Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-01-08

a lew ago There was received at the ONCE o
this journal, for examination sample of a crop 0
Potatoes which have been brought to highly i'm
proved quality by the Rev. JOEL BLEW, of Howard
county, Maryland, whose post-ofice is Saodge, il
that county.
We are satisfied that in regard to the improve
ment in the cultivation of this important article
food, which has been examined and highly approx
ed by the " Elk Ridge Agricultural Club" wecan
not do a better service to our rural and suburban
readers than by transferring to columns the irs
part of an Essay, by Mr. BLEW, on the cultivation Of
thepotatoo published in the HowardGazette
TO The " Elhridge Agricultural Clab."
GENTLEMEN: have been trying these twenty years to
improve Irish potatoes-n YIELD shape, uniformity in
size uniformity in rpening, and clear Of prongs knots,
pmpes, SC. My has been in proportion to my
efforts think myself amply rewarded. was about
eight years trying to discover the most profitable rdre
of Potatoes from Germany Ireland, sc. For the last
twelve years have had only the Nova Scotia Mercer,
or as they commonly called, the White Mercer They
improve little each year They will keep well until
July. You readily discover more imperfecton and
evident signs of disease in other potatoes with the naked
eye than you detect in them by using the pow
erful glass. My plan is as follows:
Seed examine all the potatoes offered for sale in
April 20 from end Of the wharf the other, and
agree with the seller to let pick one, two three
more bushels. then take such as know to be per-
fectly RIPE ripe potato, if dug at the right time has
smooth skin-as smooth appe-and in the sun
shine is little pink-colored about the smaller end
About planting time, take knife that used
right KIND OF poeato has If the knife passes too easily
through IT. reject it, if little too hard reject
T. am careful 10 get suitable place to work. The
hght must strike so as to show the color Much very
uch depends upon the color Of the flesh of potato for
seed good plan is to set pure stone china dish to
tAe right hand-this is good guide color. If the
potatoes were raised north of the Add degree of north Ia
Iuae' they will have little pink and purple, CASTLE
soap appearance This is no objection. Then piece
~ polished Italian marble good guide. l mean the
white must be wAae, and muddy. If you cut pure
Mercer potato in two il free from all disease when
you LOOK at 1t through good magnifying glass it will
iooK ike white frost upon smooth surface when the
sun Begins to shine upon it. The little cavities or air
ceus, and water badders will be regular and uniform in
size the water from the bladders will look very clean
clear and thin; il will look like the sweat upon an in
fant face will hayea shiny sparkling appearance
like the broken end of bar of cast steel in the sun If
the potato dropsca (which is very often the easel the
cut surface will look like melting snow and ice running
from the stable door; it will be turbd and little frohy
If II have the consumption the air cells and water bad
ders VIII be irregular in size; the water will look like
old SKINNED milk-you can gradual arrangement
al through the potato Many potatoes look as if they
mad been taken out of red clay the skin is little yell
iowis and part @, 1t covered with pmpesit is dis
eased. lfyou take old wel-worn fine gngham apron
and wipe apctato carefully you will see small specks Of
color Apply the glass; if all is right those specks win
not show more than the hundredth part Of an inch
put they SNOW black, or grey one-tweneth Of nch
microscope viii show them to be mass Of rotenness
In cutting ten bushels of the best offered for sale
get one bushel Of the right sort
PLANTISG-0n clean, light ell-ploughed ground Law
n with an Atwood or broad two-horse plough. Let
hand follow with the guano throwing full handful alone
the furrow every STEP Then let the most skifu follow
with shoyel-plough Say, "Now, my good fellow do |
your best; you will pass this shovel along this furrow
inches deep right in the middle of the furrow and n
straight as ne. The guano is then nicely liked with
the SOIL and you have half circle TO drop the sets in
Let the troopers follow Drop about eight inches apart
II We have four troopers when the pougs have laid off
an acre. the troopers viii be about half through then
let the shoyepough begin the first row and throw the
earth from each side off into the row.
DEPTH TO PLAST.-This is very important point The
fu and perfect development Of potato depends very
mucn upon the temperature and humidity Of its bed Our
soils vary much in this respect that no safe rule can ms
yet be given II you take three inches of the surface soil
OF the light singGss lands Of Ekrdge after heavy rain
OF hours continuance you viii find that has
absorbed only about y per Of its weight of water
And you dig to the depth of FIVE feet you will perceive
all the way down about the humidity. Again this
soil absorbs dew dries off more gradually and al
lows the atmospheric air to penetrate deeper and to cir
culate more freely than any soil | have seen.
would suggest that plant inches Deep rows
inches deep, and rows inches Deep and about the
LIST OF june bury thermometer with the bulb exactly at
the depth OF the seed in the three different depths and
every two or three days note the temperature Then
when we dig we shall not only know the best depth 10
plant but we shall know to the temperature
This will serve guide in future in all such soil Again
there good deal of land the surface Of which is light
ana appears very much like the above but g. g. or 10
inches downi is stiff tenacious clay that will absorb
90 TO so per cent Of its weight in water This land
never would plant IN potatoes without subsoinp very
deep and putting ashes and shell lime and mixing tho
roughly have never crop Of potatoes taken out
Of such soil haewere dropsical have read Of one
and only exception, Gen. b. c. Howard of Baltimore
county in l849 who raised fine Mercer potatoes on mark
his anguage stif clay loan; manure in the drill on
ana under the potato IL gives me pleasure to record
such That stiff clay soil is not suitable for pota
toes Frederick county Ohio, and Kentucky will prove
If you weigh pound of stiff clay when dry put it in
colander sprinkle water upon il until it viii hold no
more, when il stops dripping it viii weigh about lbs
Put il in plate in the sun in July il will dry off very
fntepdtey; the first hafinch will not only become dry
but il will become dusty and heated before the next half
inch will let its water 70 off IL you put plateful Of
this clay bench in the garden night and plate
iu o. the ngass soil by its SIDE in the morning you
WIZ md that the latter has become quite moist
while the clay is not perhaps mostened halfinch
thnk clay clod by growing potato is much than
stone Of the size The clod draws moisture away
rom he potato the stone does not and il Is thought
that ~ may lmpart moisture 10 the potato know Of no
good reasons why potato NAV not be grown ne round
an ONION or turnpi II il meets with the same resist
ance al around and food adapted 70 its growth is equally
accessible at all points Potatoes grown in rich neo
ground without any manure are nearly round
You perceive, gentlemen, that nv theory rougblv
sketched In this paper is TO prevent disease We NAV
weep blighted scky vines until the fountan of
our tears runs drywe may sigh the $4,000 loss
on the kennebec river alone the S43 paid for one essay
the rot the $50 800 900 annual loss in Ireland Enc
land and Wales threefourths Of the whole cropin Ho
land the universally inferior quality Of the Irish potato
from north TO SOUTH and from ocean to ocean and the
very high prices the have paid for these ten
years tell you, gentlemen, take our stand at
the threshold Of danger srange the enemy in