MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 677 



use dail}', from early spring to winter, thus furnishing new yams 

 continuoush^ It is more palatable than the best Mercer or any 

 other potato. Its taste and flavor are intermediate between the 

 finest potato and arrowroot, of an exceedingly delicate farinaceous 

 character, and, like the potato, it is devoid of all insipid sweetness. 

 It is free from any ligneous or fibrous substance, and possesses 

 the peculiar property of not being subject to rot or deca}^ but will 

 remain perfectly sound and excellent in a dry state for a year, 

 thus rendering it exceedingly valuable for long sea voyages, and 

 for the prevention of scurvy. It is much more nutritious than an}' 

 other edible vegetable used by man, and more so than wheat or 

 any other grain. It is the only vegetable of all the earth which 

 combines an ample portion of azote, the grand constituent of 

 animal substances which imparts vigor to the muscular power of 

 man and beast ; and it is by the possession of this essential equiva- 

 lent in this esculent that the use of animal food is rendered un- 

 necessar}'- by the Chinese and Japanese nations, whose immense 

 populations comprise nearly one-half the inhabitants of our globe. 



The culture of this most estimable and productive of all vege- 

 tables, on the sandy soils of the south side of Long Island and 

 throughout the sandy region of the Atlantic portion of New Jersey, 

 which are of a character precisely adapted and congenial to its 

 growth and development, and where the crops will consequently 

 be much greater than in other locations, must impart a value to 

 those lands which no one has j^et anticipated ; and they may soon 

 command higher rates than any of the firm soils of the north side 

 of the Island or of the upper section of Xew Jersc}'. 



Preparation of the Soil. — The ground for planting tubers 

 should be rendered mellow and permeable to the depth of fifteen 

 inches, and for roots to the depth of twenty inches. Old decayed 

 stable manure, or, decayed peat or wood mould, should be mixed 

 moderately throughout. Over-manuring is injurious, and pou- 

 drette is unsuitable. 



Planting. — The season for planting is as soon as the freezing 

 , has ceased and the ground has become settled. • 



Tubers. — These should be planted in a double row — the rows 

 twelve inches apart, and the tubers ten inches apart in the rows. 



Roots. — The sections of root should be about one and a half 

 inches in diameter. They should be planted in a douljle row — the 

 vows fifteen inches apart, and the roots at twelve inches apart in 

 the rows. 



There is no plant whose culture is more simple and easy than 

 '';at of this yam. , 



Its extensive cultivation promises to our country a vast and 

 inexhaustible resource, derived from such soils as have hitherto 

 been most unproductive and unpi-omising. It will supersede and 

 far more than replace the failing and uncertain crops of the potato, 

 with the addition of this potent and comprehensive fact, that this 



