8 or 10 inches deep with straw. This is all the labor which the potato requires until digging time; and in this way good crops have regularly been obtained, and potatoes of superior quality. Flukes, peach blows and pinkeyes are generally selected for seed, but not much care is taken to keep them pure.

J. Barber.-The Irish potatoes which succeed with me are the Peach Blows and Early Yorks. Of sweet potatoes, the common Southern, Nansemond and Bermuda, all do well. The ground is deeply plowed in the fall, and the Irish potatoes are planted early in the spring. Late planting does not often succeed, on account of the hot, and often dry months of July and August. Sweet potato plants are raised in a hot bed and put out as early as the season will permit, in order to start their growth before the hot months come on. The digging is done with a fork. Irish potatoes are kept very easily, by putting them in heaps on the ground, covering with straw and earth deep enough to prevent freezing. Sweet potatoes are much more difficult to keep; I have succeeded very well by keeping in a dry cellar, covering with flax straw, and never allowing the temperature to fall below 40°.

8. LEGUMES.-Best varieties of peas and beans: their management: cost and value as feed crops?

M. A. McConnell.-Pea and bean crops don't pay, for feed.

H. Pierce.-Peas are not sowed as a field crop. Tom. Thumb, for early, and Champion of England, for late, are the best varieties. The small navy bean is preferred.

J. Tefft. —Small navy bean, plant in hills, 16 inches apart. Use cultivator and hoe. It is never raised for feed.

T. Gregg.-Peas are never grown here as field crops; beans not often. The white navy bean is usually planted for that purpose. For garden culture, I have had good success with the early Mohawk, early six week, Valentine, and Lima.

G. W. Vaughan.-Sometimes raise a large quantity of beans, by sowing like oats or wheat, in the month of June. This is the cheapest way of raising the navy bean; it keeps down the weeds and bears abundantly, and if the fall is dry we save all; if not, many rot before they are ready to gather.

J. Balsiger.-Peas and beans we raise only in the garden, for our own consumption. We like best the Tom. Thumb, Eugenie and English pea; and the yellow dwarf, six weeks, and Lima bean. All these, except the latter, are badly infested with the bug every year.

9. TEXTILE PLANTS.-Your experience with flax, hemp and cotton: best varieties, method o planting, cultivating, etc.: value as a farm crop?

E. Moss. Some flax raised; is valuable both for the lint and seed.

M. A. McConnell.-We have grown flax and hemp, but they don't pay as a farm crop. T. Gregg.-Flax, hemp and cotton are seldom seen growing in this county, though all have been. The first is grown less rarely than the others.

8. Butler.-Flax is a good crop here.

J. Balsiger. With flax, hemp and cotton I have had very little experience. seen hemp growing spontaneously in the neighborhood, to a fine size.

I have

Flax and cotton

I did cultivate for one year; they did well, as far as I could judge; but as I had no machinery to prepare those products for the market, or work them up, I discontinued their culture.

10. GROUND PLANTS.-Pumpkins, squashes, watermelons, etc.: management, cost and value as a field crop: insects and diseases?

E. Moss.-Raised in moderate quantities.

M. A. McConnell.-We think pumpkins pay big for cattle. I feed them cut in the fall to milch cows improves the quality and increases the quantity of milk in all cases.

H. Pierce.-The common sort of pumpkin is planted sometimes with corn, and is fed to cattle and hogs in fall, preparatory to feeding corn, and sometimes as alternate feed. Hubbard squash is the favorite. Watermelons, on a sandy soil, 6 miles east, are raised as a field crop.

J. Tefft.-Only raised amongst corn. Have no idea of cost or value of crop. Striped bug.

A. Rankin.I think pumpkins and squashes, when fed to stock in the fall, are about equal to good grass pasture, and would recommend farmers to raise them for feed, just before winter sets in, as they can be raised at very little cost.

T. Gregg.-The Hubbard and Boston marrow squashes, I have found to be the best for garden cultivation.

G. W. Vaughan.-Ground plants are generally of little value, as a field crop, and few raise them, save for their own use. Pumpkins and squashes are generally planted with corn, but not extensively. Small striped and black bugs often destroy the young plants. E. A. Riehl.-Of squashes, I consider the Hubbard and American Turban the best; of watermelons, the Ice Cream is superior to all others; Ward's Nectar, the best of the musk varieties.

J. Balsiger.-Pumpkins, squashes and watermelons do well on rich land; the former are commonly planted with the corn, and fed out to cattle and hogs; but as far as I could see, neither were very fond of them. Squashes we raise for our own use, but with great trouble defend them from the ravages of the big black bugs which destroy the plants. We know of no other means of destroying these pests than by hand-picking the insects and their eggs, and crushing them.

J. Barber.-Pumpkins, squashes and melons succeed well by planting on newly turned sod, fresh timber land, or by manuring in the hill, when planted on old land. The greatest enemy is a small striped bug, which attacks the plants when quite young; it will even eat the young and tender squash.

J. Warder. I have paid some special attention to growing watermelons. I break my ground deep, plant about 10 feet apart, manure in the hills, and thin to one vine; keep the ground well stirred with shovel plow until the vines begin to run, then smooth the surface with a harrow, and keep clean with the hoe. I sold, last year, fifty dollars' worth, raised on a piece of ground 35 yards square (just one-fourth of an acre), besides what were eaten by my family of six, and goers and comers. Average price,'15 cents; commenced ripening the first of August.

11. MISCELLANEOUS.-Hops, tobacco, broom corn, sorghum, onions, chiccory: growth, management and value as a farm crop?

M. A. McConnell.-Hops are a good crop, but we don't grow them; they will, with care, pay as a farm crop.

The

H. Pierce.-Hops and tobacco are not grown except for home use in gardens. Broom corn, 8 miles south, is raised in large quantities, and is the most paying crop. Otaheite sorghum is best, producing.from 50 to 200 gallons per acre. Not much sorghum will be planted this coming summer (1868) as there is but little sale for the molasses. C. E. Barney. No experience with sorghum; I think the venders of the machinery make the most money.

V. Aldrich.—My experience with sorghum is limited, having raised only enough for home consumption. I have always done that, not using any other sirup, and but very little sugar. The largest yield I have ever had, was 120 gallons, from one-half acre; raised on high dry prairie land, that you might call rich. The last of April, I'planted

a span.

without soaking the seed; it came up well, was plowed three or four times, and hoed once, and kept clean from weeds. It matured the first of October, and was then worked; seeds being all black and stalk giving a yellowish cast. Kept no account of cost of crop. I sold 70 gallons, at $1 per gallon, reserving the remainder for my own use; at the same price, I would have made $120. Expenses did not exceed $50, and probably, not more than $35 or $40. We then had war prices, now they are nearly one-half less. The cane was run through a cast iron mill, with three rollers and one sweep; used one horse, or Evaporate in plain pans six and one-half feet in length by three wide; one and one-half inch wood sides; eight inches deep, with sheet iron bottom. I have a brick furnace, just large enough to take on the pans; these pans hold 85 or 90 gallons. At first we filled the pans full, and had to boil slow to prevent their running over; this rendered the process of evaporation so long that the sirup became very dark. By filling the pan half full, we found we could boil with full force and evaporate very quickly, making clear, light sirup. It is important to stir it constantly when nearly done. When done, set or slide the pan off the furnace to one side, putting another pan of juice in its place, so there will be no loss of heat from fire. At the same time, continue stirring the sirup just off, as this makes it of a much lighter and handsome yellow color. When it

is partly cool, it can be put into the cask, or some vessel to entirely cool. Keep the pans washed clean, ready for use again by the time the sirup over the fire is ready to come off. Press out the juice just as fast as wanted and no faster, for the sooner it is evaporated after pressing, the better the sirup. My mill cost $44; the flue took about 1,000 bricks, costing $10; the work I did myself; the pans cost $10 more; the whole expense need not exceed $75, for farm or family use. I rent my mill out to neighbors, at $2 for 24 hours use, and in this way it has paid for itself. But without renting a mill, it will pay any farmer to raise sorghum enough for his own use. It should always be planted just before corn planting, and not left, as is usual, until everything else is planted. Should be plowed well and hoed, and put on good ground to realize a profit.

A. Rankin. I consider sorghum a very profitable crop. Decidedly the best ground for sorghum is new prairie, high ground; it also does well on clay soil. Avoid all coarse manure, Yield of molasses per acre, 200 gallons. I have raised onions, but did not always find them profitable. Yield, from 50 to 400 bushels per acre.

G. W. Minier.-Nothing but onions; these pay well.

T. Gregg.-Hops and chiccory have not been grown here; tobacco and broom corn, seldom; onions, never, as a field crop. Sorghum is produced to a more limited extent than formerly. Such soil as mine will yield 200 to 250 gallons per acre of sirup, with good culture; though the amount usually reached does not exceed 150 gallons. My soil has produced sirup of a very fine quality. Two-horse iron cylinder mills are in most common use, with home made, sheet iron and zinc evaporators.

G. W. Vaughan.-I have no experience in hops, none in tobacco, and do not use it in any way. Onions I raise for table use only. Sorghum and broom corn look much alike, and are weakly when young, but grow fast if tended well. They need faithful hoeing to thrive.

S. Butler.-Broom corn a good crop here.

J. G. Swann.-Tobacco, broom corn and sorghum pay well.

J. Barber.-Sorghum succeeds in the same soil, and is cultivated similarly to corn. It is not cultivated to the same extent, in this vicinity, as formerly.

J. Warder.-I know but little about the cultivation of hops, but should judge they would do well on our soil, as I have found them here frequently growing wild. About ten years ago, I grubbed up a vine in a clearing, brought it home and planted it near the porch; it bore hops in the greatest profusion, and formed in summer a grateful shade, without cultivation.

Vol. II-24

12. ORCHARD FRUITS.-Apples, pears, peaches, cherries: preferred' varieties for various purposes: preparation of ground: planting, cultivation and pruning: gathering and keeping of fruit: packing for market: fruit houses and cellars: value of orchard products as a farm crop:

insects and diseases.

E. Moss.-Many varieties of apples, as well as pears and cherries. deep.

Cultivate ground

M. A. McConnell.-Apples are the only sort of orchard fruits that can be grown.

H. Pierce.-Apples for market-early harvest, Carolina Red June, Benoni, maiden's blush, Jonathan, willow twig, Ben Davis, Rawle's Janet, yellow bellflower, and wine sap. Pears-Doyenne d' Ete, Rostiezer, Tyson, Bartlett, Buffam, Louise, Bonne de Jersey, Beurre Diel, Duchesse d' Angouleme; all blighted last year (1867), but these are the best. Cherries-early Richmond, late Kentish or pie cherry of N. J., English Morello, May Duke and late Duke are about all that do well here, except the common Morello.

Prepare the ground as for corn; open a furrow or dig a hole about 12 inches deep, 2 to 3 feet across; set from 18 to 30 feet apart; cultivate first and second year in corn, and frequently longer, and then in small grain for a year or two; then seed to clover-is the common practice. Gather by hand, put in barrels or open boxes, but generally market in the fall; pays best of all.

The bark louse is our worst enemy on apple trees.

J. Tefft.-Summer apples-early harvest, Carolina Red June, Lowell, Keswick, Codlin, sweet bough. Fall-Cooper's early, Colvert, Dowse or Hawley. Autumn-strawberry, maiden's blush, porter, snow. Winter-golden russet, Baldwin, Dominie, Eng. russet, Esopus Spitzenberg, fall pippin, wine sap, green sweeting, limber twig, northern spy, R. I. Greening, Roxbury russet, Janet, Swaar, W. W. Pearmain. The Hawley and R. I. Greening grow very fast, if manured, and are consequently tender; but if grown slow and headed low, succeed well. I have my pruning done any time between the first of November and the first of March, when the wood is not frozen.

Pears-Bartlett, Flemish beauty, Madeline, Swan's orange, Easter, Buerre, and Seckel. Cherries-Yellow Spanish, Elton, Kentish and early Richmond. There are other varieties that it does not pay to raise.

No peaches raised.

The apple worm (Carpocopsa Pomonana) causes many of our apples to fall, and renders many more almost worthless. The Borer (Saperida Bivittata) does much injury to our apple trees, unless watched and removed early. The caterpillar (Clisioacampa Americana) at times is troublesome. The bark louse (a species of coccus), injures our trees more perhaps, than anything else in this section.

The winters are too severe for peaches. I had 800 trees, they bore a large crop when six or seven years old, and the next winter, some twelve or thirteen years ago, they all froze, and every tree died; at that time, I had an apple orchard of 900 trees; the same cold winter destroyed nearly one-half of them; the best varieties suffered most. I find the best trees for an orchard are those budded the second year from the seed; reject the very largest and all the little, stunted ones. I will here remark that all fruit and forest trees, corn, and many vegetables, as well as pigs, calves and other animals, that are stunted when young, never fully recover.

The object of the seedling is that it has a finer and firmer wood and bark than many of the grafted kinds; and I have observed that the finer and harder the bark, the better the tree will bear.

I have a number of trees the barks of which are so soft and thrifty that they never bear. Last June I took a section of the bark, 1 inches long, from round the body of the tree, and inserted a corresponding section of bark from the crab apple tree, tied it on; it grew fast. I tried this on several with like success. According to my philosophy, they will bear every season; if so, you will hear from me again. I do my trimming in February in order that the wound may season before the sap starts. Small limbs, less than half

an inch, I cut off close; but larger than that, I cut from one inch to two feet, according to size of limb. I cultivate the orchard when young; mulch with straw after seeding. The bark louse is very injurious to orchards here. The caterpillar is quite a pest on the prairies, but near the timber, the bluejay eats the eggs before they hatch.

C. E. Barney. The variety of apples that will bear most on a given farm, are best for that farm. An indifferent apple that will grow is better than a delicious one that will not, for profit.

V. Aldrich.-Apples preferred for family use, are early harvest, red June, and red Astrachan. These three varieties are earliest, and the fruit is of the best quality. The early harvest bears only on alternate years, and then not more than half the quantity that trees of the same size do, of the two other kinds. The golden sweet for baking, and eaten with bread and milk and a slice of new milk cheese, will relish first rate-I was going to say it would make a man fat. It is one of the best dishes that can be used for supper, creating a sweet, sound sleep, so desirable after a day's hard toil.

For late summer apples, I consider the Lowell, Porter, maiden's blush, and early Pennock, best. The St. Lawrence is a fine apple, but decays very soon.

The fall Dyer, which I send out from the nursery as Tompkins, is the best of all fall apples. The tree is hardy and a great bearer every other year. I have four trees, all set out at the same time, and of the same age; two of them bear one year, and the other two the next, so that I always have plenty. This apple sells better for eating than any other variety I know of, in fact, it is better than most pears, having the pear bloom and being more juicy and fine grained. Another good quality is its gradual ripening, lasting in

season for a long time.

All the above varieties are as good for market as for the family at home.

The snow or Famuse is a good late fall variety, and keeps very well into mid-winter, with careful handling; its liability to drop is against it.

For winter family use, I prefer the Jonathan, Wagner, Dominie, R. I. Greening and red Canada. These are all of the first quality, or near enough. None of them are long keepers. The Jonathan, Wagner and R. I. Greening are all liable to drop early, and just as soon as they begin to grow ripe and drop, they must be picked and kept in a cool, dry place. Apples that have dropped and lain on the ground a few days, and been warmed by the sun, will not keep, as that sends them into the ripening process, and can not be arrested. No matter how sound they may look, they should never be mixed with those picked off the tree, unless they are all soon to be used up.

The above are my favorite varieties for eating, and are equally good for culinary purposes.

The ladies' sweet, for winter, is the first best for eating, and keeps very well. Smith's cider is also a fine apple for keeping and eating.

The New York pippin or Ben. Davis, and willow twig, are good bearers and long keepers, but third rate quality; good for cooking, and will eat very well when other better Borts are gone. In fact, these two varieties are almost invariably used before reaching maturity, and then condemned as to quality, when if left until April, May and June, they become ripe and relish well. These two sorts are the most productive varieties I know about. The Ben Davis bears often at four years from the graft, and continues to bear almost every year invariably, though not always in the same proportion. The willow twig does not come into bearing so young by two or three years, and is not quite so likely as the other to produce a full crop every year, but is among the best bearing sorts. So far as I know, these two kinds are the most profitable for market on the whole list; always fair, large size, never scabby, and very showy.

But for market purposes, one must have a good assortment of varieties, to please the various tastes and fancies of customers, especially for the early winter trade, as people will not buy these long keepers to use in the late fall and early winter; and to retain customers, you must have what they demand. Customers will always take the largest