I. AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ECONOMY. 319 



amount of the crop itself. Should this inference, which the 

 author now presents as provisional only, be substantiated by 

 the further experiments he proposes to make, it may be con- 

 sidered that the combinations of chlorine have the same 

 significance in the cultivation of the potato that gypsum 

 has to various other cultivated plants. 22 C, November, 

 1870,293. 



FEEDING POTATOES TO HOESES. 



In Germany, where potatoes are so much cheaper than 

 grain, the experiment has been repeatedly tried of feeding 

 horses upon them, at least in part, and this, as we understand, 

 has proved quite successful. In one instance five four-horse 

 teams were kept hard at work and in good condition on a 

 daily ration, for the twenty horses, of \\ cwt. of hay, 8 bush- 

 els of potatoes, 50 pounds of meal, and a liberal allowance of 

 chopped straw. The potatoes were steamed, mashed, and 

 mixed with the meal while hot, and then covered up and al- 

 lowed to remain for a time, during which they undergo a 

 slight fermentation and evolve a quantity of carbonic acid. 

 The chopped straw was worked in just before feeding. This 

 trial was continued for more than four months, and found to 

 agree with the horses, wjtrile at the same time it proved satis- 

 factory in point of economy. As this food must be sweet 

 and clean, great care is necessary to prevent the vessels in 

 which it is kept from becoming sour. 9 (7, 1871, 19. 



UTILIZATION OF SURPLUS POTATOES. 



In cases where the potato crop is so large as not to be 

 readily marketable, and more or less in danger of decaying 

 through the winter, the surplus can be so treated as to fur- 

 nish a valuable article of food, capable of preservation for a 

 long time. For this purpose the potatoes are to be washed 

 clean, steamed, peeled w T hile still hot, and finally pressed 

 through a fine sieve. The potatoes thus compressed are then 

 to be laid, while still hot, upon gratings, and dried as quickly 

 as possible, say in ten or twelve hours, in order to avoid any 

 souring or putrefaction, this being generally the result of dry- 

 ing too slowly or with an insufficient heat. The potatoes 

 dried in this way are of an excellent flavor, and can be packed 

 and kept for years in a dry place, and are serviceable for pro- 



