THE TIM BUNKER PAPERS. 



school-house, on the first Tuesday evening in December. 

 The subject announced for discussion was the &quot; Dioscorea 

 Batatas, or Chinese Potato.&quot; 



The appointed evening came, and the school-house, when 

 the orthodox hour of early candle-light appeared, revealed 

 some five and twenty of the farmers, mechanics, and pro 

 fessional men of the town. 



Deacon Smith was appointed Chairman, and as the pro. 

 ceedings were not designed for the public, it was concluded 

 to forego the usual ceremony of appointing a clerk. The 

 Chairman laid the subject for discussion before the meet 

 ing, and called upon gentlemen for their views of the dis 

 tinguished stranger. 



He said the topic had excited considerable interest 

 among cultivators, and a good deal had been said about it 

 in the papers. A nurseryman of distinction had claimed 

 for it remarkable virtues, and had threatened to drive out 

 all known esculents with it from the country. Great pains 

 had been taken to disseminate the tubers, and he had 

 learned that some of the tin boxes were imported into 

 Hookertown last spring. He had understood that gentle 

 man would be present this evening, who would relate his 

 experience. The meeting was open for remarks. 



Judge Bronson said he supposed the allusion to the tin 

 boxes probably meant him, and he had to confess that he 

 parted company with an &quot;X&quot; last April for one of those 

 articles. The contents, he said, were sand, and a dozen 

 black looking articles, a little bigger than pepper-corns, 

 that looked about as likely to sprout as so many crumbs 

 of Indian bread. He said his faith leaned hard upon a 

 pamphlet containing a beautiful illustration of the tuber 

 and a glowing description of its virtues and productiveness. 

 He thought it was worth trying, and had tried it quite as 

 thoroughly as any case he had ever tried in Court, and by 

 ordinary rules of evidence, he was constrained to pronounce 



