Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1838-04-25

mo s he ton. being transferred to the bot
TONI and he thinks that on this princi-
ple. the cutting Of the haulm early would
be beneficial to the crop Of potatoes. @@.-
. We think there must be fallacy in this
mode of reasoning. Numberless expert
ments. and The united opinion of all writer's
on vegetable physiology, go TO establish
the fact, that the farinaceous or nutritive
matter of plants is prepared IN the stem &
leaves, and deposited in the receptacles
which nature has provided, for instance,
the kernel of wheat, and the tuber OF the
potato. If such is the case, the stem ofthe
potato must be essential to its perfection;
and this view of the matter is established
by the fact, that when the loot becomes
ripe, the stem being no longer wanted for
the purpose Of preparing nutriInrnt, per-
ishes of itself But in addition to the rea-
| sons here assigned, experiments have been
| instituted for the purpose OF putting the
question at rest. In the British Husband
| nv it is stated that,
Cutting off The haulm or straw at diff
ferent stages of its growth, has been found
to occasion a deficiency in the crop, in ex-
act proportion 10 the earliuess Of the cut
ting. 1t was also prejudicial to the quail
ty fthe root; for the tubers continue to i'm
prove till the items begin 10 decay, but be-
come stationary the moment they are de-
prived OF it, and consequently do not arrive
10 perfection either in size or nutrltlve prop
critics. Thus by an experiment tried by
DR.. Anderson, land reported in the fourth
volume of the Bath Agricultural Society
papers, upon plants upon which the stems
were cut from the ed of August 10 the 5th
of September the loss in produce from
the August cutting was very great; and
that from the September cutting was cal
culated at not less than 90 bushels an acre.
When the cutting is deferred until about
the time the stems show symptoms of de-
cay, it will probably do no harm to the
roots, and an addition may thus made to
the value Of the crop; but If done earlier
we aPprehend there can be no doubt that
it will occasion a serious injury"
In the I'd vol. Of the farmers Maya
azine. is the record OF another experiment
in cutting the tops, which showed great
deficiency in the crop. and the tubers were
also i'll ripened and of bad quality, where
the ridges were cut; but where left un-
touched, were excellent. In the Memoirs
of the Board of Agric uIture. Sir A. Grant
states, that in his experiments, "the cut
ting of the stems in every instance COM
pletely failed" and French writer ofem-
inence says, that though the clustered sort
of potato may be cut in September without
injury. yet any other variety would suffer
by it materially. In confederation Of these
statements we may mention. that last sea-
son a heavy gust of wind blew down part
of the fence that enclosed our garden lot,
and gave admission to several cows. We
had several beds of fine looking carrots,
the tops very fresh and vigorous, and the
greater part Of these were eaten close TO
the ground They sprung up again. but
at the time of gathering there was mark
ed difference between the partsthat had been
topped, and those not touched, in favor OF
the latter. Some experiments have been
made that seemed to be in favor of cutting
potato tops, or at least that no injury result
ed from the practice but in these cases it
is reasonable to suppose that the roots
were so far advanced towards ripening, as
not materially to be affected by the loss Of
: the stems III .-~. .~...
IMPROVED CATTLE-We were de-
lighted on Thursday with view of the
fine Durham stock and Leicester sheep,
belonging TO Mr.. NJ l.. Sullivant Of this
county. They consisted of bull, cow,
and heifer, imported by Mr.. s., about one
year since-a bull purchased by him from
the Ohio Importing Company, at their
sales at Chillicothe last autumn, and two
heifers, also pure hased we believe at Chill
lico;he. We do not know the individual
f cost of these animals, except that Of the
white bull, for which Mr.. s. paid the
company tUenty-si1 hundred dollars. He
observed to US that the aggregate cost of
these animals, was 1000 dollars. Mr..
S. has also several half and three-fouHhs
blooded cattle, which are beautiful ami
mails. The sheep were also imported by
Mr.. S., and are fine specimens. They
are of the long-wooled variety, being
heavy of carcase, broad breasted, and
with small neat heads. Mr.. S. assured
us that they last spring yielded fourteen
pounds fleece. This variety we believe
is equally celebrated for its prodigious
yield of wool, and its excellent fattening
qualities.
We congratulate the farm rs of Frank
lin county on the introduction of this ine
stock; for it is to be looked upon as a
public benefit. There are but few farm
ers in our neighborhood who have the
: ability to invest enough to purchase fine
cattle; but also are able to pay the price
necessary to secure the blood to them
|, selves. Mr.. s., We presume, intends to
allow to others the advantage Of his stock.
| II l.. ;aros,ad la.rol,, cd l;bor, H., ond