86 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  25,  UOO. 
18  cwt.  1  lb.  It  is  clearly  shown  here  that  the  produce  increases 
with  the  sijje  of  the  original  plant  up  to  a  certain  point,  frona  which 
the  gain  is  proportionately  less,  and  consists  of  smaller  and  less 
valuable  Potatoes. 
If  we  take  the  weight  of  1  oz,  sets  to  plant  an  acre  to  he  10  cwt., 
then  the  weight  of  5'4  oz.  sets  the  same  distance  apart  would  be 
2  tons  15  cwt,  or  2  tons  5  cwt.  more,  whereas  the  increased  produce 
is  only  2  tons  2  cwt.  2  lbs.  The  largest  proportionate  gain  is  shown 
by  the  2'6  oz.  sets,  which  require  16  cwt.  more  to  plant  an  acre,  and 
produced  more  by  1  ton  3  cwt.  The  “  Maincrop,”  the  variety  used  for 
these  trials  is  not  a  very  robust  grower,  having  a  large  number  of 
weak  but  tall  and  fairly  e  ect  stems.  We  do  not  consider  it  a 
typical  variety  for  a  trial  of  this  kind,  and  think  that  it  would  do  the 
best  from  seed  of  about  6  oz.  cut  in  two. 
One  useful  lesson  we  may  learn,  which  is  that  large-sized  seed 
will  pay  when  the  seed  is  cheap,  but  under  dearer  conditi  ms  we 
must  practise  economy  by  sparing  the  srts  if  we  have  to  increase 
the  manure  bill.  We  may  be  wrong,  but  we  think  that  if  trials  of 
different  sized  sets  had  been  carried  out  with  three  varieties  instead 
of  one.  the  h  sson  would  have  been  more  instructive. 
Many  Ir  als  were  conduc’ed  with  different  manures,  and  with 
farmyard  versus  artificial  manures.  It  was  proved  that  artificial 
manures  largely  increased  the  crop,  but  not  so  much  so  as  farm5’ard 
manure.  To  use  the  words  of  the  report: — “The  effect  of  farmyard 
manure  showas  clearly  that  the  yield  of  crop  does  not  depend  entirely 
on  the  chemical  ingredients  used,  but  that  the  mechanical  condition 
of  the  soil  influences  the  yield  to  a  large  extent.” 
Sulphate  of  ammcnia,  in  conjunction  with  farmyard  manure  and 
•nperphosphate,  gave  better  results  than  nitrate  ot  soda  under  the 
same  conditions,  and  produced  28|  cwts.  more  saleable  Potatoes  than 
nitrate.  This  we  should  have  expected.  Nitrate  applied  at  planting 
gave  slightly  better  returns  than  when  applied  before  earthing. 
Sulphate  of  ammonia  at  planting  time  would  probably  have  done 
much  better  than  either. 
The  most  curious  results  are  found  in  connection  with  the  uge  of 
potash.  Two  forms  were  applied — kainit  and  muiiate  of  potash. 
Five  cwts.  of  kainit  produced  232  cwt.  less  Potatoes  than  1  cwt.  of 
muriate;  but  2  cwt.  of  muriate  produced  3  tons  less  1  cwt.  All  three 
experiments  were  tried  in  conjunction  with  farmyard  manure* 
nitrogenous  and  pbosphatic  manures.  There  is  something  very 
strange  in  these  results,  and  we  fancy  we  can  account  for  them, 
although  the  Cheshire  authorities  pa«8  them  over  without  remark. 
The  land  on  which  the  trials  were  made  had  been  sown  with  Oats  the 
previous  year,  having  been  in  grass  for  eighty  years,  and  we  are  told 
that  there  was  a  large  quantity  of  old  sod  not  decomposed  when  the 
Potatoes  were  planted.  Thus  with  the  addition  of  muck,  nitrate  and 
super,  the  land  must  have  b^en  in  very  high  condition,  and  the  addition 
of  the  potash  would  make  very  little  difference,  and  especially  the 
kainit,  which  would  not  be  in  a  very  lassimilable  form  ;  but  why 
should  the  increase  of  the  muriate  do  absolute  harm  ?  We  think  this 
miy  be  attributed  to  the  muriatic  acid. 
We  ourselves  some  time  ago  tried  kainit,  4  cwt.  per  acre,  against 
muriate  of  potash,  1  cwt.,  for  Turnips,  and  with  a  view  to  a  succeeding 
crop  of  Potatoes.  A  strip  between  the  two  plots  was  untilled.  The 
kainit  plot  produced  a  slightly  better  crop  than  the  untilled,  but  the 
muriate  jdot  was  far  w’orse;  the  young  plants  were  so  long  coming  to 
the  hoe.  This  we  attributed  to  the  bad  influence  of  the  muriate ; 
but  it  did  not  extend  to  ihe  Potato  crop,  which  was  satisfactory  on 
both  plots.  Thirty  years  ago  we  saw  similar  bad  results  follow  heavy 
applications  of  muriate  of  ammonia  to  Potatoes;  4  or  5  cwt.  per  acre 
was  the  quantity  used,  and  other  fields  were  dressed  with  similar 
quantities  of  sulphate  of  ammonia.  The  effecis  of  the  muriate  were 
so  very  unsatisfactory  that  it  was  never  tried  again. 
Another  interesting  trial  was  that  between  sulphate  of  ammonia 
and  nitrate  of  soda  as  to  their  influence  on  foliagp,  size,  and 
cooking  quality  cf  the  crop.  Sulphate  was  superior  in  producing 
better  haulm  and  size  of  tubers,  whilst  the  cooking  quality  was  very 
good.  Nitrate  produced  very  pasty,  dark-ended  Potatces. 
Three  important  conclusions  may  be  drawn  from  the  trials : — 
1,  Large  seed  is  more  profitable  than  small  seed. 
2,  Care  must  be  exercised  not  to  use  muriate  of  potash  in  too  large 
quantities. 
3,  Sulphate  of  ammonia  is  the  best  form  of  nitrogen  to  apply,  to 
Potatoes. 
The  yield  per  acre  is  less  than  last  year’s  in  almost  every  Potato 
tried. 
We  congratulate  Mr.  Gordon  again  on  the  success  of  such  exhaus¬ 
tive  experiments,  which  must  have  entailed  so  much  labour  and 
trouble. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
The  weather  keeps  mild,  but  is  very  wet,  ard  the  land  is  quite 
unapproachable  with  horses.  Farmers  are  here  and  there  cross-cutting 
their  fallows,  but  the  horses  would  in  most  cases  be  better  in  the  stable. 
The  rain  has  hindered  thrashing,  but  the  smaller  supplies  of  English 
grain  have  done  the  markets  no  good.  We  see  published  statistics 
showing  that  the  visible  supply  of  Wheat  is  larger  than  it  has  been  for 
four  years,  so  there  is  not  much  encburagement  for  farmers  to  hold. 
Lair  for  sheep  on  Turnips  is  very  bad.  Many  flocks  are  now  on 
grass  receiving  a  mixture  of  Swedes  and  Mangold,  with  hay  and  an 
extra  allowance  of  cake.  As  Swedes  are  so  scarce  this  is  good  policy, 
although  the  Turnip  land  will  be  robbed  of  a  portion  of  the  manure. 
Its  mechanical  condition,  however,  will  be  better  for  the  absence  of  the 
sheep  during  such  a  wet  time,  and  possibly  may  fully  compensate  in 
the  Barley  crop. 
Breeding  ewes  on  Turnips  are  a  rare  sight  this  year,  and  we  suppose 
there  will  be  a  fortunate  lambing  season  as  a  consequence.  Preparations 
for  the  lambing  must  soon  be  made,  and  as  we  have  remarked  before,  if 
possible  a  new  site  must  be  chosen  for  the  lambing  yard.  When  the 
farmer  is  fortunate  enough  to  possess  a  roomy  stackyard  it  may  be 
usefully  employed,  if  one  side  has  been  cleared  of  stacks,  as  the  site, 
particularly  if  some  straw  stacks  have  been  placed  in  such  positions  as 
to  give  shelter  from  the  north  and  north-east.  Straw  may  also  have 
been  stacked  in  an  old  seed  field  with  a  view  to  a  lamb  pen,  so  as  to  get 
a  sweet  lair  for  the  ewes.  We  do  not  think  the  same  ground  should  be 
used  for  the  pen  at  less  interval  than  three  years. 
We  do  not  like  the  use  of  foldyards  for  lambing,  but  they  are  useful 
to  have  as  reserves  to  fly  to  in  case  disease  breaks  out  in  the  pen  proper. 
The  small  pens  made  with  thatched  hurdles  should  not  be  massed  too 
closely  together,  as  it  will  only  tend  to  spread  any  infection.  Shepherds 
are  rather  fond  of  having  their  pens  handy,  and  is  quite  natural,  for  it 
saves  running  about,  and  his  duties  are  always  arduous. 
In  spite  of  the  free  use  of  cake  and  other  feeding  materials  cattle 
are  not  doing  very  well.  Butchers  complain  that  they  are  killing  very 
badly,  and  are  often  nearly  approaching  8d.  per  lb.  when  weighed  and 
reckoned  up.  Butter  and  eggs  keep  steady  in  price,  but  hens  will  soon 
begin  to  lay  and  markets  will  soon  be  full.  Fowls  are  still  plentiful 
and  fairly  cheap,  and  will  remain  so  until  game  is  all  consumed. 
Permanent  Improvements. — Every  farmer  should  try  to  make  some 
permanent  improvements  on  his  farm  each  year.  We  have  visited, 
says  the  “American  Agriculturist,”  many  good  farms,  but  never  yet 
saw  one  that  did  not  have  same  places  where  a  little  labour  or  a  little 
money  expended  would  not  either  make  it  more  productive,  more 
convenient,  or  more  pleasant  as  a  farm,  and  more  valuable  if  offered 
for  sale. 
Dairy  Utensils. — In  one  of  the  Year  Books  of  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture  is  a  thoughtful  article  by  Mr.  R.  A.  Pearson 
on  the  selection  of  dairy  utensils,  on  methods  and  appliances  for 
cleaning  and  sterilising  dairy  utensils,  on  the  care  and  cleaning  of 
dairy  rooms  or  buildings,  clothing  of  operators,  and  the  thousand  and 
one  things  to  be  considered  in  successful  dairy  work.  A  great  point 
made  by  the  author  is  the  importance  of  selecting  only  such  dairy 
utensils  as  can  be  easily  cleaned.  He  says,  “  Other  things  being 
equal,  the  more  accessible  the  inside  surface  of  an  article  for  dairy 
use,  the  more  valuable  it  is.  Any  utensil  having  corners  or  parts 
which  cannot  be  reached  with  water  and  a  brush  or  cloth  should  be 
avoided.  A  V3ssel  should  be  discarded  if  it  has  sharp,  angular  corners, 
unless  they  are  absolutely  necessary,  for  they  require  too  much  atten¬ 
tion.  All  dairy  utensils  should  be  of  hard  material  and  have  smooth 
surfaces.  Wooden  pails  should  never  be  used  for  holding  milk,  as  in 
the  surface  of  the  wood  there  are  numberless  small  pores  and  fissures. 
The  joints  and  rims  should  be  made  smooth,  and  the  cracks  entirely 
filled  with  solder.  Cheap  tinware  is  put  together  so  carelessly  that 
the  joints  are  often  rough  and  uneven,  and  little  projecting  points  of 
solder  make  it  difficult  to  move  the  cleaning  cloth  along  the  seams. 
Pails  and  other  circular  tin  vessels  should  have  but  one  seam  on  the 
side  ;  better  ones  are  made  without  a  seam.  In  order  to  facilitate  the 
cleaning  of  the  ou'side  of  u  ensils,  they  should  be  so  finished  that  every 
part  can  be  easily  reached  by  water  and  cloth.  The  ou’side  of  tinware 
should  be  finished  as  smoothly  as  the  inside,  and  all  wood  apparatus 
should  be  carefully  finished  on  the  outside,  being  made  smooth  and 
having  as  few  projecting  nuts,  rods,  and  braces  as  possible.” — 
(“  American  Cultivator.”) 
