POTATO.

This is far the most valuable of all esculent roots; supposed to be a

native of South America. It is called the Irish potato, because it was

grown extensively first in Ireland. It was first planted on the estate

of Sir Walter Raleigh in 1602. It was introduced into England in 1694.

It has been represented as having been introduced into England from

Virginia as early as 1586, but attracted no attention, and for two

centuries formed no considerable part of British agriculture. It has

become naturalized in all temperate regions, and in many locations in

high latitudes. In tropical climates, it flourishes on the mountains, at

an elevation sufficient to secure a cool atmosphere. Cool moist regions,

as Ireland and the northern parts of the United States, are most

favorable for potatoes. In warm climates the potato grows less

luxuriantly, yields much less, and is liable to be ruined by a second

growth. In the latitude of southern Ohio, a severe drought, while the

tubers are small, followed by considerable rain, causes the young

potatoes to sprout, and send up fresh shoots, and often make a very

luxuriant growth of tops, to the complete ruin of the tubers. This is

called second growth. In cooler climates this second growth simply makes

prongs on the tubers, thus injuring the appearance and quality, but

increasing the crop. The only preventive is watering regularly in a dry

time. This can be done advantageously in a garden, and on a small scale.

In field culture, when second growth occurs, dig your potatoes at once,

if they are large enough to be of much use. If not they will all be

lost.

_Propagation_ is by annually planting the tubers. No mixture of sorts

ever takes place from planting different varieties together. This can

only be done in the blossoms, and will consequently appear in young

seedlings. To raise good potatoes, always plant ripe seed, and the

largest and best, and leave them whole. Selecting small potatoes for

seed, and cutting them up, and planting mere eyes and pearings as some

do, has done much to injure the health, quality, and quantity of yield

of the potato. Selecting the poorest for seed, will run out anything we

grow in the soil. _New varieties_ have been multiplying within the past

few years from seed. Some gentlemen are raising varieties by thousands.

Not more than one out of a thousand prove truly valuable. The quality of

a new variety can not be established earlier than the fifth year. Many

that promised well at first proved worthless.

To raise from seed, gather the balls after they have matured, hang them

in a dry place till they become quite soft, when separate the seeds and

dry them as others, and plant as early as the temperature of the soil

favors vegetation. Chance varieties from seed of balls left to decay in

the fall, as tomatoes, are recorded. Probably our present best varieties

had such an origin. Raising new varieties requires much care and

patience. Keep each one separate, plant only the best, and then you

must wait four or five years to determine whether, out of a thousand,

you have one good variety.

_Varieties._--These are numerous. Those best adapted to one locality,

are often inferior in another. That excellent potato, the Carter, so

firm in New England and western New York, is ill-shapen and inferior in

many localities in Illinois. The Neshannock or common Mercer produces a

larger yield in Illinois than in the Eastern states, but of a slightly

inferior quality. Most seeds do better transported from a colder to a

warmer climate, but with the potato the reverse is true. The best

potatoes of Ireland are usually inferior in the warmer latitudes of this

country. In ordering potatoes for seed it is better to describe the

quality than to order by the name. We omit any list, of even the best

varieties. They are known by different names, and are not equally good

in all localities. And all varieties are scattered over the whole

country, very soon, by dealers, and through the agency of agricultural

societies and periodicals. Different varieties should be kept separate,

as they look better for market, and no two will cook in precisely the

same time.

_Plant the large potatoes and plant them whole._ From a small eye or a

small potato to the largest they will vegetate equally well. And in a

wet, cool season, the small seed will produce nearly as good a crop as

the large. But the large seed matures earlier, and in a dry season

produces a much larger crop. The moisture in a large potato decaying in

the hill, is of great use to the growing plants, in a dry season. It is

also generally conceded that potatoes growing from cut seed are more

liable to be affected by the rot.

_Quantity of seed per acre._--The practices of farmers vary from five

to twenty bushels. It takes a less number of bushels per acre when the

seed is cut. The quantity is also affected by the size of the seed, the

larger the potatoes the more will it take to seed an acre.

Plentiful, but not excessive, seeding is best. It is a universal fact

that you can never get something for nothing. Hence light seeding will

bring a light yield. We think it best to put one good-sized potato in a

place and make the rows three feet apart each way. We think they yield

better than at any other distances or in any other way. We have often

tried drills, and found them more trouble, with no greater yield. The

soil should be disintegrated to the depth of sixteen inches and the

potatoes planted four inches deep, and cultivated with subsoil plow, and

other suitable tools, in a manner to leave the surface nearly flat.

Hilling up potatoes never does any good. We advise always to harrow the

crop, as soon as they begin to appear through the soil.

_Soil._--Any good rich garden soil is good for this crop, provided it be

well drained. Potatoes like moisture, but are ruined by having water

stand in the soil. New land and newly broken-up old pastures are best.

_Manures._--All the usual fertilizers are good for potatoes, but

especially ashes and plaster. The application above all others, for

potatoes, is potash. Dissolve it in water, making it quite weak, and

saturate your other manures with it, and the effect will always be

marked. The tops contain a great deal of potash, and should always be

plowed in and decay in the soil where they grow, otherwise they will

rapidly exhaust the land. It is supposed that nothing will do more to

restore the former vigor and health of the potato than a liberal

application of potash in the soil in which they grow. The crop will be

much increased in a dry season by manuring in the hill, dropping the

potato first and putting the manure on the top of it.

_Gathering and Preserving._--The usual hand-digging with hoe or

potato-fork are well known, and do well when the crop is not large. But

for those who grow potatoes for market, it is better to employ the plow

in digging. Modern inventions for this purpose can everywhere be found

in the agricultural warehouses. Potatoes are well preserved in a good

cool cellar, in boxes or barrels; and are better for being covered with

moist sand. The usual method of burying them outdoor is effectual and

safe, if they be covered beyond the reach of frost, and have a small

airhole at the apex, filled with straw.

_The Potato Disease._--This is altogether atmospherical. A new piece of

land was cleared for potatoes. In the middle was a close muck, on a

coarse, gravelly subsoil. In the lowest place a ditch was dug, to carry

off the superabundance of water; from that ditch the coarse gravel was

thrown out on one side, and suffered to remain at considerable depth.

Only two or three rods distant, on one side the plat extended over a

knoll of loose sand. Potatoes were planted, from the same seed, at the

same time, and in the same manner, on these three kinds of land, side by

side. They were all tended alike, needing little hoeing or care, the

land being new. The rot prevailed badly that season. On digging the

potatoes, it was found that in the coarse gravel, where the air could

circulate almost as freely as in a pile of stove-wood, all the potatoes

were rotten: on the muck, which was unlike a peat-bog, very fine and

tight, almost impervious to the atmosphere, they were nearly all sound;

on the sand, which was quite open, but tighter than the gravel, part

were decayed and the rest sound. Their condition was graduated entirely

by the condition of the soil. It is an apparent objection to this

theory, that when the rot prevails, the best potatoes are raised on

light, sandy soils. It is said that they are open to the action of air.

To this it is replied, that whether they rot or not, in sandy soils,

depends on the kind of sand. On some sand they rot very badly, on others

hardly at all. Sandy soils differ very materially: some are almost pure

silex; while others are filled with a fine dust, and, although

apparently loose, are much more nearly impervious to the air than

heavier soils; on the former, nearly all will decay, and on the latter,

most will be preserved.

Look at the immense potato crops near Rochester, N. Y., on sandy land.

We have personally examined it, and find it to be filled with dust, that

excludes the air, and saves the potato from rot. Why, then, is a heavy

clay useless for potatoes? Is not clay a very tight soil? Unbroken it

is; but, when plowed, it is always left in larger particles than other

land--it is but seldom pulverized. The spaces between the particles are

all open to the free action of the air; hence, instead of being close,

it is one of the most open of all our soils. This confirms the theory.

The influence of manuring land is still another confirmation. We are

directed not to manure our land for potatoes when the disease prevails.

It is said we can raise no sound potatoes on rich land when the rot is

abroad. This is an error. The richness of the soil does not promote the

disease; but if any kind of manure be applied that, from its bulk and

coarseness, keeps the soil open to the air, the potatoes will rot. But

fertilize to the highest extent, in any way that does not make the soil

too open, and let in the air, and the crop will be greatly increased

with perfect safety. Thus, this theory, like every truth, perfectly fits

in all its bearings.

There is, then, no perfect remedy for the disease but in the power of

Him who can purify the atmosphere. Numerous remedies and preventives

have been recommended, by those who suppose they have tried them with

success. But in other localities and soils, all their remedies have

failed, as will all others that will yet be discovered. A careful

examination of the texture of the soils, upon the principles here

indicated, and a repetition of their experiments, will show the

discoverers that their success depended upon their soils, while others

failed in using the same remedies on other soils. The practical uses of

this theory are obvious. When the disease is abroad, we should select

soil that excludes, as much as possible, the atmosphere, and plant

_deep_; on all land not liable to have water stand on the subsoil. Do

not be deceived into the belief that all sandy land will bear good

potatoes, in the seasons when the disease prevails. The worst rot we

ever had was in 1855, on very sandy land. This year (1857) we have

witnessed the worst rot in open sand and gravel. Add to this, great care

in preserving the health of the tubers. Plant very early, only whole

potatoes, and of mature growth, thoroughly ripe; apply a little salt and

lime, plaster rather plentifully, and potash, or plenty of

wood-ashes--and you will succeed in the worst of seasons.

PRESERVING FRUITS, &c.

The essentials in preserving fruits, berries, and vegetables, during the

whole year, are, a total exclusion from atmospheric action, and, in some

vegetables, a strong action of heat. We have a variety of patent cans,

and several processes are recommended. The patent cans serve a good

purpose, but, for general use, are inferior to those ordinarily made by

the tinman. The patent articles are only good for one year, and are used

with greater difficulty by the unskilful. The ordinary tin cans, made in

the form of a cylinder, with an orifice in the top large enough to admit

whatever you would preserve, will last ten years, with careful usage,

and they are so simple that no mistakes need be made. It is usually

recommended to solder on the cover, which is simply a square piece of

tin large enough to cover the orifice. Soldering may be best for those

cans that are to be transported a long distance, but it is troublesome,

and is entirely unnecessary for domestic use. A little sealing-wax,

which any apothecary can make at a cheap rate, laid on the top of the

can when hot, will melt, and the cover placed upon it will adhere and

cause it to be air-tight. All articles that do not part with their aroma

by being cooked, may be perfectly preserved in such cans, by putting

them in when boiling, seasoned to your taste, and putting on the covers

at once. The cans should be full, and set in a cool place, and the

articles will remain in a perfect state for a year. The finest articles

of fruit, as peaches and strawberries, may be preserved so as to retain

all their peculiar aroma, by putting them into such cans, filled with a

sirup of pure sugar, and placing the cans so filled in a kettle of

water, and raising it to a boiling heat, and then putting on the cover

as above; the heat expels the air, and the cover and wax keep it out.

Stone jugs are used for the same purposes, but are not sufficiently

tight to keep out the air, unless well painted after having become cold.

Wide-mouthed glass bottles are excellent. But, in using glass or stone

ware, the corks must be put in and tied at the commencement, leaving a

small aperture for the escape of steam, and the process of raising the

water to a boiling heat must be gradual, requiring three or four hours,

or the bottles will be broken by sudden expansion. Make the corks

air-tight by covering with sealing-wax on taking from the boiling water.

Some vegetables, as peas, beans, cauliflowers, &c., need considerable

boiling, in order to perfect preservation. Tin cans may stand in the

water and boil an hour or two, if you choose, and then be sealed. The

bottles should be corked tight, have the cork tied in, and then be

immersed and boil for an hour: take them out, and dip the cork and mouth

of the bottles in sealing-wax, and all will be safe.

By one of these processes, exclusion of the atmosphere and thorough

boiling, we may preserve any fruit or vegetable, so as to have an

abundance, nearly as good as the fresh in its season, the whole year,

and that at a trifling expense. All fruits and vegetables may also be

preserved by drying. By being properly dried, the original aroma can be

mostly retained. The essentials in properly drying are artificial heat

and free circulation of the air about the drying articles. Fruit dried

in the sun is not nearly so fine as that dried by artificial heat. An

oven from which bread has just been taken is suitable for this purpose;

but a dry-house is better. A tight room, with a stove in the bottom, and

the fruit in shallow drawers, put in from the outside, serves a good

purpose. Construct the room so as to give a draft, the heated air

passing out at the top, and the process of drying will be greatly

facilitated, and the more rapid the process, without cooking the fruit,

the better will be its quality. This process is applicable to all kinds

of vegetables. Roots, as beets, carrots, parsnips, or potatoes, should

be sliced before drying. The object in drying the latter articles would

be to afford the luxury of good vegetables for armies and ships' crews,

in distant regions, and in climates where they are not grown. Milk can

be condensed and preserved for a long time, and, being greatly reduced

in quantity, it is easily transported. It is not generally known in the

country that Mr. Gail Borden, of New York, has invented a method of

condensing milk, fresh from the cow, so that it will perfectly retain

all its excellences, including the cream, and by being sealed up in tin

cans, as above, may be kept for many months. The milk and the process of

condensation have been scientifically examined by the New York Academy

of Medicine, and pronounced perfect, and of great value to the world. We

have used the condensed milk, which was more than a month old; it had

been kept in a tin can without sealing and without ice, but in a cool

place. It was sweet and good, differing in no respect from fresh milk

from the cow, except that the heat employed in condensing it gave it the

taste of boiled milk. If kept in a warm place, and exposed to the

atmosphere, it may sour nearly as soon as other milk: but it may be

sealed up and kept cool so as to be good for a long time. The

condensation is accomplished by simple evaporation of the watery part,

in pans in vacuo. No substance whatever is put into the milk. Four

gallons of fresh milk are condensed into one. When wanted for use, the

quantity desired is put into twice the quantity of water, which makes

good cream for coffee; or one part to four of water makes good new milk;

and one part to five or six makes a better milk than that usually sold

in cities. Steamers now lay in a supply for a voyage to Liverpool and

return, and on arrival in New York, the milk is as good as when taken on

board. The advantages will be numerous. Such milk will be among regular

supplies for armies and navies, and for all shipping to distant

countries. All cities and villages may have pure, cheap milk, as the

condensation will render transportation so cheap that milk can be sent

from any part of the country where it is most plenty and cheapest. The

process is patented, but will be granted to others at reasonable rates,

by Borden & Co.; and eventually it will become general, when farmers can

condense and lay by, in the season when it is abundant, milk for use in

the winter, when cows are dry. This will make milk abundant at all

seasons of the year, and plenty wherever we choose to carry it. It will

also save the lives of thousands of children, in cities, that are fed on

unwholesome milk or poisonous mixtures. There is no temptation to

adulterate such milk, for the process of condensation is cheaper than

any mixture that could be passed.

Preserving hams is effectually done by either of the following methods.

After well curing and smoking, sew them up in a bag of cotton cloth,

fitting closely, and dip them into a tub of lime-whitewash, nearly as

thick as cream, and hang up in a cool room. This is a good method,

though they will sometimes mould. The other process, and the one we most

recommend, is to put well cured and smoked hams in a cask, or box, with

very fine charcoal; put in a layer of charcoal, and then one of hams;

cover with another layer of coal and then of hams, and so on, until the

cask is full, or all your hams are deposited. No mould will appear, and

no insect will touch them. This method is perfect.

Another process, involving the same principles as the preceding, is to

wrap the hams in muslin, and bury them in salt. The muslin keeps the

salt from striking in, and the salt prevents mould and insects.