NEW ENGLAND FAllMER. 



Feb. 



eter was one inch at the Ijottom, and one-sixth of 

 an inch at the top. We cooked one of them with 

 pink-eyes of much larejer size. The pink-eyes haked 

 in 35 minutes, the Chinese potato in CO. In flavor 

 it somewhat resembles the Irish potato ; but is not, 

 in my estimation, at all to be compared with the 

 best varieties. It leaves a slightly disagreeable, 

 pungent sensation in the mouth." 



Mr. Verry Aldrich imported from France, 

 last spring, among other things, five Dioscoreas. 

 They were planted in his garden. The following 

 extract from his communication to the Prairie 

 Farmer gives the result of his trial : 



"They came up in due time after planting, grew, 

 looked, and ran up a stake like our wild morning 

 glory — first frost killed the vines. They were har- 

 vested a few days ago, and the entire crop is seven 

 potatoes — if they can be called that — from nine to 

 fifteen inches long, about one-third of the lower 

 end of the largest swelled out to about three-fourths 

 by one inch, the upper end the size of a large pipe 

 stem. They ran down ])er])endicularly and have to 

 be dug with a spade. The whole crop would not 

 make half of one meal for any vrell man." 



Well, we have not planted, and watered, and 

 dug the Dioscorea, and taken it up tenderly at the 

 table, and tasted and tested, and commented on its 

 merits — we do not know them, we confess, and 

 shall not, therefore, condemn. But if it is so ex- 

 cellent a root, and it has not cost Mr. P. a "mint 

 of money" to introduce it, it does seem to us that 

 the conditions of getting hold of it might be a lit- 

 tle easier. 



For the New England Farmer. 



SHEEP OH SMALL FAEMS. 



Mr. Editor : — I send you a few facts about the 

 profits of keeping sheep on small farms. I have a 

 small hard farm, and keep but a small stock, say 

 one horse, one yoke of oxen, six cows, and six 

 sheep. I let them all feed in the same pasture to- 

 gether, only reserving a field of about two and one- 

 half acres of very high land, exclusively for ihe 

 sheep and lambs ; and Avhen I open a new lot in 

 the fall, I do not allow the sheep to share in it. In 

 the winter, I feed my sheep plenty of meadow or 

 swale hay, until about the time of casting their 

 lambs ; at which time, I give them English hay, or 

 rowen, with a small quantity of corn. I cannot 

 boast of large fleeces, but range about four pounds. 

 Last winter, I kept six ewes, from which I obtain- 

 ed about 



24 lbs. of wool, sola at 35 cts .«8 40 



Eleven lambs, sold ten at 37 50 



The one kept is worth 4 CO 



$49 90 



Jflaverhill, Mass., lSo6. Damel Webster. 



Benson (Vt.) Farmer's Club. — The first exhi- 

 bition of the Benson Farmer's and Mechanic's 



HINTS FOa WINTER. 



The following comm.unlcation from Mr. E. Mer- 

 iam, the Brooklyn meteorologist, to the Ports- 

 mouth Journal, will be read with interest. The 

 fact that Mr. Meriam makes hourly observations 

 of the state of the temperature night and day, sum- 

 mer and winter, has been remarked upon by the 

 press as a singular instance of devotion to science. 

 What will these astonished quid lixics say, when 

 they learn that our philosopher steps hourly from 

 his warm bed into the freezing out-door atmosphere, 

 with no protection but ''a thin cotton night dress 

 and slippers !" 



A temperature of 60 degrees the year round 

 would be comfortable ; it is the changes that are 

 complained of, but these changes are healthful. 

 Among my gathered changes of temperature, Fran- 

 conia, N. H., has a prominent place. There, the 

 temperature changes more suddenly, more frequent- 

 ly, and a greater number of degrees than in any oth- 

 er place with which I am in correspondence, ex- 

 cept Australia, in the first and last named. And 

 notwithstanding all this, there is no place of an 

 equal population that contains so great a number 

 of persons over seventy years of age, as is found 

 in the ever changing temperature of Franconia. 



Lieut. Dellaven, commander of the first Grinnell 

 expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, experi- 

 enced cold of the temperature of fifty-two degrees 

 belovv' zero, but it being a still, quiet cold, was not 

 uncomfortable ; but after he had been for months 

 accustomed to temperatures a long way below zero, 

 the temperature rose to 40 degrees above that line, 

 and he remarks, "It v,as altogether a warm and 

 melting day, and the heat oppressive." 



There is abundant experience and observation in 

 regard to the difi'erence in the sensation of cold; 

 persons wearing gloves of a tight fit, compared with 

 the wearing of loose mittens. The tight glove in 

 cold weather causes the hand to feel cold, but not 

 so loose mittens. Then again, there is another 

 great and very important matter as to bed cloth- 

 ing. A person who sleeps under light, feels less 

 cold than one who reposes under a heavy covering. 

 The blood of the person who sleeps under a light 

 covering flows more freely than that of the person 

 overloaded with blankets and covei'lids, or whatev- 

 er else they may be called. Persons who breaths 

 cold air are more active than those who respire 

 heated air, and there is a difi'erence, too, in having 

 the cold air mixed with sunshine, contrasted with 

 those breathing heated shaded air. 



I am in the constant habit of going hourly into 

 the out door atmosphere at night to make observa- 

 tions. I wear a thin cotton night dress and slip- 

 pers, and no other covering to my feet. It mat- 

 ters not to me what the state of the weather is, 

 even if the temperature be a long way below zero ; 

 I never experience the sensation of cold, nor have 

 I during extensive travels in cold latitudes, in 

 which mercury became solid, ever been fronted. 

 I sleep in a cold room, where neither fire nor the 



