﻿AGRICULTURE. 
  193 
  

  

  vines. 
  They 
  are 
  then 
  better 
  ripened, 
  freer 
  from 
  water 
  

   or 
  sap, 
  and 
  consequently 
  keep 
  better. 
  They 
  should 
  not 
  

   be 
  suffered 
  to 
  remain 
  undug 
  until 
  the 
  ground 
  freezes, 
  

   as 
  they 
  will 
  become 
  frostbitten 
  and 
  rot. 
  

  

  The 
  most 
  approved 
  mode 
  of 
  preserving 
  the 
  sweet 
  

   potato, 
  is 
  to 
  place 
  them 
  in 
  piles 
  or 
  heaps 
  of 
  about 
  twenty- 
  

   five 
  bushels 
  each, 
  on 
  raised 
  ground, 
  with 
  a 
  flooring 
  of 
  

   corn-stalks 
  and 
  straM^, 
  the 
  sides 
  being 
  lined 
  with 
  the 
  

   same 
  material, 
  the 
  whole 
  covered 
  with 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  

   inches 
  of 
  earth 
  or 
  sod, 
  a 
  small 
  aperture 
  being 
  left 
  near 
  

   the 
  apex 
  of 
  the 
  cone 
  for 
  the 
  escape 
  of 
  the 
  moisture 
  

   which 
  passes 
  off 
  from 
  the 
  potato 
  when 
  undergoing 
  the 
  

   sweat, 
  which 
  always 
  takes 
  place 
  soon 
  after 
  they 
  are 
  

   placed 
  in 
  bulk. 
  

  

  Put 
  up 
  properly 
  in 
  this 
  way, 
  they 
  Avill 
  keep 
  perfectly 
  

   sound 
  and 
  sweet 
  until 
  June 
  or 
  even 
  later. 
  

  

  The 
  potato 
  patcJi 
  affords 
  a 
  good 
  gleaning 
  to 
  the 
  fatten- 
  

   ing 
  hogs, 
  which 
  are 
  usually 
  turned 
  upon 
  it, 
  and 
  find 
  in 
  

   the 
  small 
  tubers, 
  cut 
  and 
  waste 
  potatoes, 
  a 
  favorite 
  food, 
  

   on 
  which 
  they 
  thrive 
  rapidly, 
  and 
  is 
  a 
  good 
  preparation 
  

   for 
  after 
  feeding 
  on 
  corn 
  in 
  the 
  close 
  pen. 
  

  

  Some 
  planters 
  put 
  in 
  a 
  large 
  crop 
  of 
  sweet 
  potatoes 
  for 
  

   this 
  purpose, 
  and 
  when 
  corn 
  is 
  scarce 
  give 
  no 
  other 
  food. 
  

   The 
  meat 
  is 
  said, 
  however, 
  to 
  be 
  less 
  firm, 
  and 
  the 
  lard 
  

   more 
  oily, 
  than 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  corn-fattened 
  hog. 
  

  

  THE 
  IRISH 
  POTATO— 
  SOLANUM 
  TUBEROSUM. 
  

  

  The 
  Irish 
  potato 
  is 
  not 
  extensively 
  cultivated, 
  and 
  

   seldom 
  beyond 
  the 
  limits 
  of 
  the 
  garden. 
  

  

  Two 
  varieties 
  — 
  the 
  Meshanic, 
  and 
  the 
  Purple 
  Eye 
  — 
  

   are 
  those 
  which 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  most 
  approved, 
  the 
  red 
  being 
  

   rarely 
  planted, 
  under 
  the 
  common 
  belief 
  that 
  the 
  white 
  

   13 
  

  

  