The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-01-10

IN FA.U||..QUIER
a Woman Established all Agri-
cultural Industry That Lives
After IIcr.
A MOST WONDERFUL VARIETY
Left With Children to Support
and a Sinall@Piecc Of Ground, n
Fought. Battle Successfully.
tspeci1l to The 1'imes. plspatch.1

{Speci,ti to The Times-D ispatch.)
WORTHWHILE, VA.. Jan. 0.-Mr.
"Bousin', Embrey was one of the
wcalthicst, most energetic and busihess'
like planters to DO found in this section
in ante bclum days, 1t Is related that
at the wedding .of@onc Of his daughters.
Mr.. Embroy, after finding his extensive
stables all filled with the guests horses.
stroled through hls orchard and return
Ing TO the house remarked to a member
Of his family: There's scvcnty-odd
horses tied to my apples trees that know
nothing about. ~
Many stories arc told by "tlle old
timers'' y about the power OF his voice.
Every spring he regularly went to the
.'fisliin shore" near Whitewater, on the
Potomac. Oen one Of these occasions
very few fish were being caught oniithe
Virginia side while large hauls Of the
finny creatures were being made on the
across tho Potomac to those OH the
Maryland side to bring over so many
thousand fish for him and his friends
The message was plainly heard and the
order was promptly filled
Hcl left several sons and daughters and
these having to contend against a loss Of
slaves and a new order Of things; tho.
I@plenty that ruled in his day did not long,
survive him. H
Jefferson Embrey, one Of his sons at
his death about twenty years ago. left q
widow and two children; and but little
to go on besides house and twenty
acres Of land that his wife had inherited
from her parents. Her assets consisted
Of omfortable cottage amid pleasant
,1,,ty a
rich land and the remainder OF the cleared
land too poor to pay the cost Of cultiva-.
ton unless a sassafras oil factory had
been conveniently located and the ques-
ton arose; How will she feed and
clothe herself and her two children In a;
land where there are no Industrial plants
and the negro absolutely closed sall
branches OF homework against a white
woman tst a
MARVELLOUS KNOWLEDGE.
Her knowledge OF gardening, which
was marvellous, solved this question. She
he'd always been as fond Of her garden
as Queen Alexandra is OF her diary at.
sandringham. She now turned her at
tention to this as hermann support. Half
Of the three acres 7of productive land
referred to above she planted In Irish
potatoes one year and the other half the
next year. This rotation she kept up year
after year. The potatoes she raised were
her main source Of. revenue and her eff
forts In this direction shave left a per-
manent influence upon the agricultural
methods of this section. n
N Mrs. Jefferson Embrey Invariably had
the largest yield Of potatoes OF any one
in the nelghhorhood and she never falled
to command the highest prices for her.
tubers. How did she do It? The ground
was ploughed, prepared and the potatoes
planted the first day. the ground was dry
enough In the month of March, Then
! she and the children gather cornstalks,,
dead grass, bushes leaves from the forest
and waste matter Of every available Klno
and description and mulched as many Of
them as they could Some years they
covered the entire patch half a foot or
moro deep The result was always Il
yarge yield Of big clean potatoes. Tho
potato that grows at the end OF the main
stalk she always saved when she dug
them for her own planting, the major
portion of the crop was buried and she
found no difficulty in disposng OF It at
ono dollar and twenty five cents per
bushel as "secd potatoes" at planting
time In the spring.
During her first years Of experience she
tried many varieties, then she crossed
several old and well known varieties and
tested tho seedlings until she secured a
potato that she Thought suited the con-
ditions under Which she grew potatoes
better than any other and time has JUS
titled all ,lle claims that she ever;
made for 1t 1t was mix
ture OF EARLY Rose, Jackson White,
and Gillian Red, developed by SCI
lection and careful cultivation and plant.
ed early In a moderately rich soil, well
mulched with straw, leaves, cornstalks
or other litter. 1t produces n larger ana
finer potato; 1t is more certain and more
prolific than any variety over cultivated
1, re IN
are nearly round with few eyes and these
on the surface, and a very bright and
smooth skin. Tho potatoes are dry,
mealy and of unsurpassed flavor. There
is no potato grown that makes as.
white and as tempting mashed" potatoes
as this variety.
Some years ago tho seedsmen, the agrl-
cultural press and the agricultural en-
pertinent stations said great many
5nutterlng words about northern grown
seed potatoes and tho farmers Of this
section simply fell over top OF themselves
in their mad rush after potatoes supposed
to como from Maine or Vermont, and
along with the fancy seed they went into
the high priced fertilizer III a colossal
manner. Most Of them thought that
with expensive commercial fertilizer and
potatoes grown on the river bottoms OF
Maine they could plant In any kind or
soil and at any tllne OF year ana pe sure
of q big crop. The result was a general
failure and a rapid decline in potato
culture. -
Those who tried Mrs, Jefferson En-
brey's potatoes, her time and methods or
planting and especially the mulchlng Of
them had marked success In this branch
Of agriculture and there Is to-day a.
healthy revival In the potato growing In
dustry with 1t now on a basis where the
farmer stands but little change to lose,
some claim that this variety Is especially
adapted to this locality and will not do
we'll elsewhere. even as tho Albemarle
PIppin is adapted to certain sections,
while others say that they can only be
successfully grown by mulcling One
farmer during the past season planted
one bushel an ddug twenty where they
were mulched while n bushe4l planted
late and cultivated gave barely three
bushels of Inferior potatoes. One good
trait that these potatoes posses above
everything else Is their keeping qualities.
One farmer. who planted in March last
y Il knk, 49,, y, 4,y