No. 7. 



Potatoes. 



205 



at once, if the ready-made liquor be not at 

 hand. 



10. Rub together, on a plate or stone, a 

 little fresh-slacked hme, with tour times the 

 same quantity of guano; put it into a wide- 

 mouthed bottle; you will then have evi- 

 dence, from the smell, not only of the 

 abundant quantity of ammonia which it pos- 

 sesses, but also of the impropriety of mixing 

 lime with it, for use; seeing that the ammo- 

 nia is liberated, and would be lost in the 

 atmosphere. 



Lastly. It is better to use too little than 

 too much. 



For the Farmers" Cabinet. 

 I Potatoes. 



The time is fast approaching, when the 

 farmer will have to look about and gather 

 up his implements and prepare for action. 



It is believed by many that the potatoe 

 may be cultivated to great advantage, both 

 for feeding milch cows and for fattening va- 

 rious kinds of stock, and especially swine. 

 And the question very naturally arises, whe- 

 ther it is better to boil, them for fattening 

 hogs, or to feed them raw. Some apprehend 

 the labour and expense necessarily incurred 

 by the process of boiling, are altogether 

 thrown away, and that the aparatus and 

 fixtures for such a process are only a nui- 

 sance, and calculated to enhance the labours 

 of the husbandman, and impose a direct tax 

 on his time and attention, without a corres- 

 ponding advantage or profit. It is indeed 

 difficult to conceive how the process of boil- 

 ing can add or communicate any additional 

 fattening properties, which they did not pos- 

 sess in their crude state: it might be urged, 

 however, that by boiling and reducing them 

 to a pulp, and mixing with a portion of meal, 

 the animal would eat more and of course 

 fatten sooner: — by such a process he might 

 indeed to the eye appear to fatten faster; 

 but when dressed and on the scales, the de- 

 ception would appear; besides, experience 

 has taught our best feeders, that to force 

 the fattening process of any animal by very 

 high feeding, is unprofitable,* the animal 



* Our correspondents are of course entitled to their 

 own opinions on practical matters, and it is well un- 

 derstood, that the Editor is not at all responsible for 

 them.— Where potatoes that are fed to hogs, can bo 

 boiled or steamed with little expense, we think it de- 

 serves decidedly the i)refercnce, to feeding raw: this 

 point is pretty well settled. With respect to the "un- 

 profitableness" of very high feeding in forcing swine 

 to fatten, we can scarcely refrain from asking, whoever 

 heard of cloying a hog? With the ox and the sheep it 

 is very different: they may be readily over-fed, and the 



being always in danger of being cloyed 

 and loosing his appetite, and thrown into a 

 fever by too great repletion, which gene- 

 rally requires some considerable time of 

 total abstinence, before he can be restored 

 to his natural appetite — thus making a con- 

 siderable drawback on his improvement. 



But instead of all this, we would re- 

 commend what we think a more simple and 

 easy way for the farmer to fatten his swine; 

 that is, if he desires potatoes to be a part of 

 their food, which we think would be to his 

 interest: Let him give them at proper 

 stated times, their daily allowance of grain; 

 say four quarts each per day, either whole 

 or pulverized, wet or dry, as he pleases, 

 and then let him give them regularly as 

 many raw potatoes as they will eat clean, 

 and let the sty be kept in good order and 

 well littered, and our word for it, his hogs 

 will show out well, either in the tub or in 

 the market. If the feeder's corn is scarce, 

 he can give them less grain, or if potatoes 

 are scarce, let him give them more grain, 

 regulating his feed as circumstances may 

 require. 



In my experience, potatoes in a raw state, 

 are devoured with avidity by horses, cows, 

 sheep and swine, and are healthful and nou- 

 rishing to all. 



Whence it would seem to follow, that it 

 would be to the interest of our farmers to 

 pay more particular attention to the cultiva- 

 tion of this very useful and productive root, 

 and he that could succeed in growing the 

 greatest number of bushels to the acre, 

 ought to be entitled to a premium, and also 

 to have the reputation of being considered 

 a benefactor among us. 



The object of this essay, is partly to give 

 publicity to a method by which the writer 

 is induced to believe more potatoes might 

 be raised to the acre, than by any other 

 method that has come to his knowledge, 

 and with the least labour. He does not, 

 however, profess to have much experience 

 in the process he is about to recommend. 



injury, as observed by our Chester county friend, is 

 quite serious. The true secret, as we believe, in fat- 

 tening quickly, is to keep the animal quiet— clean, and 

 if pretty much in the dark, the better — feed regularly, 

 and give the ox as much as he will bear, without being 

 cloyed; and this quantity will soon be ascertained by 

 experience: he will perhaps, bear more meal when 

 mixed with some potatoes or turnips, than he will 

 without them. As to the hog, we would say— stuff 

 him: boil his meal and his potatoes, and give him all 

 that he will eat. 



On looking some years ago, at one of the prettiest 

 pens of hogs we ever saw, we asked our facetious 

 friend how he managed to make tlioni look so well? 

 his reply was, " I never suffer them to squeal."— Ed. 



