FARMERS' REGISTER— POTATOES. 



765 



growing among the rocks ia Montevideo, and in 

 the vicinity oFfilaldanado, intlie sand hills on the 

 river shore; but he assures us, the jiotato thus 

 found was far inferior to it wlien cultivated; the 

 vegetable itself we all know to be very delicious; 

 it might properly be classed among the Cerealia, 

 except that it afibrds, no gluten or animal matter; 

 and but lor the circumstance of the potato con- 

 taining so much water, amounting nearly to one 

 half of its weight, it would y-ieid as much nourish- 

 ment as the cerealia; this circfimistance however 

 renders them of easy digestion. Notwithstanding 

 the strenuous exertions of M. Parmentier, who 

 excited the ])hilosophers of his country to bring it 

 into notice as an article of food, many of the higher 

 order among Europeans were very slow to admit 

 it into the list of aliments— whilst the vulgar, 

 without theory, and bj' the dictates of experience 

 alone, became reconciled to, and fond of it. The 

 potato yields us a very fine starch, which answers 

 well most of the purposes for which that article is 

 used. 



I am in the habit of planting my potatoes the 

 first good weather in Februarj^, and preparing the 

 ground in the following manner. I plough my 

 potato lot very deep m January ,-<ind drag it re- 

 peatedly after the ploughing; it remains in that 

 state until ready for the i)lanting of my crop. I 

 then -throw the land up in very high beds, four feet 

 apart. These beds are then spUt by a deep fur- 

 row, forming a considerable trench. The land 

 being thus prepared, I bring from the shores of 

 James river, at my landing, a considerable quan- 

 tily of sea grass, which is continually throAvn up 

 by the ebbing and flowing of the tides. Each 

 trench then is Avell lined with this marine plant, 

 and suflered to remain open a day or two, at the 

 end of which time, I plant all my largest potatoes, 

 cut into three pieces, but if small, planted entire, 

 about four inches apart; when they are all thus 

 dropped ia the trenches, the sea grass is again ap- 

 plied over them, and with a plough I commence 

 to cover up my crop, throwing the dirt well vip, 

 and forming a high ridge over the trenches. The 

 crop being thus planted, it requires no interference 

 until the second week ia April, and then I run a 

 plough close enough to cover the potatoes, all but 

 the top leaves. 



This constitutes all that is necessarj' for the first 

 working, and the second is like the first, with one 

 exception, which is, that the ground between each 

 trenclr is broken with tlie plough, to render it more 

 soft for the third and last ploughing, othenvi^you 

 might interrupt the potatoes when your plough is 

 nui the last time; the sole object of which is to 

 throw more earth upon the ridge which may have 

 been washed down by the rains at that season of 

 the year. I am, as you are well aware, in the 

 habit of making large crops of potatoes. Some 

 years I send them to market at Old Point, or Nor- 

 folk, but always use them freely to my negroes, 

 and in my v»4iite family, I sold them last sum- 

 mer very readily for seed at sixty-two and a half 

 cents. I had a quarter of an acre of potatoes 

 growing very flourishingly, and I took a scythe 

 and had them cropped d.own to the earth. I had 

 another parcel I did not crop at all — and a third 

 cropped long after the blossom showed itself; the 

 result was, that those that were not cropped, prov- 

 ed to be the smallest; those cropped earliest, the 

 largest and best; and those cropped the latest, par- 



titilly benefited. This planof cropping is particu- 

 larly desirable if you have along dry season; other- 

 wise the rapid growth of stalk and leaves will 

 completely exhaust the potatoes that should be 

 ibrming in the trenches. I have used various 

 other manures, and find all long manures good; 

 but the more salt, or its properties jou use, the 

 better; the stable manure is particularly good irom 

 the saline matter it contains; what we call woods 

 manure is the most mdilTerent I ever used; but if 

 it is soaked in salt water it is greatly improved. 



I was last year presented with some red potatoes; 

 I found them to grow very large, but they are of 

 a more cohesive texture, and not as palatable; I 

 intend to plant some of them in my corn field, 

 when I work it for the last time: I shall plant them 

 indiscriminately, and use no means of cultivation. 

 These I intend for my cows in the winter. 



This is pretty much the amount of what I have 

 practised as to the production of potatoes. I ibuud 

 it, however, a matter of great moment to ascertain 

 the proper method of preserving them, and in fact, 

 I devoted much attention to the subject. This I 

 found to be a difficulty which most of my neigh- 

 bors encountered as well as mjself ; some kept 

 them in cellars, others in ban-els, but none of them 

 appeared satisfied with them fbr seed. I made 

 repeated inquiries of the Long Islanders who come 

 among us for oj'sters, as to the mode in which 

 they keep them. The information I got from 

 them, was, that their seed potatoes were planted 

 in June, and dug in October, and put up in barrels 

 with hay,and that they kept well for every purpose. 

 I was in the habit of purchasing seed potatoes from 

 these persons. I formerly got them from the New 

 England vessels that bring them to Norfolk in 

 large quantities, and sometimes sell them for seed 

 as high as one dollar and twenty-five cents the 

 bushel: I have not however used any potatoes fbr 

 seed the last three years, but of my own keeping: 

 and if your potatoes are planted and made as herein 

 advised, I Avill insure, that you will have good 

 seed and good eating potatoes during the winter, 

 taking care ahvays to have the trenches well filled 

 with this sea grass, which yields a sort of kelp 

 by its decay; the sea weed, or sea grass to which 

 I refer, is the same so ably treated of by Thomas 

 Griifin who has written much on its properties in 

 the American Farmer, years ago. The trenches 

 being so prepared, and the potatoes cultivated as 

 above, you have a barricade formed by the decayed 

 vegetable sea grass within, in the state of kelp, 

 and a matting of wire, and other grasses and 

 weeds without, through which the most intense 

 frost will never enter, and your potatoes may be 

 removed at pleasure,' dry and smooth fbr use or 

 seed. 



The above is what I promised you on the sub- 

 ject of potatoes. If jou deem it of sufficient in- 

 terest, you may insert it in the Register. 



With the utmost respect, your ob'dt serv't, 



G. LANK COJIBIN. 



Daniel P. Curtis, Esq. > 



Mulberr}^ Island, Warwick County. ) 



GESTATION. 



From the Gcnpsco Fnrraor. 



The period of gestation, or the length of time, 

 which different animals go with young, should be 

 known to every farmer: that the season of co])ula- 



