up soil that had not been 
wet during the entire season.” 
Notes on the Method. —You will see that, briefly 
stated, the system is to prepare the land as well as 
possible, and get the seed planted and covered before 
the soil dries out. Then, at some convenient time 
before the plants appear, the whole field is covered 
about six inches deep with straw. There is no further 
work about it until the potatoes are dug, except pull¬ 
ing b3 7 hand the few weeds that work 
through the straw. Whenever possi¬ 
ble, these straw potatoes are planted 
on a clover sod, and it is better to 
plow both in fall and spring. A deep, 
mellow, well-drained soil is best; but 
in no case should soggy land be used. 
If rains fall between plowing and 
planting, the seed-bed is injured, and 
it would be better to plow the second 
time and have a mellow soil to plant 
in. Mr. Miller says that he plows for 
only one day’s planting (about one 
acre) at a time, and thus gets the seed 
in with as little delay as possible. All 
tramping save what is absolutely 
needed, should be avoided. “ When¬ 
ever a horse steps on a hill of pota¬ 
toes, the damage is a pound of pota¬ 
toes for each step.” 
Mr. Miller says that the R. N.-Y. 
No. 2 potato has, for several years, 
been the standard for straw potato 
growers, but that Carman No. 3 now 
promises to take its place. As com¬ 
pared with No. 1, the No. 3 was two 
weeks later in starting, and was be¬ 
hind in growth of vine all through the 
season, but being later got the benefit 
of the later rains, and thus gave the 
better yield. Speaking of the size of 
the No. 3 and its habits of growth, lie says : 
“I dug and weighed many hills containing from 8 
to 12 potatoes, where the difference in size between 
the largest and smallest potatoes would seldom be 
more than four ounces. I dug two well-measured 
bushels in different parts of the field, taking all that 
were in the row. One bushel contained 92, the other 
95 potatoes. Where one finds potatoes of an unusual 
size, it will be where the vine has set but few tubers. 
1 showed vines at the Belleville Fair, 5% feet long, 
with all the tubers still hanging to them.” 
DOES ASPARAGUS NEED SALT? 
If so, For What Purpose ? 
the questions. 
We have the following question from one of our readers in Ken¬ 
tucky. Will you tell us what you think of it V What is the gene¬ 
ral opinion among growers in your locality ? 
“ Is the preponderance of opinion among the best asparagus 
growers, for or against the use of salt.for profit for that crop 
under ordinary circumstances, and without reference to weed 
killing? If for, how much should be sown on a three-year-old 
patch of two acres? The soil is of ordinary fertility, and no salt 
has been used before.” 
THE ANSWERS. 
Asparagus for market is largely grown by the 
farmers in this vicinity ; in fact, it is one of our chief 
money crops. We are in the town of Oyster Bay, 
and the Oyster Bay brand of “ grass” is the leading 
favorite in the New York market. But salt as a fer¬ 
tilizer for asparagus, is not used by any of our 
farmers, so far as I know ; our proximity to the sea¬ 
side—Long Island Sound—probably renders its ap¬ 
plication unnecessary. I have tried it, however, on a 
part of our beds by way of experiment, but without 
any apparent benefit to the cro(5. Some idea of how 
