The National tribune., 1882-11-23
FARM AND FIRESIDE.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers.


dressing Of barn-yard manure, and dig up the
ground so rs to leave ii in the toughest possible
estate for the action of frosts. The rotation OF
crops is quite rs necessary in the flower garden
as it is IN the farm. No Towering plant VIII
exempify this better than the common verbena,
which, if planted in the same bed for three
successive years, VIII become diseased and per
fectly worthless rs a Towering plant. Manurcs
viii help the soil to some extent, but nothing
short Of a change Of crops FOR three or four
years viii restore It's clements so rs to fit it
again for the growth Of verhcnas. The same Is
applicable to roses although top dressings of
bone-dust and stable manure viii maintain a
rose-bed in good condition for five or six years.
Where il is not convenient 10 change the crops,
or where the flower space is confined TO a single
bed or border, good eXpedient is TO remove
six or more inches of the soil, ard replace it
with fresh Garth from the field or vegetable
garden. Those persons whose flowers do not
"grow as they used to do viii find the
remedy in a renewal of the soil: or if that is
not available. then change the site of the bed
to another part of the grounds, where Towering
plants have not recently been grown.
TEST or KEW VARIETIES OF POTATOES.
G. Cowing. Muncie, Indiana, has forwarded
US some noes upon potatoes which he tested
the past season, from which we make the fol-
lowing extracts:
EarIy Ohio This proves TO be the best early
potato, being ten days or two weeks earlier
than the Early Rose. and Of as good quality.
ClarEs No I. Hatsons Soaa'taq, and Chicago
Markes are all much Ike Early Rose. They
are all productive and of excellent flavor.
White Star resembles Burbanka Seeding but
natures earlier, and is more productive and of
better favor.
MatcRess. Ifqnmofi Pearl, and lldga11n Bouum
greatly resemble each other They are noted
for their produc5iveness and for their large,
beautiful white tubers. Probably the Ifagnum
is the most productive Of the three.
The Belle and Queen Of The TaHey are remark
able for their productrvenes5 and uniformly
large, handsome pink tubers, which in shape
are long or oval and sometimes fattened.
Some consider The Belle to be the most perfect
variety NOW cultivated. Zach mature in
August. Quality excellent.
Pride Of -fmcri3a Much like Snowflake, but
later. Productive and of the best quality.
Ontario. Not so early as described. It is
productive ana us lui'STS are remarkably
smooth and beautiful. 1t is a long keeper.
White Elephant and Grange are Of good quail
ity and very productive, bat are too rough in
appearance to be retained, now that we have so
many varieties with smooth and beautiful tu-
bers.
Walls Orange. This was sold last spring for
four dollars per pound. 1t has yielded eighty
pounds for one pound planted. The tubers are
long, round remarkably smooth, of a tawny
hue with eyes Of a deep violet color.
McCoruict THIS 5 remarkable variety in
many respects 1t Is strong grower its plants
reaching to . length Of four to FIVE feet and an
inch in diameter at the base 1t is unusually
productive and its tubeTs are uniformly large,
sometimes round or hateened, but generally
long and irregular in shape. As long keeper
1 have never met its equal. Tubers kept
over winter were in good condition for table
use in July. Some of them left until end of
August were still dormant aud good. 1t will
rank with the best in flavor and thus far
has proved TO be the very best late potato 1
ever cultivated.
WHEAT BRAN AS A MANURE.
1t is welI-established fact that the bran of
wheat has bat little if any value as food. The
improved system of grinding, or rather Of mill
ing, wheat, leaves nothing of nutritious value
attached to the bran, so that it is purely woody
fiber and indigestible; in fact, it is rather in
furious than beneficial, as it creates irritation
in the intestines Of anim3is, and is SO far an
injury causing an unhealthy laxativeness,
which is not desirable We have occasionally
seen statements Of the mauurial value of bran.
- igy ID +l,y. Z
been abandoned for wheat on account of its
meagre crops, received a dressing of bran at the
rate Of a ton and Il half to the acre The wheat
was then sown, and both wheat and bran har-
rowed IL. The result was a yield Of ffty-fve
bushels of wheat per acre. The following year
the yield was thirty-fye bushels per acre.
After this the land was seeded to clover. which
grew to the height Of from thirty to thirty-six
inches, while clover On adjoining acres grew
only six inches. As a further experiment an
other field received 4 dressing OF 1900 pounds
Of bran 20 the acre, with equally good results
SURPRISING that obtained from the usual appli-
cations of bone-dust guano, and a mixture of
lime and ashes. It IS probable that these re
suits are partly due to the mechanical effect Of
the bran in keeping the soil open and perme-
able 10 the atmospheric gases, a quality which
gives barn-yard manure greater value than
concentrated manures possess.
wINTERING BEES.
4 writer in the Rural Neg Yorker says that
bees wintered ont Of doors ought to have some
protection very good plan is as follows:
" First, make Il sort OF box or small pen around
the hive by driving down stakes and mailing
boards to them. The space between the hive
and boards, which should be about one foot
should be filed with dry chaii, sawdust, or
leaves pressed in, piling it on top of the hive
also, and then the whole should be covered
with a roof Of boards. Before putting in the
packing a passageway Of boards should be
made from the entrance Of the hive to the out
side of the enclosure, thus enabling the bees TO
hy out whenever the weather is such that they
can. In very cold weather this passage might
be filed with straw"
In Northern climates there is no better place
for wintering bees than in good dry cellar
IL should admit of being ventilated without
greatly lowering the temperature. a part Of
the cellar should DC partitioned off separate for
the bees, SO that they may remain in perfect
darkness, and be undisturbed.
FALL FLOWING.
In recent discussion on this question a
farmer stated Is follows: Several years ago a
,.ea coli Of .,fd .,,3