1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



15 



now finds its way from the wild regions farther 

 North, down the river and the railways. Farm- 

 ers are slowly coming into the idea that sheep 

 afford mutton as well as wool, and begin to be- 

 lieve that some of the larger and coarser wooled 

 breeds might be more profitable than the Meri- 

 nos. Lambs, which a few years ago, sold for 

 Sl,50, readily bring twice that sum, and the great- 

 er weight of the fleeces of the coarser sheep 

 almost, if not quite, compensates for the inferior 

 quality of the wool. 



I have alluded to the manufacture of starch, a 

 sort of pioneer business, which leads the march 

 of agriculture towards the backwoods. Let me 

 tell the children who read the Farmer 



HOW POTATO STARCH IS MADE. 



The starch used in families for stiflening shirt 

 collars and the like, is not made of potatoes but 

 of wheat, usually. Potato starch is used in cot- 

 ton factories, chiefly, for what is called sizing. 

 The starch mill here is a low, cheap building, on 

 a stream of water which carries the machinery. 

 Mr. B. H. Plaisted is the owner. As you enter, 

 he will show you great heaps of potatoes, rough 

 and dirty, as they were dug. His cellar holds 

 SIX thousand bushels of them now. The Cali- 

 fornia potato is a good deal raised, a very large, 

 coarse potato, which yields a great crop, not very 

 good for human food. As the farmers sell them 

 for only twenty cents a bushel, thej' must get a 

 good many from an acre, to pay for their labor. 

 Onemgm raised 1280 bushels this year from four 

 acres, of the kind called Peachblows. The pota- 

 toes are first put into a long box into which wa- 

 ter is constantly pouring, and are there stirred 

 about with long, wooden fingers and thus washed. 

 Then they go into another place where there is 

 a huge grater, like a nutmeg grater, only greater 

 by a good deal, and thus they are grated into a 

 pulp. This pulp is carried along over five strain- 

 ers, upon which streams of water are falling, and 

 thus the starch is washed out and goes through 

 the strainers, while the skins and coarser parts 

 pass aiong. The starch seems to be all there is 

 in potatoes of any value, for what is left is thrown 

 into the river, and is thought here to be of very 

 little use for cows, to which it is sometimes given. 

 Next the starch andAvater that went through the 

 strainers, are pumped into large vats or boxes, 

 and there in a short time, the starch falls to the 

 bottom, and the water is taken ofi" the top by a 

 syphon, and the starch, clean and white, is so 

 solid that it can be shoveled up into heaps. 

 Lastly, it is put on to wooden frames, in a hot 

 room, heated with stoves and funnels, and there 

 dried, and then put into bags and sold. About 

 two hundred and forty bushels of potatoes of 

 sixty pounds to the bushel, will make a ton of 



starch, which gives about a pound of starch from 

 seven pounds of potatoes. The best and most 

 mealy potatoes make the most starch, but farm- 

 ers cannot afford to raise them for this purpose, 

 as they yield a smaller crop than coarser varie- 

 ties. 



If any of the boys or girls want to try the ex- 

 periment of making starch, it can easily be done 

 at home. Take a half dozen potatoes and grate 

 them to a pulp. Lay the pulp on a coarse sieve 

 and pour cold water upon it, and allow that which 

 washes through to stand a few hours, and the 

 starch will be at the bottom, fit for use. 



Winter comes early here. Snow fell so as to 

 cover the ground during the first week of No- 

 vember, and sleighing usually lasts four or five 

 months, leaving a season rather short for Indian 

 corn, which, however, is cultivated to some extent. 



All mountain regions are said to produce 

 strong, healthy, free and virtuous people, and 

 this region is no exception to the rule. Hard 

 work, pure air and few temptations, perhaps, may 

 explain the fact. 



Let not New Hampshire mountains be forgot- 

 ten when summer again drives people from their 

 city homes. Yours truly, H. F. French. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 KEVIEW OF THE SEASON. 



Mr. Editor : — A review of the season may 

 be interesting to the cultivators of the soil, and 

 journals from different parts of the country kept 

 with considerable care, would be of great value, 

 not only in comparing the fluctuations of the 

 season at a given place, but to compare the cli- 

 mate of difl'erent parts of our country with each 

 other, so that we may know what crops have been 

 successfully raised at any given place, and what 

 failures have occurred, which has much to do with 

 the prospect of market prices in the future. The 

 unsteady climate of New England is sometimes 

 more favorable to the husbandman than the more 

 steady climate of the Mississippi valley, yet 

 with all our mountains, rocks and hills, kind na- 

 ture furnishes us with all the necessaries and 

 many of the luxuries of life. The season has 

 been propitious — our crops have been mostly 

 first rate, and although some failures have taken 

 place, they are more in the form of luxury than 

 any of the necessary elements of life. I will now 

 take a review of the months from the record of 

 1858, beginning with the growing season. 



April has been about half a degree colder than 

 the mean, yet having a temperature more than 

 three degrees warmer than 1857, but coHer than 

 1855 and 1856. Only 2.25 inches of rain fell 

 during the month, consequently the ground was 

 much too dry for vegetation. Cold north-west 

 winds prevailed to a great extent during the 

 month, keeping vegetation in a backward state. 

 April left but a scanty growth of grass in the 

 pastures, while the forests were bare and deso- 

 late. The rain was much less in quantity than 

 usual, and we had barely snow enough to v.hiten 



