THE CULTIVATOR. 
Jure 
two furrows in each row; hoed as before, and 
then took three pecks of unleached house ashes 
and put on the side of each hill as before, except 
the two rows, and this was all that did to them. 
The two rows that I did not put anything on, 
looked qnite sickly and yellow, and the tops were 
about 12 to 15-inches high. The other tops were 
very large and rank ; some of them three feet long. 
I commenced digging the fourth week in October, 
and dug the.two rows that I put nothing on first, 
and got three bushels and a half and three quarts, 
all told. The next two rows that I plastered and 
ashed, nine bushels and a half and five quarts, 
making more than two-thirds difference in the two 
rows. I dug from the piece, two hundred and 
fourteen bushels of the best potatoes-that I ever 
dug—not one but what was sound. The small 
potatoes that I planted gave as much to the hill as 
the large ones, but more small ones in the hill. 
The large potatoes gave me laTge- potatoes again. 
This is the first of my book farming. I intend to 
try again, and will tell you what luck I have. J. 
F. Hopkins. Catharines, March, 1853. 
well turned in, will put the land in good condition 
for -winter wheat or rye. L. Hine. Cairo, N. 
Y., Feb. 1853. ■■ 
Ashes, Lime, &c., for Corn. 
I tried an experiment on my corn last summer, 
with ashes, lime and plaster, and was so well satis¬ 
fied myself, I thought, perhaps, you might think 
it worth a place in your paper. I mixed equal 
quantities of slaked lime, ashes and plaster r and 
put about a gill on a hill, when the corn first came 
through the ground. 
When putting on the ashes, &e., I left four rows; 
and when the corn was harvested. I kept these 
rows separate, and took two vows on each side of 
the four and husked them separately. The differ¬ 
ence ofyield in favor of that which was ashed, &c., 
was at the rate of about ten bushels to the acre. 
The difference hi color could be seen all summer, 
as far as the rows cowl d^be distinguished. Henry 
S. Bunt. Norway , Herkimer c&., N. March 
10, 1853. -— 
Directions for Cultivating Seedling Potatoes. 
Extermination of Weeds. 
My thoughts, and to some extent my labors, 
have been brought into action during a few of the 
past seasons, for the purpose of devising some ef¬ 
ficient method to ‘ i kill out yr those soil impover¬ 
ishing weeds, which, by careless culture and 
thriftless management, have nearly over run some 
of the farms with which I am acquainted. It is 
not uncommon to see whole fields bearing such a 
Crop as mullens, for instance, as would have been 
creditable to the owner, had Iiis ground produced 
as great a burthen of Indian corn T Nor is the 
mullen alone entitled to such pre-eminence; for 
other weeds arc occupying the ground, and usurp¬ 
ing the nourishment from the soil, which ought to 
be applied to better purposes. . 
In. my efforts, I have had in view more parti¬ 
cularly, that most noxious plant called yellow 
weed, negro weed, snap dragon, and other “ hard 
names.” It is, I believe, considered by farmers 
in this region, the greatest dread of all the weedy 
tribe. It commonly grows in thick patches, has 
a small stalk from twelve to eighteen inches in 
height, and at its top has a rich cluster of gaudy 
yellow blossoms. Its seeds are thin and light, 
like those of the parsnip—small, and of dark co¬ 
lor. It is presumed that a smart gust of wind 
will carry them a fourth of a mile. Thus it 
spreads. 
I do not, however, fear the enemy when he 
shows his front in the open field; but when he for¬ 
tifies himself by stone walls, or ledges of rock, or 
extends his lines along the road side, I admit him 
to be aTormidale foe. 
But how to subdue him is the question. My 
method to extirpate this and other weeds, is to 
sow buckwheat as early as I dare—on account of 
frost—and as soon as it becomes fully blossomed 
plow it under, and sow with buckwheat a second 
time, covering the seed with a “bush,” lest the 
harrow should drag out the green crop. If the 
land is in “ good heart,” this crop maybe har¬ 
vested at about the usual time; if not, plow un¬ 
der again, and sow wheat or rye. These three 
successive plowings, together with the vigorous 
growth of the wheat, will do as much toward 
effecting the object, as any method which I have 
tried; and if the two crops of buckwheat are 
1. ■ Soak the seeds in lukewarm water six or 
eight hours, then mix them with sand or fine 
earth, to give them body, so that they may he 
sown thinly and evenly. Sow in as clean ground 
as possible, or you will lose them in weeding. 
Cover lightly, and press the earth upon the seeds, 
marking the exact place of the rows very accu¬ 
rately. Potato seed, if well saved, is very sure, 
but slow in sprouting. They will be fit to weed 
the first time, in from three to four weeks. Sow 
different sorts separately. Give the whole ground 
of your bed to them. 
2. Sow m Central New-York the middle of 
April; but earlier farther south. Transplant in 
six weeks. The plants are as hardy as tomatoes, 
and may be transplanted similarly, taking earth up 
with them when you can, and having first har¬ 
dened them to the air before removal. Shield 
them from the hot sun with any large leaves or 
shingles, nntil they get rooted. Transplant into 
a fair soil, but not a rich one, as a moderate 
growth is stronger than a rapid one. Use a hand¬ 
ful of rich compost about the young plant, to 
give it a start. 
3. If sown in Central New-York use a moderate 
hot bed, or sow as late as May 10th in a cold bed 
under glass. Farther south, sow out of doors as 
you would cabbage. 
If you sow under glass, be sure to shade from 
the hot sun in the middle of the day. Do this 
with straw sprinkled lightly over the glass, or 
with narrow boards. Begin before the seed are 
up, and continue as long as they are in close beds. 
Out of doors this is not usually needful. Few 
plants suffer so much from hot sun as young pota¬ 
toes. 
4. In transplanting, prepare your ground by 
deep plowing. Lay off your furrows three feet 
apart. If possible, run a small sub-soil plow 
through the bottom of your furrow, to give 
depth to your culture. Place your plants two 
feet apart in the row, and but one plant in a place. 
Do not use poor plants if you have a tolerable 
supply. Set your plants a little deeper than they 
grew. 
5. As soon as they take root, hoe, and hoe and 
plow frequently until they are in flower, after 
which do nothing more than superficially hoe up 
