112 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



tenfold better than where tlicy are now entering upon the respon- 

 sibilities of life. To furnish the means for enabling poor but ' 

 worth}' families to leave the city to settle in the west, would be 

 the highest order of phihiuthrophy. 



A Long-keeping Sweet Apple. 



Mr. J. L. Gerrish, Mastyard, N. H., sends a specimen of a medium- 

 sized, 3'ellow, sweet apple, which keeps perfectly, without any 

 extra care, up to the present time, and is of pleasant taste and 

 delicious odor. It is known in that locality as "Center Apple." 

 It is not recognized by any one present. 



Thee Hopper. 

 The cherry twig sent from Seneca county, N. Y., by Mr. L. 

 Yarnell, shows a mark upon one side, several inches in length, 

 which looks as if it had been punctured by the teeth of a line saw, 

 is the work of an insect. Doctor Trimble says, known as the " tree- 

 hopper." It does not do much damage. Adjourned. 



May 15, 1866. 

 Mr. Nathan C. Ely in the chair — John W. Chambers, Secretary. 



Improvement of Potatoes. 

 ISIr. John Owen, Fairmount, Mo., writes to the club thus : 

 " Permit me to make known to you, and through you to the world, 

 a little of my practical knowledge from thirty years' experience 

 in the culture of the Irish potato. To improve their quality, per- 

 fect the species, increase the size, and make it mature in the short- 

 est possible space of time, I select the round and smooth potatoes 

 and cut them in two, in the middle, separating the stem end from 

 the seed, or blossom end. I plant the stem end, reserving the 

 blossom end for the table. I prefer to plant in hills three feet 

 apart each way, putting four pieces in a hill, with the flat side 

 down, so as to form a square. Cover the seed four inches deep. 

 When the tops are eight or ten inches high, plow and hoe, filling 

 ■with four inches more of earth, keeping the stalks well separated. 

 Hoc no more after this. Then all they want is a good shower of 

 rain to bring them to maturity, as they only make one setting. 

 The pieces planted from the seed end of the potatoe will continue 

 to put forth new tubers, and produce small potatoes during the 

 entire season. The sprouts from the stem end will make only one 



