CHAP. VII."] POTATOES. 297 



brings their mode of living to be nearer that of 

 cattle. The man and his pig, in the potatoe 

 system, live pretty much upon the same diet, 

 and eat nearly in the same manner, and out of 

 nearly the same utensil. The same eternally^ 

 boiling pot cooks their common mess. Man, 

 being master, sits at the first table ; but, if his 

 fellow-feeder comes after him, he will not fatten, 

 though he will live upon the same diet. Mr. 

 CURWEN found potatoes to supply the place of 

 hay, being first well cooked; but, they did not 

 supply the place of oats ; and yet fashion has 

 made people believe, that they are capable of 

 supplying the place of bread! It is notorious, 

 that not/ting will fatten on potatoes alone. Car^ 

 rots,, parsnips, cabbages, will, in time, fatten 

 sheep and oxen, and, some of them, pigs ; but, 

 upon potatoes alone, no animal that 1 ever heard 

 of will fatten. And yet, the greater part, and, 

 indeed, all the other roots and plants here 

 mentioned, will yield, upon ground of the same 

 quality, three or four times as heavy a crop as 

 potatoes, and will, too, fora long while, set the 

 frosts at defiance. 



284. If, Sir, you do me the honour to read 

 this letter, I shall have taken up a good deal of 

 your time ; but the subject is one of much iui-* 

 portance in rural economy, and therefore, can- 



