192 THE CULTIVATOR. June, 
food which causes them to produce most largely. 
That which makes rearing stock grow and thrive fast¬ 
est, that which makes feeding beasts or sheep fatten 
most quickly, and that which makes milking beasts 
milk most profusely, and for the longest time, is the 
most profitable kind of food. 
The principle of continuous feeding is especially ap¬ 
plicable to milking cattle. For if the milk be suffered 
to fall off. it cannot be brought fully to return, like the 
fattening propensity; and if, during the interval be¬ 
tween the cessation of the milk and calving, the state 
of constitution which promotes the flow of milk decline, 
it requires a long period to bring out the full effect of 
the liberal food given afterwards, and the cow never 
yields so largely as she otherwise would have done. 
It is always profitable to grow on land a succession 
of nutritious food for all stock kept on it. But in those 
cases where the natural produce of the land is deficient 
in richness, or where much straw, in proportion to 
other forage is grown, or where the casualties of sea¬ 
son cause crops of cattle food to be deficient, it is 
always advantageous to add a portion of artificial 
strong food, such as cake, or corn, or linseed, to the 
food of animals, whether rearing, feeding, or milking 
stock. 
Smoking Potatoes for the Rot. 
I have been informed by a gentleman of ray acquaint¬ 
ance, that he had stopped his potatoes from rotting by 
smoking them. After the potatoes were dug and pla¬ 
ced in the cellar, (an out door cellar,) he built asmoke 
and continued it eight or ten days, when the affected 
part dried up, and the rest of the potatoe remained 
sound and good through the winter. The remedy was 
discovered by placing fire in an unfinished cellar, to 
prevent the vegetables from freezing—immediately af¬ 
ter which it was found that the potatoes had stopped 
rotting. He says he has tried the experiment for two 
or three years past, and has never known it to fail of 
arresting the disease immediately. 0. P. K. Green 
Bay, Wisconsin , 1849. 
Preservation of Wood. 
. Some experiments made in England show that soak¬ 
ing wood in lime-water effects its preservation to a re¬ 
markable degree. A house was erected forty years 
ago, in which Scotch fir was used for timbers. A por¬ 
tion of the timber was soaked in lime water, and a 
portion used without such preparation. The former is 
still sound, while the latter is much eaten by worms, 
which, as is well known, usually destroy this kind of 
wood in a few years. The method of saturating the 
wood is described as follows: u In preparing wood for 
the purposes of building saw it into such lengths 
as the occasion demands; next, plunge the planks or 
beams into a pond of lime-water. The pond is made 
thirty or forty feet long, five or six feet deep, sixteen 
or eighteen feet wide; and the bottom and sides are 
rendered water-tight. It is then filled with cold water. 
Before receiving the wood, a quantity of fresh-burned 
hot lime is thrown into the pond, which is well-stirred 
with the water to dissolve as much as possible of it. 
Into this strongly impregnated solution of lime-water, 
the wood, in the various shapes it has been sawn into, 
is then thrown. As lime-water absorbs carbonic acid 
from the atmosphere, the lime previously held dissolved 
in the water becomes insoluble, and is slowly abstract¬ 
ed from the water, and deposited at the bottom in a so¬ 
lid state, as mild lime or carbonate of lime; hence the 
necessity of now and then throwing in fresh portions of 
recently calcined lime, that the water may be resatura¬ 
ted with the strongest solution of this caustic alkaline 
earth.” 
The timber remains in the water from two to three 
weeks. The lime is absorbed by the pores of the wood, 
and appears to destroy the albuminous and saccharine 
principles, or so changes them that the wood no longer 
affords the food on which worms subsist. The slight 
petrifaction which the wood thus undergoes, prevents 
air and moisture from penetrating it, and renders it al¬ 
most indestructible. It should be thoroughly seasoned 
before it is used. 
Experiment with Potatoes. 
Eds. Cultivator —If you think the following ac¬ 
count of an experiment on a small scale, worthy a 
place in your columns, it is at your service. 
About the 22d of May last, I planted in my garden 
four hills of potatoes, three feet apart, at the corners 
of a square, thus:— a b 
c D 
In each hill was placed about a pint of charcoal dust, 
with no other manure. Two potatoes were cut in two 
lengthwise, and half off each potato put into each of 
the hills A and B. Two other potatoes were divided 
between hills C and D in the same manner. This was 
done that the seed in A and C might be as near like 
that in B and D as possible. 
June 13th—The potatoes were hoed, and manured 
with a compost of one part guano, one part charcoal 
dust, and three parts earth, which had been mixed 
three or four days, and stirred several times during 
that period,—a handful of the compost being hoed into 
each hill. 
June 20th—The stalks being from six to ten inches 
high—the end of every stalk and twig of hills B and D 
was picked off, those of hills A and C being left un¬ 
touched. The number of stalks in A and C was pre¬ 
cisely the same as the number in B and D. They 
were hoed twice more, but no more manure was ap¬ 
plied. 
About the 20th of July, the ends were again broken 
from every stalk and twig of hills B and D—-A and C 
being left untouched, as before. A few of the leaves 
dried up during a drouth in the latter part of summer; 
no symptom of disease appeared, however. The vines 
dried gradually, and on the 12th of October the pota¬ 
toes were dug, washed, and when dry, weighed. No 
diseased ones were found. The potatoes have been 
preserved to the present time, without any appearance 
of disease. They are of an irregular shape, yellow, 
with pink eyes; the name of the variety I do not 
know. 
The potatoes from A and C, weighed 6 lbs. 9| oz., 
those from B and D, 7 lbs 1 oz. The largest potato 
from A and C weighed 7 oz.; three from B and D, 
weighed 8 oz. each. Those from A and C measured 
just half a peck, heaped measure; those from B and D 
a little more. A and C produced 33 potatoes, only 
four of which weighed less than 1 oz. each; B and I) 
produced 37 potatoes, only five of which weighed less 
than 1 oz. each. 
The only difference in the treatment of the two pairs 
of hills consisted in topping the vines of one pair, and 
leaving the other untouched. The result can afford no 
aid in the decision of the question whether topping the 
vines will prevent decay, as no decayed potatoes were 
found in any of the hills; and indeed, not in this region, 
as far as the writer’s knowledge extends. The treat¬ 
ment may, however, have a tendency to increase the 
crop. The hills not topped produced at the rate of 
3024 bushels to the acre, allowing a square yard to 
each hill; while the hills topped produced 1- 14th more, 
or 324 bushels to the acre. Whether the extra 21$ 
bushels would pay for the extra labor, is a question. 
The end might be partially secured by mowing the tops 
twice during the season, before the vines begin to fall 
