94 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



There is to be noted a very blamcable neglect on the part of farmers in not more 

 generally saving their ovpn clover seed instead of buying. The purchase, in fact, 

 with money, of any thing that he must have, and could raise, should be taken as 

 prima facia evidence of bad management ; and although it may he, under certain 

 circumstances, true economy to do so, it is a safe rule to presume the contrary, 

 and to throw upon him who does it the onus probandi. 



NUTRITIVE VALUE OF VARIOUS SUBSTANCES. 



A RESPECTED Subscriber, E. J. of York, whose letter was received during our 

 absence at the South, will excuse all apparent inattention. It is presumed that 

 an error was committed in copying the table. The following is perhaps as much 

 to be relied on as any of the many to be found in the books : 



Table showing the average quantity of nutritive matter in 1,000 farts of several varieties 

 of animal and vegetable food. 



Blood. . . 



Beef 260 



Veal 250 



Mutton 290 



Pork 240 



Brain 200 



.Chicken 270 



Cod 210 



Haddock 180 



Sole 210 



Bones 510 



Milk .... 



215 White of egg 140 



Wheat 950 



Rice >^80 



Barley 920 



Rve 79-2 



Oats 742 



Potatoes 2fi0 



Carrots 98 



Turnips 42 



Cabhage 73 



Beet root 148 



Strawberries 100 



Morels. 



Pears 160 



Apples 170 



Goosebemes 190 



Cherries 250 



Plums 290 



Apricots 260 



Peaches 200 



Grapes 270 



Melon 30 



Cucumber 25 



Tamarind 340 



Almonds 650 



896 



" The above table represents the relative proportion of solid digestible matter contained in 

 1,000 parts qf the different articles of ibod which are enumerated. 



" The nuti-itive matter of wheat is chiefly starch and gluten, and in this species of gr^n 

 the gluten is in much greater relative proportion to the starch than in barley, oats, or rye. 

 In rice there is httle else than starch. I'here can be little doubt that the great value of 

 wheat as an article of food depends upon the excess of gluten, which is a nitrogenous eub- 

 wlance, and has not inaptly been termed the vegeto-atumal principle. 



Boussingaxjlt's comprehensive and important chapter on ''food and feeding" 

 will be given in an early number. 



Subscribers are again requested to indicate any particular sul)ject they would 

 like to have discussed, and which may be supposed to carry with it an interest 

 10 warrant particular attention. 



ARRACACHA. 



Extract of a letter from Doctor 0. B. Smith, dated " Baltimore, 14th Muy. 1846. 



" I DID not receive, or plant any of the Airacacha sent to you by General Dkveheux. It 

 was about 18'28 or 1829 that I induced Capt. Matthews to bring me a large supjily of Ar- 

 i-a(;acha from South Ain<'rica. I retained about 200 of the roots for myself, sent 10 roots to 

 the Massachusetts Horticultural Soc-iety, 20 roots to the London Horticultural Society, 20 

 roots to Paris, and distributed small parcels to Richmond, Charleston, Pensacola, &c. &c. 



I cultivated the root for two years, until I found it to be utterly worthless in our climate. 

 T gave some to Samuel Feast, and he kept them several years. We all found thera 

 worthless." 



BoussiNGAULT Composed a list of equivalents, comparing various things with 

 wheat flour, making 100 pounds of that the standard. He puts down apio with 

 a query, thus: "Apio? (Arracacha)" : and according to his estimate it would 

 take 1,050 parts of the substance so referred to to replace 100 of Hour. 



The same author says rice is often cited as one of the most nourishing articles 

 of diet : he is satisfied, however, after having livid lung in countries where rice 



(190) 



