FARMERS' REGISTER— POTATOES. 



213 



bacco 4| for such as formerly was not worth send- 

 ing to market — 7 to 10 for good quality, and at 

 much Iiigher prices for such as pleases the fancy of 

 manufacturers. 



The extent to which tlie manufacturing of to- 

 bacco in Virginia has reached, is almost incredi- 

 ble. It is not thought extravagant to estimate it 

 at 18,000 hogsheads annually, or about one half of 

 the quantity inspected. The manufactured arti- 

 cle tinds its way, legally or illicitly, to every part 

 of the world. Large quantities of Kentucky to- 

 bacco are now imported into Virginia, wliere it is 

 stemmed, and then shipped to Great Britain. The 

 amount of capital and labor thus employed is very 

 great : but it is considered (and perhajis with good 

 reason) by many, as expended on not only an use- 

 less, but a deleterious article. It may well be 

 questioned, whether the agriculture of Virginia 

 has not been more injured by tlie cultivation of to- 

 bacco, than the profit derived from it can recom- 

 pense. 



The preference given in the ports of South Ame- 

 rica to Virginia flour, and particularly to that 

 ground at Riciimond, renders our wheat markets 

 as good as any in the Union. It w ill require all 

 the skill of millers, in manufacturing the present 

 inferior crop of wheat, to sustain the character 

 which they have acquired. The quantity of flour 

 shipped from James River to South America in 

 the months of August and September, may be usu- 

 ally estimated at 25 to 30,000 barrels ; and during 

 the year, at more than double that quantity. The 

 mills which recently have been, and those which 

 are about to be put in operation at Richmond, may 

 invite, if not defy comparison with any in the 

 world : and those of Petersburg, though not so 

 extensive, have acquired a high reputation for the 

 quality of their flour. 



The improvements in machinery for the manu- 

 facture of cotton goods, and the cheapness of the 

 raw material, have caused such an increased use of 

 cotton fabrics, that the demand has at this time 

 overtaken the supply — the consequent advance in 

 price, while it gives a stimulus to increased pro- 

 duction, will at the same time diminish the con- 

 sumption ; and at no very distant date, the opera- 

 tion of these two causes will reduce the price of 

 the raw material to the level of the last four or 

 five years. 



The crop of the United States (1831 and 1832) 

 amounts to about 1,030,000 bales, of which 

 Great Britain consumes about 600,000 

 France, " " 200,000 



Other parts of Europe, " 70,000 

 The United States, " 160,000 



The growth of cotton in the United States in 

 1824, was but 560,000, and that of the present 

 year, it is surmised, will be 1,150,000. 



It is but four or five years since the first suc- 

 cessful experiment in Virginia, in the manufactur- 

 ing of cotton, was made in Petersburg. The ex- 

 ample has been followed in Richmond, Manches- 

 ter, Fluvanna, and Smithfield. The quantity spun 

 in these places may now be estimated at 6000 bales 

 annually ; and it is said that other mills are about 

 to be erected at Petersburg and Richmond. The 

 employment given in these establishments, to a 

 class of respectable persons who had been pecu- 

 liarly destitute, will, it is hoped, be attended with 

 beneficial results, instead of the reverse, as has 

 been apprehended by some. 



The commercial interests of Virginia appear to 

 be thriving. A regular line of packets between 

 James River and Liverpool is about to be estab- 

 lished by an enterprising house in Petersburg. 

 The rail road from that place to Elakely on Roan- 

 oke (60 miles) is now in active use ; and a journey 

 which Ibrmerly required two days, is now perform- 

 ed betw een breakfast and dinner, and may be re- 

 traced by tea time. If our public functionaries 

 will make suital)le arrangements, the great mail 

 from north to south will be expedited one entire 

 day by this road. 



If I have not fatigued you and your readers, I 

 make my acknowledgements lor their patience ; 

 but as you have brought the burthen on yourself, 

 I leave you to bear it, taking with you my best 

 wishes lor your success. X. 



MEAXS FOR PRESERVING POTATOES. 



Translated for the Farmers' Register, from the " Journal ({''Ag- 

 riculture, etc. des Pays Bas.^^ 



To preserve potatoes from the frost, and retard 

 their germination, is an object of great imj)ortance 

 in rural and domestic -economy : therefore no- 

 thing ought to be neglected to attain this end. We 

 consequently think it our duty to inform farmers 

 of the result of experiments repeated for many 

 successive years. It has been found that, when 

 potatoes are covered 3^ feet in earth, they are not 

 only sheltered from the coldest weather, but may 

 be ke})t for almost any length of time without ger- 

 minating, or giving the least sign of vegetation : 

 but if they are buried less than 3| feet deep, they 

 will germinate. Potatoes have been preserved in 

 this way for three years, without undergoing the 

 least change. 



Then, to preserve these precious vegetables, it 

 is only necessary to dig a trench deep enough to 

 cover them up 3^ feet deep. We might in this 

 manner preserve a considerable quantity in years 

 of plenty, w Inch would be good food for man, or 

 animals, in years of scarcity. But one might, per- 

 haps, and with good reason, object to this experi- 

 ment, from the difficulty of digging up the pota- 

 toes, from such a depth, as fast as they are used. 

 To obviate this inconvenience, we may dig, on 

 sloping ground, a trench of convenient depth, 

 around which a wall must be built to support the 

 earth. At the lower end of the trench, and on the. 

 surface of the earth, a door must be made, as in a 

 lime kiln. After filling up this subterraneous ma- 

 gazine, with potatoes within 3| feet of the top, 

 they must be covered with sand, which will be 3^ 

 feet deep, to fill up the space. 



The potatoes nmst be taken out, as they are 

 wanted, by the door of which we have spoken of 

 before, made at the lower end of the trench. The 

 potatoes must be always covered with sand, to 

 shelter them from the atmospheric air which 

 causes germination. 



The advantages of preserving potatoes without 

 any change, would soon indemnify the expense of 

 building, which is very trifling, since very rough 

 brick work will answer for the walls of the exca- 

 vation, which must be made on sloping ground. 



After having used all the potatoes, if you wish 

 to fill the trencli again, the sand must be taken 

 out, which will do to cover the new potatoes. 



