02 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
March, 
fourteen years, (saving the length of the tines,) are as 
good as ever. 
I wrote you in the fall in regard to the potato rot. I 
am now confirmed in the belief that the rot was not 
one-twentieth as bad in ’46 as in ’45, in this state, and 
I feel encouraged that it will not be known, with us, to 
any extent the coming year. Fearing I should have to 
take my potatoes from my cellar, as I had to do a year 
since, the whole of them were put in unsorted ; they 
have this day been sorted, and not one bushel in a hundred 
were found defective. They are the Chenango, or Mer¬ 
cer, Hill’s Early, and St. John’s. My “White blue- 
noses,” from Robbinstown, all sound, and as usual, none 
better. The latter give a poor yield, are quite early, 
and very fine as an early or unripe potato. 
I saw Mr. Sotham’s fine field of Swedish turneps 
last fall. They were all he says of them, and I can 
commend the culture of them on his practice, with his 
skill; but as Mr. Stevenson may have no “ Sothams” in 
his region, I would suggest he tries, in common with 
Mr. S.’s practice, the following: 
Let a piece of |ward land be broken up soon after the 
grass is taken from the ground in mid-summer. Cross¬ 
plow it in about a month after the breaking up, when 
the sod will be found quite rotten. Let it lay a fow 
days till it is dry and crumbly, then harrow, and put on 
twelve loads of good rotten manure to the acre; plow 
it in, and let it remain till the following June. At that 
time plow it; then harrow with a light harrow; ridge 
it as close as convenient, with a horse and plow; rake 
the top of the ridges, and sow 2 lbs. of seed to the acre 
on the ridges, with a drill barrow. When up, and in 
the third leaf, weed and thin the plants to four inches 
distance. Before the weeds get an inch in height, 
weed again, and leave the plants from four to eight 
inches distance; keep them free from weeds, and the 
yield will be great. Or, if desirable, the land being in 
order, you can sow the Norfolk turnep, from (with us,) 
the 10th of July to the 20th of August—quantity of 
seed, a common thimble full to two rods of land, evenly 
sown. Roll the land after sowing. Sow after the har¬ 
row, broadcast, and let them take their chance, and the 
yield, if a favorable season, will be about 300 bushels 
to the acre. In the last method there is no weeding, 
and consequently a great saving of labor. 
Allen Coffin’s account of fruit-growing at Martha’s 
Vineyard, and the growing of the finest fruit by Mr. 
Tudor, at Nahant, shows that no one should despair. 
It can be grown with skill on the Nahant rocks, and 
on the sandy barrens of the Vineyard, open to the 
boisterous winds of the Atlantic. 
I have no faith in stifling borers while in the tree. 
Many mistake the hole which they come out of for their 
entrance. Diligent search, and with a piece of wire, 
bearded at the end, run into the hole of their en¬ 
trance, which is generally indicated by its pumice-like 
borings, and with a practiced ear and eye, they may be 
drawn out. An easy method of extirpation would be 
of immense benefit to the country. 
Thorough draining and subsoil plowing are in their 
infancy in this country; but their good effects have been 
proved with us. I have laid some drains thus: Main 
drain three feet deep and three feet wide, filled with 
stones placed on the bottom edgewise; chestnut rails, 
6 inches in diameter, two courses, on the stones, and 
then the ditches filled up with quite small stones to half 
of the depth; then covered with the inverted sod, and 
filled up. The other drains were dug two and a half 
feet deep, and filled as the main drain except with one 
rail. I have also drained my lands in a measure, by 
digging the trenches for my walls deep, filling in with 
small stones and placing my wall on them; the walls 
stand better, and these drains, I think, will never get 
filled or choked. They are quite economical. 
The Orange Quince is the only one I know of worth 
growing; the others are a leathery indigestible fruit. 
The swine at the Massachusetts Hospital, Worces¬ 
ter, which are permitted to live, grow finely. This 
we have witnessed together. The true Mackay breed 
will still take the lead. Norfolk. Mass. Jan. 1847. 
The Jerusalem Artichoke. —Your notice of Jeru¬ 
salem artichokes, in the December number of the Culti¬ 
vator, causes me to say to you, that I can furnish any 
one who might want the article, with a few barrels, at 
$4 per barrel, delivered in Norfolk, Va. By the four 
or five barrels the price could be reduced to $3.50. I 
commenced the cultivation of artichokes in a very small 
way, in ’45, and more largely in 46, and from their har¬ 
dy and productive quality, have but little doubt they 
will prove a very profitable crop for stock—especially 
for hogs. I design to plant them in a peach orchard— 
turn hogs upon them when ripe, and let them remain 
until April. In this way the trees would be cultivated 
by the rooting, and the fruit, no doubt, would be more 
perfect, and free of worms, as the latter would be 
thrown to the surface, to perish by cold, or be devoured 
by birds, as well as swine. I think it probable enough 
roots would be left in the earth, to save the trouble of 
re-planting from year to year, if hogs were not suffered 
to remain on them too long. Jno. R. Todd. Near 
Smithfield, Isle of Wight Co. Va., Jan., ’47. 
To get Subscribers to an Agricultural Paper. 
—Take one yourself, and be sure to read it, and ponder 
well upon its contents. When you find an article in it, 
from which you can draw a hint whereby your own ope¬ 
rations can be aided, or your system of doing things im 
proved, take that hint and carry it out in the manner 
best adapted to your necessities, so that your neighbors 
may see the benefit you derive from reading and reflec¬ 
tion. 
Do not condemn your paper because you find many 
things in it not immediately calculated for your soil and 
climate. Remember the object of the Editor is, “ the 
greatest good to the greatest number,” of your profes¬ 
sion; therefore what will most directly benefit you may 
not in the least aid others, and yet he may often give 
you information of universal practical value. A short 
article may often be of more value to the mass of read¬ 
ers than twice the subscription price, so that you may 
often get your money back again, and secure a vast 
amount of valuable information with regard to other 
farmers’ management, in the bargain. 
When yom meet a brother farmer, do not begin to 
talk politics, mutter over the Mexican war, nor enter 
very deep into the particular guessing of your neigh¬ 
bors’s doings, but let the vein of your discourse be on 
some topic relating to improvements in agriculture, or 
farming, if the term suits you better. Show clearly and 
conclusively that the advancement of your profession is 
a primary object, in your estimation. Remember that 
men make professions honorable and give them import¬ 
ance, while mere profession never made a man in the 
world; much less has it put one idea into a brainless 
scull. 
After you get your neighbors waked up a little on 
the subject of talking about farming, tell them the ad¬ 
vantages of papers devoted to the subject; then enlist 
an energetic individual in each school district in your 
place, to go over that district and get subscribers for 
the paper of your choice. But if you find a man who 
subscribed last year, that draws a long breath, and says 
he “ don’t see much use in them,” go along and leave 
him; the sooner you get out of the atmosphere of an in¬ 
dividual who has received such a paper one year, and 
found no benefit in it, the better. You may conclude 
that he has not read it, or if he has, it has been in so 
