RAISING POTATOES FROM SEED. 

 BV THE EDITOR. 



WASHINGTON: 28th Jan. 1846. 

 Chevalier Fs. W. M. de Testa, , 



Chavg6 d'Afiuirs, &,c. from the Netherlands : 

 Sir : In reference to ihc seed of the Potato, 

 about which you honored hie witli inquiries, 

 they have never been preserved, as is believed, 

 in fiufKcienl quantitj' to be a marketable article 

 in this country ; in fact, they have been very 

 rarely saved by farmers for their own use ; and 

 to this may be attributed, in some measure, our 

 want of new and good varieties. The eager 

 temper and impatient habits of our people, 

 their love of change, and propensity to migrate 

 from place to place, produced in a great mea- 

 sure by the frequent and infinite division of 

 estates and irapoveri.sliment of families, prevents 

 the adoption, in agricultural matters, of vieans 

 to ends which require years of patient attention 

 before these ends can be consummated. Hence 

 the destitution of the country, since the estab- 

 lishment of om* independence, of fine orchards 

 and of choice fruit, the possession of which, un- 

 der the most favorable circumstaftccs, requires 

 years to realize, and which, after all, is only to 

 be had, with certainty and abundance, by rais- 

 ing new varieties of fruit from the stones and 

 seeds of peaches, apples, pears, &c. So with 

 the Potato. The seed, as you well understand, 

 is to be had from the Poiato-apple, growing on | 

 the top of '.ne plant. As in the case of fruit, 

 there is no security in this tliai " like will pro- 

 duce like.'' The product from Potato-seetZ is 

 various in color, shape, and qualities, and some 

 years must elapse before the best varieties can 

 be established and their qualities considered 

 permanent. For this reason, no seedling Pota- 

 toes should be di.scarded till after trial of the 

 third generation, nor a promising one be sooner 

 trusted. It is cnly after the third year that full 

 reliance can be placed on the pen^ianence of 

 characteristics as respects productiveness and 

 other qualities. 



The characteristics to be sought in the estab- 

 lishment of a new variety are — 1st. Moderate 

 size, which I ain persuaded, on the whole, is 

 most to be desired in animals, fowls, vegeta- 

 bles, &c. 2d. Regular shape: the eyes not 

 deeply sunk. 3d. Not bursting when boiled. 

 4th. Dry or mealy when cooked. 5th. An 

 agreeable taste. 6th. Larly in maturity. 7ih. 

 Not too luxuriant in the stems. Pth. Produc- 

 tiveness. As with fruit from stone and seed, so 

 there is no end to the varieties of shape, size, 

 colors and qualities to be derived from the seed 

 of the same Potato-apple. The roughness of the 

 skin generally indicates dryness, the waterj- or 

 waxy Potato being commonly smooth-skinned. 

 Thirty seedling varieties have been gathered 

 from spontaneous seedlings in a garden where 



{891) 



only one kind of Potato had been planted. 

 There is no fact in vegetable physiology belter 

 establi.shed than that soil has a powerful influ- 

 ence in changing the color, shape and qualitica 

 of the Potato no less than those of grain and to- 

 bacco. I observed this in the case of the fa- 

 mous Rohan Potato, one of the humbugs which 

 a few years past .served to ainu.se a credulous 

 public, so that it sold in Philadelphia for SI for 

 a single tuber. The imported root \\as very 

 large, and the quality waxy and coarse. In 

 two generations planted on stiff white-oak land, 

 manured, it yielded a very fine, smooth mid- 

 dle-sized Potato, excellent for table u.«e. It 

 is clear, then, that every cultivator should raise 

 seedling Potatoes until he establishes a variety 

 suited to his soil, and one which he may then 

 expect to endure. 



Nothing in the annals of American Horticul- 

 ture is better established than the origin of the 

 " Mcrcet Potato," raised from seed j)lanted in 

 Mercer County, and regarded as one of the best 

 and most popalai' varieties we have ever had. 



There is no reason to believe that better Pota- 

 toes could be had from seed in this country than 

 in Europe ; nor is it probable that they will 

 ever be saved in .suflficient number to be on sale 

 in the seed-stores. There is nothing more ne- 

 cessary than to gather the apple when ripe, sep- 

 arate the seed from the pulp, or perhaps to ex- 

 press the watery particles, leaving the seed in 

 tlie residuum of the apple, and to preserve them 

 until time for planting, which had better, in the 

 first instance, be in a hot bed. 



According to promise, I send you the Feb- 

 ruary number of the Farmers" Library, (a 

 monthly periodical devoted to Agi'icnllure and 

 its kindred studies and sciences,) with the dis- 

 sertation of Professor Morrk.v on the origin of the 

 Potato Disease, and would be gratified that he 

 should know that, according to his wish, it has 

 been published and spread before the cultivators 

 of that viUuable and important esculent in tliis 

 country, but which onr great staple and popu- 

 lar food, Indian Corn, renders of less material 

 importance in this countrj* than in tho.sc parts 

 of Europe not suited to the growth of maize. 

 If, sir, I can be at any time of any .serNice in 

 the interchange of agricultural knowledge or 

 products between our countries, I pray you to 

 rely with confidence on the humble instrument- 

 ality of one who can never be more happily em- 

 ployed. 



With i^cat respect. Sir. I have the honor to be 

 your obVeer^'X J. P. SKINNER, 



Edit. Farm. Library. 



Kitchen Pepper. — Ginger 1 lb. ; cinnamon, 



black pepper, allspice, and nutmegs, of each \ 



8 oz ; cloves 1 oz. ; drv .salt 6 lbs. Grind to- 5 



\ 



gether. 



Useful to flavor gravies, &c. 

 (Codley's Cyciopeedia of Pi-ac. Receiptfl. 



