IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) ^sT {< 1.0 i^KA lii IS m ■■■ S lit 120 I.I 1^25 |U|j^ — A" ^Sceices Corporation gl>^ ^^^\^^' ^^^j^ 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WiBSTIR.N.Y. l4StO (716)«72-4S03 4^ 4^ ^ CIHM Microfiche Series (IMonograplis) ICIMH Collection de microfiches (monographies) Canadian Institute for Historical IMicroroproductions / Institut Canadian da microraproductions hittoriquas T«*nieal and Bibliographic Notts / Motti tachniqiMs et bibliographiquM Tha initiluta hat attamptad to obtain tha bttt original copy avaiiabia for filming. Faaturat of this copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua, which may altar any of tha images in tha raproduction. or which may significantly change tha usual method of filming, art checked below. Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur Covers damaged/ Couverture endommag^i □ Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurie et/ou pellicuite □ Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque loured maps/ Caitet giographiques en couleur [ I Coloured maps/ n n D n Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relie avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reliure serrie peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge interieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever pouible. these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajouttes lors d'une resuuration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lortque cela itait possible, ces pages n'ont pas M f ilmtes. Additional comments:/ Commentaires supplementaires: This Item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est h\mi au taux de rMuction indiqu« ci^essous 10X ux L'Institut n microfilm* le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a M pouible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui son< peut-4tre uniques du point de vue btbliographique, qui peuvcnt modifier une image reproduite. ou qui peuvent exiger um modification dans la mithode normale de f ilmage sont indiqufc ci-dessous. □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur □ Pages damaged/ Pages endommagits □ Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages rastaurias et/ou pellicul«es Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages dteolor^. tacheties ou piquees Pages detached/ Pages ditachies 0Showthrough/ Transparence □ Quality of print varies/ Qualite in«gale de I'impression □ Continuous pagination/ Pagination continue □ Includes index(es)/ Comprend un (des) index Title on heeder taken from: / Le titre de I'entlte provient: I I Title page of issue/ Page de titre de la livraison Caption of issue/ Titre de depart de la livraison Masthead/ Generique (periodiques) de la livraison I I Caption of issue/ I I Masthead/ r— ■ ___ 1VM. 72X ?6S 30x „^,^ „^^ J [] ^^■^ ■~" I^X 16X 20X 24 X bH^MM^ 28 X "— ^ I?* quit lett tdivue «tion The copy filmad here hae been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: National Library of Canada The images sppearing here are the best quelity possibie considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the lest page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — ^> (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the syn' aol V (meaning "END"), whichever epplies. i\Aaps, pla .as, charts, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames S9 required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaire film* fut reproduit grice A la g*n4rosit« de: BibliothAque nationale du Canada Les images suivantes ont «t« reproduites avec le plus grend soin. compte tenu de l(^ condition et u'e la nettdt* de l'exemplaire film*, et en conformit* avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprim«e sont fiimAs en commen^ant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la derni*re page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'iilustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont fiimis en commen9ant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'iilustration et en terminart par la derniire page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un dee symboies suivants apparaitra sur la dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE". le symbols V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent Atre film«s A des taux de reduction diff«rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clich«, il est fiim« A partir de I'angle sup«rieur gauche, de gauche i droite. et de haut en bes. en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Las diayrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. D 32 X 1 2 3 4 5 6 THE ^EL POTATO. >x iv K .,^. \<^ A\ KXPOSrnON OF THE PR(3I>j:i{ CULTIVATION OF THF potato; THK CAUSEi>t of its DISKASFS, OR " HOTTING;" T'lK REMKDV TIIKKKFOR ; ITS RENEWAL, PRESERVATION. PRODUC- TIVENESS, AND COOKING. i;v r.DiT'ciK uirif . I AT. \() r AT JO y,s, II V K. T. TK AM., M.rt., Al lllul.nl. ••KM.UOI'AIIIK- KN, V(I,o..|:I.tA," " II V.. I KNTr HAND H.K)K."| "WATKI! , I |;H K.ll( THK Mil., ;m\," "Til I: Tim. HI AI.INIJ AHT," " l>ll'ri||;|;lA." "SKXIAI, IMM -in.l.ni; V," "SKVIAI, I'Allli). I.MCiY," "Till: TIMK riMI'KHANCl. I'l.AI'- kdhm," KTr., ire. OTTAWA: Tr.Mr.s r'lUNTr.M.' ank I'l Ri.r^iirM, Comi-nn^ I ::,mmm «K,, ■' LaM -::jMH^g9lie&!^' Myt r ^^^^^K^^^^^^^mf' ft-. Bl^ •Vi>>4 f ■^'■*>-?>v «» - w I . <<*. ■A ~ THB MODEL POTATO. AN EXPOSITION ur THE I PROPER CULTIVATION OF THE POTATO ; THE CAUSEi OP ITS DISEASES, OR "ROTTING;" THE REMEDY THEREFOR; ITS RENEWAL, PRESERVATION, PRODUCTIVE- NESS, AND COOKING. ■T JOHN l^<^^XjJLUT^XliT. 1^.1D., .<. MDITKD, WITH AyHOl'AriONIi, BY R. T. TR/vLL, M.D., ACTUOR OF "IIYUROI'ATIIIC KNCVCLOPKUIA," «llYOIKNIl' HANn mioK,' "WATKn OURK KWK THE MIl.i.IUN," "TIIK TRUK. IIRALIKU ART," « DIPTHKRtA,*' "SEXUAL PHYSIOIXMJY," " SKXtlAI, PATHO- U)OT," "THKTRUB TENPKKANCE PLAT- rORM," ETC., KTf. OTTAWA: Times FRiMTiNe and Publishinu Com pan y 1872. ; I A _^h.^Offlceort..aM.aUu.rofA«r.cuUu«. ye*r 187a; by \ ^~lC5tfi'Vl"Trti iMfc.. ....%. „ A iNTRODUnTION . '*'***!!* Oeneral Propohitionm JO Had Seed 17 Bad Seed (Co«/i««*. Since the jear 1845, when the potato-rot first appeared, causing a famine in Ireland, and tncre- diole suffering in other European countries, the subject of jpotato-culture has attracted much of the attention of farmers throughout the civilized world ; and as the author of this little work has probably been the first to investigate the subject in the light of the laws of nature, and has, in my judgment, propound^ the true Uieory of the diseases of, and remedies for this invaluable esculent, a few words in relation to his preparation and capacity for such a work, may not be uninteresting i.. ttie reader.' ' Thirty years ago, the principle of health reform was introduced to the world by that masterly work of Sylvester Graham, entitled, " The Science of Human Life." Soon after this event, a plan or sys- tem of medicating all diseases by means of hygienic agencies, (commonly, but erroneously, termed " Hy- dropathy" or " "Water-Cure"), was introduced by a Q-erman peasant— Vincent Priessnitz of Graefenberg. Twenty-eight years ago, the editor of this work opened ^e first hygienic institution in the United States. Twenty years ago, a health and medical reformation took permanent form and shape in the organization of the Hygeio-Therapeutic Oollege, which was, a few years thereafter, chartered by the Legislature of the State of New York. Health reform and hygienic medication mean nothing more nor less than the application of the lawi 01 organic life to the p;«acrvstion of hoaltb, * JWkoduction. Md the treatment of diseaap Tk^- their maxim and vhhon^h^' u^ ^^^ "»d aim. a sound body." The cauL T * "^""^ "^^ hgiouB, for it cont«n,«1«* ® " Pre-eminentlv re- to all if God^ Iat?i^^^rnSfJ^^^^ or the spiritual domain °**'''^®'»t«d "> the organic the SlfT^r^i: S^refo'e obliged to investigate the conditions of'h^al^ i^'^^lft '^""^^^ ^ ^e^"^ understand the causes of dTsefe i«!!]l r?"*^' to cations, and to search for 1^ ? *" *^«" ^ompli- otiier persons ht.'e eyer d^"'''^'!?^^^* « no ?r physicians. And ifwL fo? th7^'*^'' ^''^^'^tiats mg and disseminatW iSb * L^® P^'Pose of teach- among the people if win ^* ^ ""I" ^^^^ ^^^i^ots women as physicians ^t ^ i^/"°*te men'^and without emXv nr„,^^. ^^^^^J cure the rick aforesaid wa? eSaflis^d^r^h^^^^ ^ ^°"«^« of the heKefoTrn'^afze^f^^^^^ i"*^«^*» «P^"^ came to the coUege nTt for f k/^^ enthusiasm. He a trade or acauiri^^a profiteW«T^'' ^^ ^^"^^^8 he had already, but fo? ?he nnr5^'°T ^^' thesi information tfiit would ^Lff"^??^ ""^ procuring useful to others-Ce suceessfol tZ \>'' °^^'« heXe^foiSr ^^"^ *^e^ci?lero?^•^^^^^ was t^^^^^^^^^^^^ ritfs^l^frs ^i- ^^^-- location for a proDosed Jl^^f ^- ** ®1®^ » suitable was selected ^ZmosJlo^'w' r^""^' ^"^^aJ ploration. rw^ tu V.?*.* Probable territory for «t. ^.. -'^^^anna «|Hmt wverti montii ^WRBpeiS? INTRODUCTION., 5; in travelling over the area now known as a State. Kansas was then uninhabited, except in few and distant places, by white people. Indians and ani- mals constituted the principal population, and even these were only to be found in particular "neighbor- hoods," and were remote from each other. Of course our traveller had a rough time of it. Stages were unknown. Hotels were not. Houses had not invaded much of the territory, and even "shebangs" were scarce. After roaming over a good part of the territory, camping out in all kinds of weather, exposed to rains, winds, sultry heats, d chilling frosts, and having accomplished the ouject of his mission, Dr. McLaurin returned to New York. But he was utterly demoralized physically. Apparently his health was ruined forever. He was thin, pale, haggard, coucrhing severely, and expectorating pro- fusely. In short, he had confirmed consumption. It did not seem to me possible that he could recover, or even live many weeks. I treated him for a few days, until he became rested and compara-, tively comfortable, when he returned to his home in Canada. A few months after this the patient I had given over to death astonished me by walking into my office in the image of a well man ! It was impossible for health reformers long to remain ignorant of the fact that the prevalent system of agriculture was abnormal and vicious in many respects; that nearly all kinds of food were more or less improper because of improper culture or modes of preservation ; that many things grown and sold as food for human beings were diseased, and, consequently, unwholesome, and that the same laws of organic life whose infraction occasioned diseases and malorganization in animals and in human beings, prevailed in the vegetable kingdom : and, when msobeyed, occasioned precisely the same disoTders auu doionuitics in the grsino, iTUits, roots, sad oti&er vegetaUe productions which constitute gj INTRODUCTION. the proper food of man. Hence hygienic agricul- ture was soon seen to be an indispensable factor in the cause of health reform ; for without norrn^ agriculture, pure food is impossible, and without ]^re food, no one can live hygienically, except m * ^^ft\e time that Dr. McLaurin first gave his attention to hygiene, the potato .disease, or rot, v^hich occasioned the "great famine" m Mand, a few vears before, was attracting considerable atten- tion The potato-producers were apprehensive tnat the crop was about to fail, and the potato-consumers were alarmed lest an esculent, which has become indispensable to comfort, if not to L.alth, was about to be annihilated. Although many of Dr. McLaunn's co-reformers had ffiven this subject of potato disease much Sntion, none of them had e^Je^^^ X^ ^^ investigation of the subject 8y«tef^aH<^*l?y. ^^^ experimentally, as he has done. No hygienist ever doubted that the essential cause, and the only cause, of &e deterioration, decay, failure, and rottmg of the potato was attributable to an erroneous method ot Ke or preservation, or both; for all hygienists know that all diseases, and all imperfections of all Uving organizations are due wholly to unphysio- ogicSl conditions-disobedience to yitel laws. The onlv things for them to learn were the particulars— the p7ecife ways in which health conditions were disregarded, and the exact means to be employed to restore those conditions. v^„uv, \^a After Dr. McLaurin recovered his health, lie had the good fortiine to cure a number of chronic invaUds, whose cases had long been considered desperate, some of whom h.^ been abandoned a« hopeless by their physicians. These cures were accomplished wholly by means of hygienic agenaes, no drugs or medicihes of any kind being admmis- teredjn any^ease.^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ «imx,Ucitv of his Ikewt, and with motives purely dianterest^d and iNTRostronoN. j , philantrbphic, took pains to explain to the neighbor- ing physicians the advantages of "Hygienic vs. Drug Medication," as illustrated in the cases of the remarkable cures to which he referred, expecting probably that he would be applauded, or at least tolerated, for the good he had done. But his recep- tion was not so complimentary as he had rightfully hoped. Indeed it was, " on the contrary, quite the reverse." Instead of being praised for well-doing, he was threatened with a criminal prosecution for practicing the Healing Art when he was only an irregular physician. But the cures he performed, though they brought him little fame and less money, rewarded him with that which was better than either, or both; with what this world can neither ^ve nor take away. And they enabled him to realize more intensely, the unspeakable importance of a life in accordanc3 with the laws of life, in maintaining health as well as removing the causes of disease, and of applying these considerations more practically to the circumstances which determined the healthy or diseased condition of those productions which are employed as food for human beings; and especially to the potato, then a subject of much discussion. The result had been a patient, assidu- ous and elaborate research into the causes of its normal growth and abnormal conditions, until, finally, he has placed in my hands, to be edited and annotated, the manuscript which will constitute the substance of the text of the following pages. Within a few years, many persons have pro- fessed to have discovered the nature and cause of the potato disease and the remedy therefor; but a sufficient answer to all of those pretensions is the fact that the disease still prevails where the remedy has been tried. Like the consumption- curers who swarm in the cities and infest every village, they do not lessen the statistics of disease nor diminish the bills of mortality. It reqtiireB but a very supemoial kaowiedge ^^ly 8 imnuDovonoN. of physiology, to enable a person to understand that no drag or nostrum can ever remedy a diseased organism which results from improper culture or imperfect preservation. .,. j It is true that no less than ten different kinds of insects that prey on the potato vine, have been clearly recognized and minutely described by entomologists, and parisitic fungi innumerable have been ascertained to infest the plant, yet they are not the causes, but the incidents of its diseases. They are scavengers, and like all creatures of that kmd, are always present when organic matter is in a state of impurity or of decay. The only protection s^ainst insects and parasites, is health and vigor. The potato is peculiar in many respects, and this fact is doubtless the source of many enrors which are prevalent respecting the causes of ite decay, aiid the remedial agents or measures which have been recommended. And to this cause may be attributed the discrepancies among authors and agricultural writers respecting the proper method for cultivating and preserving it; to say nothing of the conflicting testimonies and receipts relatang to cooking and eating it. , . ^, . . No other production cultivated in this country, if in any country, is subject to precisely the same conditions and influences, nor requires precisely the same management as the potato, in the details ; yet all are governed and controlled by the same organic laws and vital principles. I find, in agricultural iournals and books, and in the catalogues of seeds- men, as much discordance of theory and practice, as I find in the standard text-books and journals of the medical profession with regard to the nature, causes, and proper treatment of consumption. There is, indeed, an instructive similarity in these diseases. The potato disease is exactly analo- gous to that form of consumption in animals and m human beings, known as tuberculous It is as ^„„n^ « irirxA nf Bf.rnfnla. as is tuberculosis; and the. potato roi is caused by condition* precisely lerstand - liseased Itnre or Lt kinds ire been >ed by >le have are not They at kind, is in a otection igor. cts, and J errors s of its 8 which ue may Lors and method thing of iating to country, he same isely the aih ; yet s organic ictmural of seeds* actice, as imals of ) nature, >n. larity in ;ly analo- Is and in It is as «is; and precisely iNraoDucnoN. § analogous to those which induce consumption and scrofula in human beings, the rinderpest in cattle, the pleuro-pneumonia m sheep, the glanders in horses, the cholera in hogs, and the fatty degenera- tion in fowls, etc. And when the farmer, by applying the prm- ciples explained by Dr. McLaurin, renovates his potato crop, he may, if he pleases, apply the same principles to the renovation and improvement of all other crops ; and, if he chooses, he may extend and apply them to the purification and invigoration of his domestic animals. Nor is this all. He may, if he so wills, apply them successfully to the pre- vention of all contagious diseases among human beings, and, to a great extent, of all other maladies. Perhaps > few words in relation to my personal experience and observation may be a fitting conclu- sion to these introductory remarks. . For more than a quarter of a century I have been in the constant practice of treating all classes of invalids hygienically ; that is, \«rithout medicines of any kind, and by means of hygienic agencies, as air, light, temperature, bathing, diet, exercise, rest, clothing, sleep, electricity, magnetism, and in short, all notmM influences. As a large proportion of the ills ihat flesh is heir to, are caused by unwholesome articles of food, drink, and condiments, while all morbid conditions are aggravated by them, the dietary constitutes an important feature, and, in many cases, the leading and most important feature of hygienic medication. I have treated many hundreds of patients for months, who were allowed a mixed dietary, rejecting only the more gross forms of animal food, all complicated dishes, and the more pungent and irritating of the articles usually employed as reasonings. I have treated many other hundreds on a vegetarian dietary, but permitting the moderate employment of sugar, milk, and salt. And for ten years past I have treated all classes of invalids on a strict dietary, from which all condiments were 2 I ! Ml 10 INTRODUCTION. except boih'2',.''bX" o'r rtC^'Soa^r been muted with or Idded to mv ' Ji.i *,?^ prepared for or supplied to thr£,Ki " "*"'« teenness of p^ceptiVitv ?«T """""'^^eqniw a only apprecffl Syl^e Mtm^td""^?™' ?K* nnsophisticated animal -Witi; J "'"''* *"' *« le« Complete, »" orS^^per'oX^es^r " also the power to disAriT«ir„+ ^^^^^PpyJues, comes ties and qualities of all S^f*^^ '''l"""^^ ?'<>?«'- never known to the epicure whnn!l ^ '^^^^ atmospheric and elec! tncal influences, and in harmony with v?tal lawi. rnaS!i^;rcn?:r^' abundant%ield' ttovld' f^rop^^^^^^^^^^ Jemlf^'r''^""*/? ^^^ reproduction To this nnfofT? ""^ P°>*^, " »<» exception. True the potato 18 more simple in its structures nnH ul complicated in its functions than aS Si vir animals. They lack sensibility and mentalitv In Ch *"'17"«"«» 'here is.no^difference SevI? Both are dependant on the same normal oondSs «oJJf«' NorTT' l"' !"?««; development Z growui. JNor do the farmer's domestic animals— more 8Tr:W'1'> ^^T' ^T' ^«^«' -id fS^tl 3« I degenerate and perish than do his potetoes. when subjected to abnormal influences W the conditions and modes of propagation var^ m both animals and vegetables, with gefiira, spedS WiVhl"' .«/'^^«t^«ces, but the essentiaf and mvariable ntel laws are the same in all cases. i. A potato differs from an animal and frnm 8ome regetables, and from some otC rooL in th^ &ct that by death it transmits life, the 7nUretub^ ^'^J^.r^T V^'l *^^' ^^J««« ti^is life 4 transmitted integrally, the oroffenv will Ke A^^iil £ i'^^'^tilf^-!"--*Sgn-'l-«- THE I'OTATO BOOK. 15 lized, ultiiiiatiiiff, in connection with causes in debi- lity, diseaso^ and decay. The plan of culture herein recommended prescribes no nostrums and involves no experiments, but removes the causes of deteriora- tion, the effects of course cease — the potato disease disappears. 8. CJnder no circumstances will the method of culture I have explained, fail in arresting decay and promoting vigorous and healthy growth, except through imperfect management, or a partial adop- tion of it. Those who would have the full benefits of the instruction conveyed in this work should divest themselves of all prejudices and preposses- sions, for it is only upon a full observance of all the rules in their entirety, adding nothing and abating nothing, that any important or considerable beneii- cial results can be predicated. The success of the plan is demonstrable, and tho plan itself incapable of deception. 9. Probably the mere reading of the theory advanced will convince the intelligent physiologist that the improvements suggested in the cultivation of the potato (which nearly reverse the common method), are vast, and that the results, both as respects the quality and quantity of the crop, must be correspondingly important. Actual practice, however, can only determine the remedial value of the new method to the satisfaction of the farmer. Nature cannot be improved. Her laws cannot be created nor ignored. All that we can do in any department of human action, and all that we need do in raising potatoes, is to reduce the causes which conduce to the perversions of her laws. 10. "When the present prevalent and erroneous, method of planting potatoes is corrected in accord- ance with the rules herein given, it will then be much better understood than it possibly can be now, bow unnatural and injurious this mode has been. Properly cultivated (the effects of existing errors being re- moved), the potato can no more be diseased than it can be cured under the present abnormal treatment. i 16 THE l-OTATO BOOK. t i 11 Thouffh '-agmenUry parte of the rules herein inculcated are or ma/ have been practiced hrdXent places, the methoi or -y-tf" "^^ -f^^^^^ is claimed to be entirely original, ^^^^ the result of faithful observation, close study •^nd <:areftil^xpen mentation. Those who «^0P\ ,f «„ "f^rT to it cannot properly impute any fault or lauure lo i unkss they plant the same renewed seed for three ^nfT^storation of the potato to HeaH^^^^ its auirmented size and increased yield, its better nethorof preservation, and its proper mode of "oking. incJcasing, solidifying -d ;S,r3te S food, will greatly enhance the P;«^^^/;,Xre the iUthelein adtcat^d tlurgeS adopUd Zse who first ta^e hold of it may realize fortunes^ those wnonr «M^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ plan adopted K 11 far^Pr< not only for the sake of having human race. ^^^^ ^^^,^^ ^^^A^lent the remedy for each indicated. compliance [The author proposes, as soon ^.^f^l^\^ in his plan <>^.y'^''^ :f^'^':,:^ U^^^e recognition of its scientific trutiifu a . . ^ m valul, to P^Wish a preven i.e o^^^^^^^ ,p%' to cattle-plague, m the P"f^f ^P^J^Xr of vegetables, all contagious diseases alike, whether oi s animals, or human beings.- K. i. A] the rules , praotioed as a whole e result of ifttl experi- ' w method lilure to it d for three to health ; , its better r mode of roving it as e results of I before the lly adopted, ize fortunes. Ian adopted :e of having the purpose st important animals — ua slfaie of the in prevalent tato culture, estructiou of n order, and 3 compliance i^bfl, in the 'rj^d mmenpe .iu ' -rpest, or sd applies to )f vegetables, TnR POTATO RCKXK. || Eri*oi- 1. Although the potato disease is perfectly curable, yet no kind of potatoes will attain a large siz. , or continuti productive, if unreiiowe*! from th«' plum or seed-ball for more than twenty years; and some sorts will not thrive without such renewal, for more than half that length of time. The plum is what nature has designed for the reproduction of fresh varieties, and for rejuvenation. If reproduction is longer neglected, the potato becomes exhausted from old age, and this will ultimate in decay ; and if in addition to this, the potato is maltreated, the result will be disease. Conscious of such decay, yet ignorant of its cause, planters exchange seed poi'itoes from distant places. This may improve the quality so far as change of soil and climate may be beneficial ; but no remedy short of a full compliance with the l«ir • loTB inter* mingled ; the eyes few and not sunken, but protu- berant. The potato should be hard, heavy, dry, and sweet, and, of course, wholesome; and when perfectly healthy, it will have all these qudities. While the selections are made in conformity with the above rules, no injury results from plant- ing diflerent varieties in the same field, unless the disparities in age and quality are extreme ; size being always attainable by a close adherence to the rules. It is not denied that some sorts of potatoes which vary from those above described in shape and color may be good; but it is maintained that those answering this description, upon the whole, are the best. Error 3. Cutting the seed is one of the chief causes of the potato disease. The method ot gouging out the germinal part, or eye, or slicing the potato into pieces for planting, has long been practiced by nearly all planters, but with what result let the pre- sent deplorable prevalence of the potato rot testify. The sundering of the bud from the body of the tuber, under the impression that such mutilated fragments will produce healthy and vigorous iruit, is most fallacious and absurd, and has no parallel among the many blunders of agriculturists. This unnatural severance by division dissipates the -vital forces of the seed, and debility of the offspring is the inevitable consequence. In proportion as the unity of the tuber is destroyed by multiplied sec- tions, so the progeny derived therefrom is enfeebled and rendered liable to disease. To suppose that this process of mutilation economizes s6ed, and ■nrnflnftPK mnra Knohala tVion fV>a oatio/I -^^t-^i^^^ would if planted whole, is a deluiioa tbat htui I'HE POTATO BOOK. learned it W •' '"^^ *^«t the JVew Jf 1"'"^"^ "^^^ potato, norfn the physTofor^"?^- «*^"«*"re of the production, but on tl/^'^'' "^^*e"al nor inol *'" d^«»inishe8 the other Tk!""/' ^-«tes ^L one !'„!? x'otato-cuthTi^. f dissevered from thrKn^T° P^^^* ««ch ^eLrf Ly Did fho • "ilSt" ?ingle potato and earh T 1' ^"""'^^ ^nd roots fLT ^« a perfect ori/an?'^ ^'^l^ ^-rain of wheat or - seed shonJ/1 «L ^ ^® shall rean " tk :rvr° "»d 'sU'' It '"' " '^-^tf »wM THE POTATO BOOK. ever Bvig. Jonceived 3nce ever ider first of the 18. gives analogy nd bar- icreases >ne and 'tamina normal e. and bating. er the rodite 3 pro. ly, or ee of one- iture ^8! only xist- Base 3 so ach arn hat ik- ed be ir- id 16 e God and nature, and the plan of culture herein recommended, will prove that man, not G-od, is the author of the potato-rot. Vivisection outrages both parents and progeny ; and when continued not only from year to year, but from generation to generation, cannot fail to dete- riorate and in time exhaust the crops. By severing the germinative members of organic life from their main body, in dividing the potato into several fragments, or slices, each obtains but a moiety of its natural and necessary parental support and nutrient elements ; the young shoot is starved ; hence the potato blight or atrophy, which precedes the rot. Through no channel other than the life-sub- stance of the parent, can the young shoot derive its indispensable food, to nourish the stem until its top or lunfT expands. Through this channel alone the parent potato imparts its v/hole life to its oftspring; and upon its quantity and vigor the health and productiveness of the offspring depend. "When we inquire of the vivisecting farmers why they cut through the structures analogous to the skin, muscle, blood.vessels, and connective tissue in animals, thus utterly dismembering the indivi- duality of the seed, the answer is, it saves seed and causes a more prolific yield. The fallacy of this opinion will be further exposed under Error 5 - its proper place. That the practice of seed-cutting (seed-killing), so con- trary to common sense, so tedious and unnatural, so unphysiological and anti-anatomical, should have prevailed so long in enlightened communities, and should, moreover, be so generally practiced without being questioned, is a striking commentary on the nature of inherited prejudice and transmitted error. Is it not time that this proceeding, which threatens the total annihilation of the plum, and the ruin of the plant, should terminate ? fl am satisfied that Dr MrLanvin Hooo nnf •« rviif the cftse" any too strongly on the subject of mutilatT r tt TBX POIATO BOOK. ing seed potatoes. But I find the practice almost universal in this vicinity. Indeed, so far as I have been able to observe personally, there are no excep- tions. I find, too, that many farmers in this truck- forming region, who raise potatoes principally for the Philadelphia market, plant the smallest sizes instead ol the largest, probably because they are not saleable, and on inquiry I learn that the general tendency of the potato crop has been for several years to smaller and still smaller sizes. The sizes of the different varieties raised hereabouts do not average more than one-fourth the sizes that my father raised in western New York, on new land, between forty and fifty years ago, nor is the quality of these compar- able to thofiie. 1 can recollect when two large potatoes (in these degenerate potfito days they would bo con- sidered huge), baked in hot ashes, were a full and luxurious meal, and that, too, without salt or butter. To think of them is, in the language of Ossian, "Like the memory of Joys that are past; pleasant yet mournful to the soul." The best potatoes I can get now are flat and insipid to those I once feasted on, and desired nothing better. And the same is true of such apples as I can purchase now, and such as I ate from my father's orchard, when a child. Both crops are sadly degenerated, and nothing but hygienic agriculture will ever renovate them. In looking over the latest publications of the seedsmen and agricultural journals, I do not find any one objecting to seed-cutting of potatoes, but some of them recommend it. One of the largest dealers in Philadelphia, Kobert Buist, jr., in his "Almanac and Garden Manual" for 1872, recommends the selection of large and good potatoes for seed, but recommends cutting them into four or six pieces. He says, " Many cultivators in this vicinity select good formed tubers and plant them whole ; this may be an advantage should the season prove to be very dry, but we look upon it as a great waste »■■ ■■'«^f?s*«««»»ESrsw ce almost IS I have fto excep. liis truck- \y for the )s instead ; saleable, idency of smaller different ge more raised in forty and compar- atoee (in bo con- full and r butter, in, "Like sant yet !s I can i feasted same is ow, and when a ed, and renovate 8 of the not find oes, but largest in his nmeuds 3r seed, or six vicinity whole ; 1 Drove it waste THE POTATO BOOK. ac of seed, as the product from i^uch a crop is no better than well-formed tubers cut into sets." The difference may not be appreciable to a careless observer in a single season ; but if there is any virtue in the laws of organic life, the practice cannot be otherwise than most pernicious. Is not the admission that whole tubers will do better than mutilated ones, presumptive evidence that there are vital relations between all parts of the seed that cannot be interrupted without injury ? If the whole parent-body of a potato is necessary in a dry season, it may be useful in any season. Vitality itself is the best possible protection against drought or wet, heat or cold.— R. T. T.j Pl.ein.ed.y 3. " Cease to do eviL" Never touch the seed- potato with a knife. Do not mar, mangle, bruise, nor mutilate it in any manner. Drop it into the ground whole and sound. Although the magnitude of the evil resulting from imperfect seed is very well seen at its present stage, yet, until the maximum health of the potato is attained by the adoption of the plan herein re- commended, the full advantages of a good article of food, such as the potato in its highest perfection is capable of affording, cannot be fully realized or adequately appreciated. When potatoes cultivated in both the wrong and the right ways are seen growing side by side in (^erent fields, the time, labor, and product of each method can be cahjulated and compared, and then the extent of the present evil can be better understood. I must here caution the reader against a possi- ble source of miscalculation. Should his neighbor continue to plant and cultivate in the ordinary manner while he is trying the new method, the 4 A . , . . . . ■ — , 26 THE POTATO BOOK. diseased potatoes of his neighbor may affect his more or less m the bloom-when the poUen blows Experimental tests, however, without due regard to all the influencing circumstances, may only lead to self-deception. If any one particular however unimporta^it it may seem, is disregarded or overlooked, the whole experiment fails To test the matter in the best possible manner take the requisite number of laborers, and plant one day on the new plan, and then (after plowing the ground)one day on the old plan, in both caset carefully measuring the potatoes planted and the :l"J^^Pp"^®^• i"" ^^ """^^ «^ seed-cutting, time should of course be reckoned from the commence- ment of the cutting process; and the potatoes should be measured before cutting, as a bushel of cuts and a bushel uncut differ very materially Therefore measure a ffiven number of bushels ; cut one half of them anS plant the pieces, reckoning the time spent m cutting as a part of the day's work. Plant the other half whole; and then tL product of both, when dug, will show the value of each method so far as the labor of planting is con- cerned and their respective values by contfast I he extent of ground occupied by each should be taken mto the account. The time at which the blight appears in either; its extent and virulence: the quality of the potato-its size, solidity, dryness eSimatJ^""' ^^^ ^^^° ^^'^^'"''^ *^ ^"^ ^"^^^ *^^ general In all the processes and stages of cultivation, in oraer to have a fair and conclusive experiment, the common method and the one now proposed^must be stric ly followed ; and if the respective pSts are kept separately, and the two processes repeated yearly the value of each, or the demerits of the one and the merits of the other, will in due time be conclusively demonstrated ; for the new and natural method will gra:aially and constantly gain on the other, both m the productiveness of the crop in pro- portion to the labor expended and in its quality affect his en blows, lout due ces, may- particular, jregarded manner, nd plant plowing oth cases and the ng, time naraence- potatoes tushel of aterially. lels ; cut jckoning fie day's hen the value of r is con- ast. 1 should lich the ulence ; iryness, general ition, in ent, the dsinust rooiicts speated the one ime be natural on the in pro- ity. THE POTATO BOOK. ~- Error 4. Another most pernicious error is that of sellin"- or ealing the largest and best potatoes and selecting the smaller, poorer, bruised and scabious ones for seed. If a farmer should apply such a principle to the raising of domestic animals, he would most certainly be suspected of idiocy or madness. Yet the principle is precisely the same in both cases. Nor does the farmer ever think of abusing any seed or root in this manner except that of the unfortunate potato. The author has never maimed nor cut potatoes for planting; nor hap he during many past years planted them otherwise than according *o the plan herein recommended. He has never had appear- ance of disease among them. The attempt to raise the greatest possible quan- tity of potatoes per acre by means of strong manuring, engenders and perpetuates disease, and unless abandoned, will prevent all attempts at cure. One might as well undertake to raise the greatest possible number of calves from one cow's milk or one acre of grass. (The subject of manures or fertilizers is one of Immense importance, and, in mv opinion, before agriculture can become hygienic 'and placed on a truly scientific basis, the current methods of fertiliz- ing all plants which produce food for human beings must not only be reformed but revolutionized. As water, atnmonia, carbonic acid, and a lew earthly and saline matters constitute the food of plants, and as those are all constituents of the mineral kingdom, it is certainly a roundabout and expensive, as well as a filthy and troublesome business, to keep animals for the sake of manuring the soil. It is a common remark that cattle, horses, sheep and hogs, are nftO.fSfanrv if -nni- t-n. nr'^vl' «•!. 4-~ U~ i.-.- i.- .__ t jj .. .iVt, *v Wi/in. \jT ixj uu cabuu, lo supply 28 THE POTATO BOOK. •I fertilizers by converting the products of the veire. table kingdom into manure. There is no science vflr f ?v,'''J^"5r°^ manifested in this notion, in view of the fact the whole vggetable kingdom feeds on inorganic or chemical elements, while no animal can produce a particle of food of any kind, but merely subsists on what is formed in the processes of vegetable growth. .ff.M^T^^'it experience has shown that the meat kS? rJi T^^n^ ^""^ renovating old worn out -^r crop, and plow it in. Any vegetable matter of any kmd allowed to decay and -'ecompose, becomes a li K M ^ ^holesome fertilizer. But fertilizers can be obtained directly from the mineral kingdom whenever necessary, more economically and of better quahty than animal excretions can furnish 1 his subject 18 well represented in the Scientific American ol February 24th, 1872, a. d as the fa4 are exceeding y interesting and instr active, I copy the article entire : ^•' AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY AND CHEMI- K CAL MANURES. Ihe researches of that veteran chemist. Baron Liebig and others, m the analysis of soils and the use of artificial manures, did not result in such extensive progress in agriculture as was anticipated. As the effort to apply the knowledge gained by these researches was made throughout the world by intelligent agriculturists, it became evident that there was still some lack in agricultural chemistry some mysterious circumstance, relation or element' i1 nl't'^ *^'? endeavor. As a consequencrthe iflLf 1^ 'T?^!/^'"^'"^ ^«°^«^« a t^ing to be attends it. The prejudice thus created will for a do?b/Thtwr*^' progress; but there cannot be a doubt that the missing Imk, "which, if found i» ■m.',. --•■•'^»ie»,iS«... TIIK POTATO nooi^ 29! Liebig's researchc would have rosulted in success instead of failure, has at last been discovered. In the light of this revelation, the. cause of the failure to apply chemical principles to agriculture, is plain. We find it fully explained in the lectures of M. Ville, a translation of which, as delivered at the experimental farm of Vincennes, France, now lies before us.* These lectures are, wo believe, the most important contribution to agricultural science that has appeared during the last half century. In our view of them, which we shall not attempt to make exhaustive, we will give a glimpse of their character to such as have not read them. In the third lecture, M. Ville remarks : A priori, one would think that a chemical analysis which has been pushed so far in our day, and whose methods have acquired at the same time so much delicacy and certamty, ought at least to give us a means of estimating with certainty the richness of the soil, and so guiding us in the choice of the manure best suited to its nature. There is none, however, and I defy the most skilful chemist to say in advance what will be the return from earth submitted to him, and what manures are most appropriate. A few words w^ill explain the reason why che- mistry is powerless to furnish us with these indica- tions: you must recall the distinctions drawn between the different elements of which the soil is composed. Let us suppose a soil containing both quartz, sand and feldspar sand among its mechanical elements. For vegetation these two sands are equivalent, although the first is from silica and noming but silica, while the second is a silicate based upon lime, potash and soda, besides containing phosphate of lime in very feeble but appreciable quantities. Here, then, are two bodies whose composition. •Chemical Manures. Agricultural Lecture*, delivered at the experi- mental farm at Vincennes, by GeorKe Ville. Tran.«lated by MUm KL. iiowani. i nux: cdiuon. -atianto, ua. : i'iaiitatlou rub'ishiiig Co. 30 THfi I^ATO aoOK. ^^r^^i^ elairrr-^- no analog, point of^ie^ hecZeT"kldLL\^ agricut^f J? '^<*'« Jtt regard to vei/pf^Hi ^ '' '*®'"fi^ insoluble the quartz sand, thai i!*^*!!**'*'" descend! to that of nicaf e ement. Bur for f h "*^i *^ " "'"^Ple mecha insoluble bodies «« k ***® chemist ther« !^! his quotation, it "s neceiTa^v ?"^ *^« '"^^"inff of inc uaes all the essentS ^ *?• ^^^ *hat M. filli ^hich plants can ffro^rlu''^"^"*"^"** of soil in l^t he divides th^em^W^ '^^T'y ^^ i^^^lLT- which is azotic or «"/ ^^'^ ^^^asses. the W «p crops. The other mine?l *iT *^^*^« growth of are hence called meahanf. 1 /''*., "^^^hanicallv and "maintains that tTey S "*>«^er« ; but M^Vllle qnanfaties. and that^it's nof''^*"''*"^ ^^ ««fficien? bed 'th/'^^« '^^ ^ere'l oXof7, *^. ^'^^^^ doS>'tfesstan;%Cs'Sl^^\V^^^^^ Jizer" %u ^*^^® substances "fha , ^^^^ « aTn;. 1 ^^^ "^"-assimilable el«- * complete ferti- sparely mechanical in their eff^ "'', '°^«^^«'«d ^Il THK POTATO B(K)K. ai trateThtotT:"^ experiments are given to illn. In burnt sand free from all additions, but moistened with distilled water, wheat acqnires bnt a rudimentary develQpment-the straw hardly attains the dimensions of a knitting needle. In thfs condi- tion, however, vegetation follows its usual course • the plant blooms, bears grain, but in each head tLere are but one or two dwarfed, badly formed grains Thus, without soil, the wheat finds in the VfAtev It receives and the carbonic acid, of air, aided by the substance of its grain, resources sufficient- sorrowfully, , is true, but at last-to run through the entire cycle of its evolution. - From 22 grains of seed, weighing nearly 18 grains, we obtain 108 grains of harvest. Add the !f««,™'"^?*?' (phosphorus, sulphur, chlorine, sili- „^^' T"^^^™' "magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron, and maganese) to the sand, excludino- the azotic matter, and the result is but little more liHlo ^ ^ ''"', "T .conditions, the wheat is a little more developed than in the precedino- cas- but the harvest is still more feeble; it reaches 144 STh . ^"Pl'^*^^ the minerals and add only azotic matter to the sand; the growth will still be mean and stunted, but the harvest will slightly increase as It reaches 162 grains. Let us follow the chan 'es' withmi? Jlnl"* ''".?' ^<^8 grains; with minerals ratrilor,'l^62"grrs. ''' ^^^'"^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ In this last case, a new system is shown As long as we operate only with minerals, the plants are diseased, the leaves show a yellowish-green color As soon as we add azotic matter to the sand Lreen 1? '^"^' ^^T •^^^^'' ^^^""^'"^ ^ dark green. It seems as if vegetation would take its Unite azotic matter and iha r«i„.J7- • - Pi^^eamg. TtiO 111 tiiu burnt 82 THE POTATO BOOK. ?h« in* r""^ l"""" ^'" ^® *«""Pted to believe in the intervention of a magician, the phenomenon so S.n,^?K^^''''i *^°'? preceding it. Just now the growth was languishing, doubtful, diseased; now Sound^^'lp r* "P ^ '°°1J ^« *^«y ^reak the SrSf'r T^'.^""^. * beaatiful green; the ^rni? ;k T '*^^^ ^"'^f ^^ ^ ^«^.i-M\°^^n°^ ?^ '^« *w« classes of plants: it is possible to tell whether the soil contains the a^ot ' TPE POTATO BOOK. and mittei-al matters or not. Thuis, if peaii and^ wheat be planted in the same soil, and the peas yield well while the wheat yields Uttle, the land has the mineral elements, btt lacks the azotic or nitro- genous matter. At Vincennes, previous to the fertilization of the soil, land produced nothing, and hence was prdVed deficient in all the elements of the complete fer -Jizer by the addition of which it has been made extremely productive . As chemical analysis of soils fails for reasoni above stated, the richness of the soil is determined as follows : Suppose you institute seven cultures of the same plant— it may be of the beet, or wheat, as you will. ' To the first give the complete ferttliaer; to the second, the same fertilizer, excluding azotic matter- to the third, the complete fertilizer deprived of phosphate of lime; to the fourth, the complete former less the potash ; to the fifth, less the lime : to the sixth, less all the minerals—that is to say reduced to the azotic matter; the seventh not haying received any manure. i^^v^* is very evident that if, in the complete tertilMer, the eflFect proper to each component is manifest, but as it is associated with three others the comparison of the returns obtained from the seven strips of the little field ought to indicate what the soil e mtains and in what it is wanting. In this system of investigatidn, the ciiltutB with the complete fertilizer becomes, in a measure the invariable standard of comparison to which are referred the returns of the other strips of ground- and, accordmg as they approach or recede, we . conclude that the earth contains or does not contam r 1. X?"*®?* T.^*'^ ^^ ^e«» voluntarily excluded trotn the lertilizer. To put the value of this method beyond doubt, 5 ^* THE POTATO BOOKi different^ondSSig*^^ '^^^^^ ^^^^^ «a I^emedy 5. accordt"^* to 'si^Xm* T'"''"^ <^^«*-"-« apart feet is thf gene?:i rufr^^S^/C^ '^ ^^^^ *<> ^^^ the first year; three and a h«lf !^-n ^^^^^ ««^ee for second year, and possfblv w f'^f ,^ deeded the according to the increase of «? ^?^* *^« ^^i^d year ] i« quite possible and ?L ^5 ^'"""^ 3^«ar to year discovery or%rodn%Z\?tt\^',''^'^^'' ^^^^ *"« potatoes, with unusual expanTin "^ J*'^"^ ^^^d-* of render a space of more than W? f u'*""*' ^^^^d , The seed potatoes /th«li. f®^-*' *>eneficial. ly sound) .should be car&!dl'n T'^^ P^'fect- be unsprouted; and if „rnL f^P^^' ^W should to .e^inate ^fo." S> S^- ^I^Pe^-^Uel THE POTATO BOOK. 39 39 more or less dama^ved- nor will n vital or prolific if fho . I ^^'^ Progeny be so J»een broken off Lf nXr*' T \°"^' «^ l»«ve planted. ' ^ Potatoes should never be shoufd^r^tt^rif^^^tt' i^T'.^- -ight 18 much greater than tU '„ • '''' ^'^ *^« Planter good'^^keTor'^eS^^^^^^^^ >- ^^^^'^^^^ space should aS t^^^^^ Size and other, for, as already "remaS^ ^^^^^^^ *« eac^i useless ^thout the Xr V"''? «o°^Paratively tiftJly in relation to both size "7^*" sows boun- bountifully. ^^® *"<^ «Pace, will reap Error 6. dead^Se^r^i^trthl^S?^^^^^^^^^ where the undrained m!2«r "" ""f * ^^^p furrow, fyingheat of the 1^ n^ '''^ '^"^^«' ^^^ the vivi: contrary, be Dlaeed «« *ul' ^ ^^ should, on the are properly managed^' Such ^fj^ "*,""'«' *»' poses them to discMe P'ontang also predis- crops af we^ as%^Sr^Th.''l';,"!»\',''-. "'-k- 40 THE POTATO BOOK, the melons were L"^*? ^"«^ Vr^nl ^«^ „?"* DerisK „^j '® nearly arown /k .5^' *>*<» when Pensh, and sooa after IvervJ^J^^ ''''*«» »>o«to to "»y neighbors had sev^IT ^^^^'^ 'o*ted. ^ !? promising a cronl t ^^ acres of aa S^ri^ ^I Remedy e. VHHHHHBIIHii^&ttitite' THi. POTATO BOOK. 41 equeUze the distance ortL . *.'*^®' "^ *« *« well a. lengthwSe ' '"*' '^P*'*' *^'«««^"« «" emWd^ '* """""■^ '" ''"'='' "-^ potatoes «1 donble-Sionld plow c2u^i f" ^""» « ^dge' » of about one fo^tZ'StlrSf Sr„,'^"°'' mches on either side aiiH in tUT ' ".°"*''™ vitalize th? S,i^ «Tto L.^'S"'* u"""^** •«**" it .to «,!.,, atuT^pheri^a^d ^;,*«° i'i, '^^» this manner • ami «« »"« eiectncal influences in devisedTi^no^le'^d'tendert^dn^^ ?I wornoutlands—renderfl^Jklfu P'^/^uctive old natural md HTst-uc^^f l^.ff ^ *>'^ «ntygienic. un- st.ucaire iueiaoa oi iarming in vogue. 1 il THE POTATO HOOK. ^e 80 wid« >Sl^* *^»* the drills or riS "® ^'^e be dropped' J^«««ed ^^^ -^av a ' f/' ^*5^ '^<>t i'otfttoes may aJsn L ? ®' ''^ njaciinerir * f round i. +1/ , sutticient. Tho ,« "^y^ess oi bjecte of covering the potatoe. •ram potatd hook. 4a should never bTXntedund^rfh k'?' /°^**««» high fences. NofhCshSobst^^^^^^^^^ «' upon the growing plfnt, of air and JLIV %^^ P^^^' sun, moon and stars ^ ^'^^*' "^^ ^"^s. and curin'^g its ^sewe/ ""''■ ""^ " P""»ting .ubjio^oVr^-iteteVSir S-tt"" ^ process of ffermination «rl . Jl^^ ^^ "^^* "* *Jie Jrmatory ?f T '^rcCrfn'^'vWs'n '^^^^^^^^ action are antagonistic Jde^^ AtT "^^ 1?*^ mistryinUvinffstrnrf^iror nu • T " ^<» ©lie- the clftinSand^^^^^^^^^ *°*^«^ °»e«»« more, nothing less vlf« " ?-^ elements-nothing mical actiof arra~L Lw^^^ Processes. Che- into combinatSThicH: ^iTwe V'r^^ position, by which the priWv ??nl«'^ *^?*''*?- elements are restored T\uVv^ii"?® **' «»n»Ple the domain of or^nio h?^7- ^^^ *^" occurs in separated or decomno«p/ !k • S^®^® ^^^^^^t be mical analysis ever te"f- ^^^Tl^'^' '^^^ «*^ e^e- for the relsTnThat "t^itf ;„V^^^^ begins. Thev are nn)t^ . . ^®^**'® chemistry gra^d) intiTe various txc7etn7"'^^^^^ 1^^^^4 never snlirn ♦u^ _— u" "^cretions. Chemistrv will i... ,„, p.„„iem8 of life, although it may' »,^ '"* ''^'^^ BOOK. "^'.•p """" "^'"'o- «- less useful. Most of thZ ^ ^'''^ ^''^ ^^^e ^ the tubers oufof the Sound r""^"'* \°'5^ ^^row picked up by hind afZal ^Xe"^ *^'"^ V" ^' been constructed and ns^u some .w *7^ t'?^^ gather as well as die- m H.f *k ®**®"*' '^^^ch and expensive for LneS „i -^^^^/'^ *«<> heavy profitable at all fitt 7 LhW ^^.^J^^r^ ^^^^ «re machinery is at las attainii "^ • *^^ desiderata in Digger and G^^heZ "f^nL"^ ? »«^, "P^teto- ». N. Kilbourne A m^T^i ** Pnncipally by Mr late fair of^hr American t'^^I'*? "^^^^'^^^^^ ^t^e and elicited unirS«."'u''^' ^" ^«^ ^ork. model has also W„ J,PJ°*^*';-".- ^ ^^^^ machine is about tL slo ^nd w.T'r/n*^"^^- ^hif one horse cart, and can be pfJ^^^ ^^ ^" *»'^"iary jpan of horses' and driver ulJ^'li^''^ '^^^ a from the ground, raises Ind slts^tl *^' ^'^^ ?«« mg elevator, and deposit th«m- ^ °" " '"^^o^^- rear part of the Siie Iti''' " ^? ""der the adjustable plow, T^ich ?an b. J Pf ^»ded with an at will, acLdikff to th« ,,r*?^^?*t*^ ""^ depressed lerer by which Xridt^Wn^' *^« ^^i^^^. and a box when filled. It has "to " " '*? ^""P*5^ **»« harrow in front, which removL.h"''''^^*' '*^« «' operate eauallv J«ii lIu°V^J.? ^^^ ^nes. It will operate equally well wilw-u *^" ^"««- I* Th. m.*i,^«: .L,Y?^^ y^^^ Irish or sweet nnfof — -" ''e m market in time for the", next fHiE POTATO BOOK. When myotL^ '^^'" "maltreated in ^fK^'^ "P^' sereral weeks .ftl l ?"'^9"«''"y left in »,. dead rtonef^'" ''«»ff ripe, J.hou "h^f w "^ traasfonnatioM an^ I '" ""> conditions .k''™« stmctures. ^-^ *»«a«es ,h.t portai^to'Sr^S' h>bers are ripe, aT]itf„^r"" P'™'^ Ser fh. portion of th^'*" ""^ *^<'" "weft «./ '"*« ""Par- THE POTATO HOOK. «r or wiTrdrv''1^2°' "' ''^"^ *» *^» "'• «»». dtl« If moiJ „,^? " oustomary, after being ■ S e.rtl,^?„™ " " "'^' <"■ '''>'«•' ProtrndeTabove iH??.ptraaHiSSea straw or other material to protect them from Ae bSnnf^/"'" ^°"'^' «tro"g sunshine wTll ruS the best potato ever grown. Light changes the natural potato digging season, will learn That t pr^tice LT^ during the night. After Lh'g dried a^d ^ ^ZZ T ^"J'^^^^^Jy heated, and tolme fxtTnt blighted, they are gathered into baskets. The next sent ?o T"'^^I- '"T."^ ^^y« *i^«re«fter. Jhey are r./;jf; rTigh^Ld"%?trT*^^ 4'^" Sometimes they Te piled u« in h„ '''''f '"'• r; t ?ot^^ ?;..^":P^^ tov-^, ^«cic tae Diignting, if not 4t consumer th^^ . ^?^" t^ose potato?/ ^ ? ""<^- should be T^H^'*\^*'' ^^oni beiS^ rfofA '^*''^ *he be 80 ffeuprfliiTr wonder potatno«, T P'^P^rtion * 18 more tender, a«r ag. te- or d. le f a Tax POTATO BOOK. 49 ^„ n f. " '''^"''^ '^""'g'' it* medium, ^ Si „i,^! '''''"'™ '''"snte, becomes essential to ito proper preservation. Like the habitatioTof the cellar, bm-pit^ or earth-oovered and airless iave ex,ise ^w"* ^r °' "•« !»'»'<'■ ^h^ who expose their potatoes unnecoessarily to air liirht iitS' , "^ '""S •«> exposed to oxviren ffrS ', ,""?»''">'>'>'fl nature and its inde" ^^Sr;5Ltt:!Tesire!^?^-*r; f^t"s:^Sa?'rth:tof svtSF-f^^ potatoes be eaten or plaS '*'''^^'' ox sprouted --.. .T«x=i„,.„»„«u or temporary coaveaience ; "bit i I .» r C'ooisrxiTcs. '"^T^ToiEJfi -^^r £ '^^e'"^? if ^'-e^c ^ "oot them t> iTjfS' ™d l'i-ain.ffla^«^V"""<=Je- *»<» to make 1 f"*"!*" she reL?.i'l°"'"' "f Pepper, «d „j7''t^»» ■ — 1 ;'"A'^P"^ menr ciaiiaed for this method of cooking it, may seem extray^ant to m THE POTATO BOOK. those Who do not appreciate f},. • Bnt they have only to Sv tht Principle involved he convinced that Br L?! ^^P«""»ent fairly, £; . 8«rate in this matter 1 1.„^*''"'' ^««« not exkc^ cooked potatoes in the/r oZt V^f^ "^"7 S they are always sw, eter dT ^^-^l" «"d ^^ Cv satasfactory to W stomreh^^fi '^t'' ^"^ "^-'« «17 other r.ethod. I have r^^^^®'' ^^^o^^ed by fneal of them and nothfnl i""^^^ ^^^^v a whole «™r spoken or writtenUR t 5-,J ■''*''''^'" Blo< has extracted and wasted ?*^'"if ^ '" ^^^m, shoald bo dissipated,chanred o^lost bv^'"^^ '' be' destroyed , One example of nro* ^ ^^,^^-cooking. ^ "' j;nle for all proc'^ssrs • VaTtC^'^A^^^^^ «-^e as a but quickly. The shorter tiJ^'lt'"'' thoroughly water, the better ri?^ , "**^ tbey are in fi.^ tight-lidded, nn«nned^tLa^"^'^ ^^ cooL^ in^: better to have the ifd o?ft ^^^^epan; and it is metal as the vessel. Place tl^^'^P^" ^^ *be same To ascertain whether fi,^ *** ordinary one vessel off the fire and in I ^^^ ^'« ^«ne, take the m smoiently\Totl e'lurnT ^"" '^^ ^^^- '^ ' return the vessel quickly THE POTATO BOOK. M to the fire. When done, remoyo them at once from the vessel It is better to hare the vessel about two-thirds filled with potatoes; hence the vessel employed should be of a size adapted to the quantity to be cooked. About three-fourths of the bulk and weight of polatoes are water. This quantity of fluid 18 ample for producing all the steam required to cook them. Steam is hotter than boiling water, cooks the potatoes quickly and renders them dry, rich, and luscious. Good cooks will neither burn the food nor injure th<^ vessel. If otato-soup, madf in tht manner proposed by Dr. McLaurm, is one of the favorite dishes in my institution for invalids. I never knew a person, sick or well, to dislike it; and the majority are extremely fona of it the first time they taste of It, even when coming from an ordinary hotel or boardmg-house dietary, where almost everything is highly seasoned, to simple fare wit^but any season- ing at all. - R. T. T.] Steaming vegetables with peeled potatoes mingles the strength and flavor of all, and affords a palatable meal for sound stomachs and normal appetites. But as potatoes are the soonest cooked, they should be removed before the vegetables are done, or else not added until the vegetables have been cooking for a time. If potatoes are steamed to be mashed, milk may be added to soften them, for those who use milk ■ but to persons to whom milk is objectionable, gruel' or some juicy liquid, is preferable, as well as more hygienic. When potatoes are boiled to be mashed, it is important to have the proper quantity of water mashed with them, as excess or deficiency injures both quality and flavor. A meal of potatoes may be prepared in a few minutes by peeling them, slicing them very fine putting thew m a fryiii^-pan, covered so as to're*aia « S4 THK POTATO BOOK. ToTheTohf /"*«' ''«»iod r-'S «™» When seasoninff. int^J^ a^ ®^ cookino- and C«!f ^ nanf?PT. f^ '^tended to nleasp J* modes of innir k« J." ♦^»'^en ueiicion« frw ,,^ ^ wnojesome wh.oh Robert B„™, ;, the^Je^i'tC"'*^"' "' THK POTATO BOOK. 56 TO THE POTATO. Pm 1^!?"; "'y ""^^ acquintance cronie » I m glad to see thee bloom sae bonie Of fruits and flowers there is nae monie T«« r ^fn match wi thee : ' ^ I question much if there be onie, At least to me. It's now twa months since yo've been wi ,,« Ye'nT'-^K '""' ^""^^ i" aJd see us '''' Yell banish poverty quite fray us, A J i . "^^^ time ye stay • And trowtii. I hope ve Winna lea us, ' Till Whitsunday. PlL;^'^^ ""^ ^'^"^ r""= bouncing wencher llace thee upon a bowl or trencher * Wi floods of mUk as deep as stincher T»ii v , ^^ ^ase I had it : I n show thee fairly I'm no flincher, When once I said it. Ye're now the poor folks' bread and scon And hungry meals ye gar stan yon Frae me. to him wha IHls the throne K,.ifi O happy Ijrilain ; Buith young and auid man. wile, and wean, le had them eatin'.