362 ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETIES. 



on the Chinese yam, the introduction of which into 

 France is already accomplished. All the accounts from 

 those who have cultivated it in Guernsey are unfavour- 

 able, with the exception of that of Mr Carre, a gentle- 

 man who has paid great attention to the subject of ac- 

 climatisation. Pie recommends it as an article of food, 

 and purposes extending his cultivation of it. His suc- 

 cess leads to the conclusion that the failures in other 

 cases are due to improper management. The roots have 

 been tried both plain boiled and with sauce, and pro- 

 nounced delicious. In texture and flavour they are 

 excellent, and, if one vegetable can be compared with 

 another, may be said to resemble very good mashed 

 potatoes. The evidence of gardeners and others ac- 

 quainted with the plant leads to the belief that the 

 Chinese yam is an excellent vegetable, and, with pro- 

 per cultivation, will grow to an enormous size. It should 

 be planted in trenches, and the lighter and the more 

 sandy the soil, the better it will thrive. 



We are agreeably surprised to learn that the Brazilian 

 arrowroot is very successfully grown in Guernsey. The 

 produce of this plant is sometimes enormous. "From 

 IJ perch/' reports Mr Martin, sheriff of Guernsey, who 

 has zealously promoted the cultivation of this valuable 

 vegetable, " I manufactured one year 60 Ib. of arrow- 

 root, which I sold at the rate of Is. per Ib., being at the 

 rate of 193 the acre ! I have never succeeded so well 

 since. It has never failed, however, to pay me well for 

 the ground it occupied and the labour required by it." 



In the hope of inducing graziers to patronise accli- 

 matisation societies, we must not omit to notice that 

 the English Society is experimenting on bunch-grass, 

 which seems likely to be of service on waste and com- 

 mon lands. In his ' City of the Saints/ Captain Burton 

 gives this description of it : " The Festuca is a real 

 boon to the land, which without it could hardly be tra- 

 versed by cattle. It grows in clumps upon the most 

 unlikely ground the thirsty sand and the stony hills ; 



