276 THE COMPLETE FARMER 



With respect to the properties of this vegetable and the 

 purposes to which it may be apphed, the following observa- 

 tions of an eminent physician may not be deemed inappro- 

 priate. I extract them from the ' Pharmacologia of Dr. 

 Pare. 



' Potatoes are found to produce, 



First, Cottony flax from the stalk. 



Second, Sugar from the root. 



Third, Potass by consumption. 



Fourth, Vinegar from the apples. 



Fifth, Soap, or a substitute for bleachiTig, from the tuber- 

 cles. 



And, finally, when cooked by steam, the most farinaceous 

 and economical of all vegetable food.' 



It is also known that much farina, or rather amylum, or 

 starch, is yielded by grinding and washing the pnlpy mass. 

 My experiments in 1828 led me to ascertain, that a fine, 

 mealy sort yielded from one-eighth to one-seventh of the 

 total weight of the potatoes. This starch may be employed 

 as a substitute for that made from wheat ; and as an article 

 of diet, prepared as Indian arrow-root. It can also be intro- 

 duced in making bread, though there is some diihculty in the 

 manipulation. As food for all cattle of the farm — horses, 

 cows, pigs, and likewise for poultry, potatoes are all but 

 invaluable. Every creature appears to relish them, par- 

 ticularly when they are steamed or caiefully boiled. It 

 would be well worth the intelligent farmer's while to pay 

 great attention to the use and effects of potatoes, raw and 

 boiled. It is asserted that a cow may safely eat them in a 

 raw state to the extent of, perhaps, fifty pounds per day, pro- 

 vided the eyes have broken and began to shoot. Whenever 

 they be given raw, however, they should be chopped into 

 pieces to prevent accidents. The utility of raw potatoes is, 

 however, doubted by many, and therefore the experiment 

 requires close observation ; perhaps straAv, hay, and chaff, 

 might be employed as a very proper adjunct, with a few 

 ounces of salt added to each feed. Whenever steaming in 

 the large way can be profitably employed, it must be an ad- 

 vantage for pigs and poultry particularly ; and, in all cases, 

 it would greatly tend to prevent the possibility of the danger 

 of suffocation which has been known to result from the 

 hurry and greediness with which cattle devour the raw roots. 

 — British Farme'r^s Magazine. 



