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Devoted to Agriculture, Horticuture,; Mechanibs and the TJsefiil .Arts.
-VOLUME   VI.
RICHMOITD, . A.TJC|TTST,   1867-
NUMBEB VIII.
.-■-.ti
%\i Indiana farmer:
EDITED.B-S- ;
P. Holloway, and "W. T.
Dennis.
'. TERMB   OP  THE .FARMER..        -
O ne Copy, per volume  50 Cents.
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.   ,;      -HOLLOWAY fc CO..
Publisher! Indiana Farmer, Richmond, Ind.
iV -
■ '-    TERMS   OF   ADV.ERTISINQ:
Advertisements wlll.be inserted in this sheet for ten
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Labor-saving Tools and Methods.
-If any of our.readers should desire to
T- k**ow liQ***_that princeof scientific farmers,
Prof." J. ji Mapes, p^ce«d*1n;hii:S^A>
tions, they may read tbo following. We
cannot say that his practice will, at the present time, suit the farmers of Indiana, but
they may learn something from it, nevertheless:    -';
"In former numbers we have devoted
much space to descriptions. of' improved
tools, and generally in connection with their
modes pf use. We continue, however, to
receive great numbers of letters, asking
questions in relation to processes embracing
the use of these' tools, and we now propose
tb recapitulate. our methods of cultivating
st-vt-i.. of the crops, so far as relates to im-
p     e*  tools and their uses.
V Potatoes.—The soil is first prepared by
the use of the Digging Machine, which
leaves it thoroughly disintegrated to a depth
of 16 inches, reversing only the upper 5
inches, which, by the operation of the Digger, is much disturbed and thoroughly
mixed. In this, of course, is the phosphates, or other manures used. We then
strike out our rows with a double-mould-
board plow, to a depth of 9 inches from the
top of its own furrow, being 6 inches from
the level of the soil. In these rows we
place the potatoes, and then cover with a V
of wood, made of two pieces of plank 4 feet
long; the open part of the V towards the
horse, and the point of the V removed so as
to leave an open space. This drags-in both
furrows left by the two-way plow covering
the potatoes, nnd leaving the whole surface
of the field flat. Should any weeds appear
between the rows before the potato plants
are above ground, Knox's Horse Hoe should
be run through between them, so set as to
peel two inches off the surface-soil, which
being "carried over the centre V of steel, and
comb attached, will leave all the weeds on
the surface to be destroyed by the sun's
heat. As soon as the potato plants are
above ground, and the whole surface free
of weeds, a small Lifting Sub-soil Plow
should be passed to full depth half-way between the rows. This will render the
whole soil to the potato-row soft, and each
plant loose in its bed, withont abrading its
roots. No other • cultivation will be required than running the Horse Hoe between
the rows as often as any weeds may appear,
and thus keeping tlie ground, clean, and its
immediate surface all free-in texture. As
soon as the potato plants blossom, .this operation may be discontinued, as no further
disturbance of the soil is then proper. By
this mode of fiat cultivation, and by* the use
of 500 lbs. of nitrogenized super-phosphate
of Lime to the acre in one part of our farm,
and 600 lbs. of potash super-phosphate ot
Lime in another part, we last year raised
250 bushels of Mammoth Nutmeg Potatoes
per acre. One-third of-the manure was applied in the drill at the time of planting one-
third at' the time nf first disturbance with
the Horse-hoe, and the remainder at the
time of second disturbance.      „,....;.•.-*•''''■
'' Mode of Gathering the Crop.—The Potato Digger, made like a two-way plow, the
mould-boards being in ribs, open at their
rear, and extending a long way back, fso as
to form gradually inclined planes, may be'
used with a team straddling the row, while
the Digger passes beneath it. If this tool
be properly constructed, every-potato will
b§ (*faised, f"pe f~~pin soil, and; *§jep-i*-ite^ra^.
the side, so as to" bei'easily' gSthtSeuf ,n'~,''',;"''
' "Carrots and Parsnips—Preparation of
the Seed-—Place the seeds in . a bag, and
'bury it in moist soil; examine it every few
Jays, and when the seeds are found to be
wollen.4hey are ready for use. Mix them
with dry sand, and sow from a seed drill in
rows 18 inches apart. They should never
be placed more than halt an inch beneath'
the surface, or they will rot and not grow.
If much less than half an inch, they may be
baked by the sun's heat. Before sowing,
they should be mixed with a small quantity
of Long Scarlet Radish seed, which will
germinate in 48 houis, and mark the rows.
"Preparation of tlie Soil before Seeding.:
—This should be extremely thorough. If
the field has been previously sub-soiled, the
Digger is used.* ; If not it is deeply surface-
plowed, following the furrow with a lifting
sub soil plow drawn by a separate team,
thoroughly disintegrating the sub-soil to 12
inches below the bottom of the surface-
plowed furrow. After this treatment the
land is harrowed and rolled before seeding,
but when prepared by the Digging-machine
neither harrowing or rolling is necessary.
"Cultivation ofthe Crop.—Should any
weeds appear between the rows, before the
Carrots are above ground, the rows being
clearly discernible by the Radishes will enable the farmer to use the Carrot Weeder,
drawn by one horse or mule. This is a V
of steel, attached to a beam whieh passes
two or three inches beneath the surface, to
the whole width of the space between the
rows, leaving every weed with its root exposed' on the surface of the soil, to be wilted
by tbe sun. The leaves of the Radishes
shade the Carrot seed, and permit very
shallow sowing. The long tap-root of the
Radish supplies moisture; the • pulling of
Radishes gives full disturbance of - the soil
in the rows. If the Radishes are not wanted, they may be destroyed in place by
Eassing a light roller over them, so as to
urst their crowns. - This may be done as
soon as the Carrots show themselves at the
surface of the soil. The roller will not injure the Carrots, but will cause the decay
of the Radishes, and thus supply to Parsnips or Carrots the necessary amount of
moisture, food, -fee.   As soon as the Carrots
,* X'UsDIki}.*.   ast;.   Itlss.j. u..,tiiii..»u,  *..'    ,..-,
a clearly visible, tho Lifting Sub-soil Plu
(uethorije) should be-, passed between t!
iws'A Tliis treatme.it will not only rem  r
, ie soil fine, but also lift thc, rows half.
.ch.br less, as if .a mole were running 1\
aath"** them.    This lifting  being from   a
<-pth:iof Ii inches by upward tendemy
'ill.loosen the soil about the roots with ui
orading them.   The after, cultivation < on-
■ts'siutyl-' thHhinning the Carrots or P.. '
. lips, if-'necessary, and in running the Oa .
.tOleairer between the rows, so as to kei-
le'fsurfuce entirely free from weeds.   B
*r«Hinj» the methods described, the cnl'
vatl"'"~ of an Acre of roif* is no more exp-  -
sive'b' trn*ib'-»inme tl an lint of cultiva ng
an acre of corn.-.-•
;' ".Gathering the Carrot Crop.—Run a sur-
faciplow, wuli the land-side one or twu
inches from the first row in the field. Then
follow with a Lifting Sub-soil Plow, the
team straddling the row, and this plow ap
•died to the.opposite side of the row. They
.vill thus 1)4 lifted and so upset that thej
janiWviSly picked up without the use ot
th-^spSfftsor'ft.ii\ti'~Ijv-most.toils the sub-
soil.plojr alone may be used for tills purpose, but if .the soil be very hard and clayey,
the surface-plow will be required to turn off
a heavy fuifrow every third row; the rest of
tlie work being done by the sub-soil plow.
By such nieans we raised last year a thousand bushels of Carrots to the acre, and a
still larger amount of Parsnips. Being near
a large market, our Radishes nsed in the
rows were pulled and sold for a sum greater
than'tha Nvhole expense of manure and cultivation*'
"Berls.—These may be cnltivjited in the
same Manner as has been described for Carrots asp Parsnips; the only difference being
tliapireparation of the seed, and the ab-
sencei"f.the necessity of Radish seed being
sown hfttween them. Beet seed being contained'in shells, in pairs, should be slightly
soaked, unless the ground be moist at the
time of sowing. This will assist their germination. The after cultivation should be
simil.Tlr to that detailed above.
■- Oorn.—In striking out for Corn, after
the usual general preparation of tho land,
we tie the Lifting Sub-soil Plow, run to the
full <?epth, and in two directions, so that the
interjections mark the places for the hills,
and leceive double disturbance.   AVe then
use i n ordinary Cow Planter, and proceed
iu tlia after cultivation as follows: When
the ] lants are two inches high, we run a
smal Lifting Sub-soil Plow, drawn by one
hors C half-way between the hills in one
direi tion.    As soon as weeds appear, or in
in tme'to prevent them from so doing, j
Knox's Horse  Hoe is used ; thus keeping I
the ground disturbed and clean of weeds,
running it in the same direction as the small
Subsoil Plow first used.   After a few days
shall havo elapsed, run the small Lifting
Sub-soil Plow between the hills in the other
direction, and soon after use Knox's Horse
Hoe ai' before, but following the direction
of dfe' last Sub-soil Plow.   The Com should
notjbe hilled, but the surface of the ground
| ought frequently to be disturbed, and kept
entirely free from weeds by the use of the
Horse Hoe.   If the Corn-hills be in straight
lines, this instrument may be ran so close
as to'do away with the necessity of the use
ofthe hand-hoe.   We raised last year 110
bushels of shelled Corn to the acre by such
treatment. The above crops were fertilized
with either nitrogenized or potash Superphosphate of Lime ; one-third-being applied,
at the time of planting or sowing, and one-
third at the first, and the remainder at the
second disturbance of the soil—the phosphates being previously mixed for two days
with five or six times their bulk of damp
soil.- . ' J .'■'.-•■
"Cabbage, Lettuce, and every kind of garden and field crop, may be treated similar
to the above; but in'soils habitually wet,
this economic mode of treatment cannot be
readily pursued. In such cases thorough
drainage is necessary, as sub-soil plowing is
seldom effective in wet soils. The different
tools referred to" may bo seen on our place
on Saturday of each week. • With the foregoing facts clearly established in our practice, we feel constrained to advise those of
our readers who live near large markets,
where Carrots, Beets, Parsnips, Potatoes,
&c, may be sold in almost unlimited quantities, that such' crops will pay much larger
profits than those whish'are usually denom- '■
mated staple crops, such as Corn. Wheat,
Rye," Oats, &<#'**nd;even^thosa' who* -f'r*--i
not near large markets should: grow so much
of roots as they can feed judiciously. The
dairy-man and cattle-breeder may winter
animals with larger profit by raising a fair
proportion of root crops. Indeed, half the
Corn and half the Oats now fed to cattle
might be replaced with Carrots, to their
manifest advantage, and with greater profit
to the owner; while milch-cows and fatting
oxen will consume profitably large amounts
of Beets, Ruta Bagas, &c~
" The English Farmer and cattle-breeder
always express surprise at our mode of
feeding, for they know well that should
they pursue a similar course, and repudiate
the use of roots, as many of our farmers do,
they could not continue the labors of their
profession and be fully remunerated."
Working Farmer.
Origin of the
Neshannock
Potato.
or Mercer
Thk following interesting piece of information is contributed to the Prairie Farmer,
by R. Buchanan, Esq., of Cincinnati. We
hope that those who read Mr. R.'s article,
will hereafter call this valuable potato by its
right name:
•■ It is a seedling of Western Pennsylvania, from, tbe banks of Neshannook Creek,
in Mercer county—hance its name.. I am a
native of Western Pennsylvania, and have
been familiar with this potatoe from boyhood. It was first made known about fifty
years ago, and was so highly valued that
many persons took it over the mountains in
their saddle-bags, on horseback, for seed.
In that way it was also introduced into the
vicinity of Pittsburgh, by the late Wm Anderson, who got it from the farm where it
originated.
"In the year 1792, a settlement was made
on the waters of the Shenango, Neshannock,
and Mahoning, principally by Scotch-Irish.
The soil and climate were favorable to the
growth of potatoes, and those from that region soon became celebrated—especially tho
new-seedling, the Neshannock."