298. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[April 14 



cessess of dying, grinding, ;ind puiling tlie arti- 

 cle up (or distanl markels. 



It will be necessary to |iloiigli the land deep- 

 ly, for madder, befori; llio winter, into liigh 

 ridges, in order that it may be exposed to the 

 action and influence of the frosts, and the at- 

 mosphere. Early in the spring tlicse ridges 

 should be well harrowed down by a heavy long 

 lined harrow, and then ploughed ajain in the 



Contrary direction to a good de[ith. And when i-itf T^rTDC rir' T'trr v*M 



after this the land is not perfectly clean from CULTURE OF THE YAM. 



weed^, or not rendered sufficiently fine and mel- Mr Ely of West Springfield remarks that in 

 low, another ploughing and harrowing should j VVillich's Domestic Encyclopedia, under the ar- 

 be given. In the last operations the ground tide Yam, is given a particular description of 



look over l^e ground and put fresh vigorous 

 plants in the places where the others have been 

 destroyed. 



It is of the greatest consequence to the crop 

 that it be perfectly clean ; and that the mould 

 be occasionally stirred about the roots of the 

 plants. HOPSON. 



From the Mass. ^gricul. Repos. vol. Hi. page 68. 



should always be left in as level and even a 

 state as possible. It is th"n ready for the re- 

 cejition of the plants. The sets or plants may 

 then be obtained eiiher by sowing the seeds up- 

 on a bed of earlli which is rich, and made per- 

 fectly fine by digging and raking in the spring 

 and then lightly covering in, or from olTsets or 

 suckers from the old plants. In the first me- 

 thod, on the plants appearing they should be 

 made perfectly clean by weeding, and tc be set 



this vegetable. They arc said to grow in A- 

 merica, and in the counties of Mid-Lothian and 

 Sterling in Scotland, where they are raised and 

 given to milch cows advantageously, and are 

 cultivated on poor soils, which they meliorate, 

 and prepare the land for a crop of wheal, pro- 

 duce twelve tons to the acre, and on some ac- 

 counts are preferable to the Pntatoc. If they 

 will llonrish in Scotland, will they not, he asks, 

 in New England? Dr Willich being a Scotch 



out at the distance of three inches in the beds j man, his information of the Yam growing there 

 by the hoe. In this way, by keeping the ground i is probably correct. It is therefore surprising. 



quite clean and well stirred about the plants, 

 they will be ready to set out in the second au- 

 tumn, though it will be mostly better to defer 



the business till "spring. It requires aboit thirty r^,,,^ f^|i,„vlng, from the Domestic Encycloue 

 thousand plants lor settmg an acre ol land The , jj^^ j^ ,he account all.ided lo by Mr Ely :] 



says he, that they are not cultivated in NfW 

 England; and refers to DrWillich's description 

 for a more particular account of the Yam. 



ed in casks, like flour, and imported in a per- 

 fectly sound state from the West Indies ; when 

 grated, and mixed with wheaten or barley- flour, 

 they may be formed into a light and salubrious 

 bread. Nor are they less nourishing, when con- 

 verted into pottage, or pudding, with the addi- 

 tion of milk. Thus, Mr R. Pearson (" Annals 

 of Agriculture,'' vol. 35), informs us that the 

 meal obtained from the boiled aud grated roots, 

 when beaten up with milk and eggs, without 

 any flour, yielded a firm and well flavoured dish; 

 which could with diflicully be distinguishecl 

 .•"rom a common batter-pudding. By this treat- 

 ment, the yams are divested of their saccharine 

 taste, which renders them at first disagreeable 

 lo some persons; though such properly is, on 

 the whole, of considerable use ; as it sa»e3 the 

 expense of sugar. 



most suitable lime for taking the sets U shown 

 by the plants having attained the height often 

 or twelve inches (rnm the ground, and the suck- 

 ers having thrown out fibrous roots from their 

 bottoms. This may be seen by drawing up a 

 few of the plants, and usually, about the latter 

 end of .May or beginning of June. Besides it is 

 necessary that the sets have formed rcot-fibres 

 at the bottoms, before they are removed, as 

 svhere that is not the case they never succeed 

 well. The land being prepared as directed, 

 and the ]ilants jirovided, a sufiicient number of 

 labourers are to be employed, Ihat the work 

 may be performed as expeilitiously as possible. 

 In taking ofT the sels much care is necessary 

 not to injure then). Tlie number of plants that 

 can be set in a short time shriuld be taken up at 

 once. They should be prepared by having a 



" Y'.\M, or Dioscoera biilhi/cra. L. is a native of 

 Ceylon, whence ils culture has been introduced 

 into the West Indies, and other parts of .Ameri- 

 ca; it is divided into two varieties, known un- 

 der the name of red and zahite, Irom the colour 

 of their bulbous roots. 



Yams flourish best on poor soils; and retain 

 their beautiful verdure till a late period in iIip | 

 year; hence they are said to ameliorale the I 

 ground nearly as much as a crop of turnips. — I 

 Being propagated by setting llie eyes, their cul- ' 

 lure corresponds with Ihat of potatoes ; and like 

 these roots, yams olten prove an excellent pro- 1 

 paralory crop for wheat. Farther, they are j 

 very productive; so that the red variety yields I 

 iu general, 12 Ions per acre ; Ihe white sort is j 

 ess fruitful; but, being more delicate, it is i 



ihird part of their tops cut off; a sort of thin ! c^'efly raised for the table, in the West Indies 

 batter should be made by mixing good vegela- 1 '-T'le culture ol these bulbous roots m Britain is 

 Ide mould and water well together, into which 1 a' present, we understand, confined lo the coun- 

 •he root of the sets should be well dipped be- I "es of Mid Lmhian and Stirling; where they 

 .'ore they are placed into the earth, as by this »re given lo cows; the milk ol which is thus 

 means the necessity of watering the plants af- considerably increasod,withoui aiTecling ilscpiiil- 

 'erwards is prevented. This work is executed j ''y °r flavour. 



by n person before the planting commences.— | As an article of food, the yam possesses simi 

 Two others are employed afterwards in distri- i 'ar properties with the polaloe, excepting that 



billing the plants so as to be convenient for put- 

 ling them into the ground. 



These sets afler Ihe land has been formed in- 



it is less mealy ; in a raw state, it is viscous ; 

 but, when roasted, this bulbous root is equally 

 wholesome and nourishing, so Ihat the inhabit 



to beds, five feet in breadth, with two feet be-j""'* o' 'he V\ est Indies prelcr it even to bread, 

 tween each for interval-, are put in by means '" ^^^^'n^ respects, thcrelore yams are more val- 

 of a line and dibble, beginning at a distance of "''''le than potatoes; because the former are 

 six inches from the oulsides and settmg a ,ow i'n"cl> lighter, and more easily digested. When 

 of plants at a distance of five, six, or more inch-! tirst dug out ol the ground, then dried in the 

 es from each other; then removing the line two (*"•"• ■'">'' preserved Irom humidity, m casks lull 

 :eet further on them, and putting in another "' '''7 ^<'nd, they may be kept (or several years 

 row, and so on, till the bed is finished, !n this I '""".i"re'l '-y 'rost, and without losing any part 

 way each lud coulains three rows of plants, at | "' >l'""' ""IrUne quality. These beiiehcial 

 ivo feet distance each. i roots may also be peeled, deprived ot their 



As some of the plants are liable to die soon molslurn by pressure, and dried in the same 

 after the work has been performed, it is neces- "'-'"r^^r as Mr Millinglon .lirects potatoes to be 

 sary. in tho course of two or three week", (o ' preserved. In this manner yams may be pack- 



AGRICULTURAL ITEMS. 

 The shepherds in Spaia cure Ihe scab in 

 sheep with an ointment made of the trunk and 

 roots of the juniper, by breaking them into small 

 pieces, and infusing them in water ; without 

 add.ng anything else. 



It has been found that mixing a small propor- 

 tion of any kind of oil with the tar used in tar- 

 ring trees, preserves it in so moist a state for 

 some lime as to preclude the necessity of re- 

 pealing the operation so frequently as heretofore 

 has been ("ound necessary. 



Tlio common niuslardseed which grows with 

 very lillle cultivation, and is easily gathered 

 and cleaned by those farmers who have floors 

 for ihreshing wheat or flax seed, — is worth 

 from three to four dollars per bu«hel. .-\n acre 

 tii" good land will produce from fifteen to twenty 

 bushels. 



The Rev. Fr. Haggill, o( Durham, England, 

 has lately staleil a successful experiment for 

 savin* Ihe consumption of flour in making bread. 

 Mr Hajrirjit gives the following account of the 

 process-. I took five pounds of bran, boiled it, 

 and with the liquor strained from it, kneaded 50 

 pounds of flour, adding the usual quanlily of salt 

 and yeast. When the dough was sufliciontly 

 risen it was weighed, and divided into loaves ; 

 lliG weight before it was put into the oven being 

 9.) poinds 1,". ounces, or about pounds 10 oz. 

 more than the same quantity of flour kneaded 

 in the common way. It was then baked 'Z hours 

 and some lime after being dr.iwn, Ihe bread was 

 weighed, and gave C3 pounds and 8 ounces — less 

 in baking, 10 pounds and 5 ounces. The same 

 quantity of flour kneaded xvilh common water 

 loses about 15 pounds 10 ounces in the baking, 

 and produces only 69 pounds and 8 ounces of 

 bread; gain iiy my method 14 pounds, that is, a 

 clear increa-e of one fifth of the usual quantity 

 of bread from a given quanlily of flour. He also 

 stales that the bran, afier being used in this way 

 is equally fit for many domestic purposes. 



The preservation of fi-h for a few days in 

 summer, or during long journey:, may it is said, 

 be affected by removing their entrails and 

 sprinkling Ihe internal and e."(ternal surfaces 

 wilh a mixture of sugar and charcoal, which 

 will for P considerable period prevent the least 

 taint, and may be washed off clean previous lo 

 cooking the fish so preserved. 



