Connecticut western news., 1875-04-23
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.
Potatoes as a Farm Crop.

no money in wheat at present prices, and the farmer who used (thirty years ago) to sow twenty to fifty acres of wheat every year, have lately got in the habit of planting ten to thirty acres or potatoes.
 The varieties planted are Early Rose, Peachblow, Peerless, Prince Albert and Late Rose. Of these, the Early Rose and Peerless are most in favor. The Peachblow has degenerated of late, yielding less, of poorer quality, and more liable to rot than formerly. This winter, on account of rot, the Peach blow does not sell readily, and hardly brings as much per bushel as the Peer less, while the latter will yield fully twice as much per acre. The Late Rose is an immense cropper; but 1t is new, and it's rank is not fully determined. The past season it has sold with Early Rose at the same price, and there is an increasing demand for seed next spring Prince Alberts were grown largely few years ago, but the crop is very variable in yield, and the price has been lower than other varieties.
 Take it altogether, the Early Rose is our best potato now, as the Peachblow was ten years ago, or the Mercer fifteen years ago. It needs rich soil, and I think grows of better quality on rich .and than on poor. A manured clover sod is just the place for it. So great are it's advantages in productiveness over old-fashioned varieties, that it is fairly entitled to the credit of the increased at- tention given to potato culture. The Peerless is fit companion to the Early Poco IT. ic fvuo or 4broo 1xao1yc 1o4o,. ripening, nearly twice as productive, and, unlike the Early Rose, requires a rather poor soil. If the land is too rich, or has been heavily manured, Peerless will grow large and of poor quality, and on the poorest soils it will yield largely of of tubers, as dry, white and good-havored a still heavier cropper, and will yield less. A neighbor of mine, two years ago, planted fertile field with Early Rose. He gathered fifty five barrels per acre of marketable potatoes, which sold at $1. 50 per barrel. Last spring he planted the same field with Peerless, marketed eighty barrels of excellent potatoes, and next season he proposes to plant Late Rose, after which the field will be given a rest. In the two crops already gathered there has been a net profit of more than $100 per acre, or about the value of the land. I do not recommend such severe cropping, but the fact shows what can be done.
 One hundred and fifty to one hun dred and seventy-fve bushels per acre is reekoned fair crop for Early Rose and Peachblows. Peerless yield from two hundred and fifty bushels to three hundred and fifty The Harrison pota- toes, introduced some years ago, might yield even more than this, but they were unstable and worthless except for stock From small batch of Brow nell's Beauty, grown this year, l infer that 1t will be heaver cropper and an excellent potato. It yielded in small way at the rate of three hundred and eighty bushels per acre. Its position as market potato is not established, all that have thus far been grown selling at high prices for seed.
 Contrary to general expectation po- tatoes are not found to be exhaustive of the soil. So large a proportion of the tuber is water, that in a crop of two hundred bushels the mineral loss is less than from an ordinary crop of corn or wheat. The trouble seems to be that the potato crop returns nothing to the soil, and in time such cropping must prove exhaustive. In a iudicious rota- tion two potato crops should not come together; and thus managed, with ire quent seeding to clover, potatoes can be grown with profit wherever the beetle IS moderate enough to make it's culture possible. As large part of the potato ash IS potash, liberal dressing of ashes will prove benefit, not only to the crop but the land as well.
 How to Put Down Mating.
 As the time of mating draws near, it may be well to call the attention of house keepers to the fact that, as there is a right way of doing everything, there is decidedly a right way to put down Can ton mating. It is the almost universal practice to put it down wrong. Most persons cut the lengths, and then, lay ing the breadths in their proper places on the floor, proceed to drive vast number of tacks up and down the edges. This method serves the purpose of keep ing the covering very tightly on the floor, but 1t injures the boards. and ruins the mating. Every tack breaks one straw, and perhaps more.
 The Canton mattings are made on boats, where they are woven in short pieces about two yards long. These short pieces are afterwards joined together on the shore in lengths of about forty yards. It IS easy to see where these two yard pieces are joined, and the first thing to be done, after the mating is cut into proper lengths, is to sew these places across and across on the wrong side to keep the joints from opening Then sew the breadths together, and tack it to the floor ln the same way that you treat Q carpet. Mattings made in this way will last fully twice as long as where they are talked Tn every breadth. A good mating should last six or seven years. .g.-. -..- About Your Seed.
 The Naiaee Farmer asks: How many farmers wlnnow out and save the heavies oats, wheat and barley for sowing; how many separate ont the light, imperfec kernels and foul seeds, and destroy them, Previous to sowing; how man! wash their seed wheat, that the seeds O noxlous weeds may be discarded, ant the wheat rendered heavy and clean fo the purpose of producing a good yield o extra quality of grain? Yet these ar, very important points in the most i'm portant work of the year on our farms that of seed time-and in reality talk precedence of high manuring and goo, cultivation. If the farmer attends t, these latter matters, and yet sows foul 0 light seed, he is perpetrating an injury and gaining but portion of tine prof - and increase from his land and labo which he might.
 STRAWBERRIES beds or planta tions should be set as early as the plant have grown enough to be set; for bed set about foot apart, the beds not to b wider than five or six feet SD that th