(J76 now TO makf: the farm pay. 



II. M. Thomas, of Brookliu, Ontario, had it grown to a much 

 •rreater heiulit than tliat mentioned in the above extract, in 

 places measuring four and a half feet. It is abundant in seed, 

 vicldiu'T from live to eight bushels to the acre ; after threshing, 

 the haum is equally as good, and is bj'^ man^^ considered better 

 for cows than red clover ha3\ In this count}' (Ontario) many 

 able and intelligent farmers are ordering seed, being well satisfied 

 that it is, for all purposes, superior to red clover. So great is 

 Lhe demand in the United States that the seed is retailing at one 

 dollar and ninet}^ cents per pound, at the Rochester seed store, 

 though I believe, with us, it sells at thirt}'- cents a pound, or 

 Ufteen dollars a bushel. J. H. Thomas, 



Chinese Yam. — Having fully investigated the character and 

 merits of this yam, I have some positions to announce in regard to 

 it, which I should have much hesitation about advancing, if 1 were 

 not well assured of their triumphant verification by my country- 

 men. I assert, that this esculent, by its concentration of each 

 useful property, transcends in importance every other edible 

 vegetable of the earth, and that it is destined to supersede the 

 tropical and unreliable potato in all northern climates. The com- 

 bination of its admirable properties as food for man constitiite it 

 also the most estimable vegetable boon, and the most nutritious 

 aliment, for man and domestic stock, which God and nature, in 

 their all-pervading beneficence and benign provision, have bestowed 

 upon the inhabitants of our globe. I shall discuss all these points 

 on a future occasion in the ample sense to which they are entitled. 

 The present article is intended solely to impart such practical 

 facts and advice in relation to the plant as will aid those who are 

 now commencing its culture. I desire, however, to make known 

 that there are more than fifty varieties of various colors and forms, 

 and varying in length from seven inches to two feet. 



Characteristic Points. — This yam is a native of the northern 

 limits of the temperate zone, and will flourish in the coldest 

 regions of our country, and of the British territories, and will 

 endure, everywhere, the winters in the open ground. Its produce 

 is more than double the crop of any potato, and it never rots. It 

 will flouri.sh best on the now useless sandy lands of New Jer.sey 

 and Long Island, and of the entire coast range, and it will also 

 succeed on any other soil but a stiff clay. It does not require 

 replanting annually, but reproduces abundant crops from theifrag- 

 ments and small tubers that are left in the earth. There can " ~ 

 no fragment, howevci diminutive, that will not vegetate. Froi 

 tul)ers, the roots attain ten to twelve inches in length, and' wei£ 

 four to six ounces. From sections of the root, such as used ft 

 the regular crop, the roots attain eighteen to twenty-four inches 

 length, and weigh from half a pound to one and a half pound! 

 and often more. A plantation of this yam, is in China termed "i 

 permanent magazine of food," and the roots may be dug fresh fo 



