Editorial Miscellany. 315 



Farmers' Club Meeting of American Institttte, March 6, 1856. 



Reported for Horticultural Review. 



The Secretary, Henry Meigs, Esq., read extracts translated by 

 him from the " Journal de la Societe Imperiale et Centrale d' Hor- 

 ticulture. Napoleon III, Protecteur, Paris, December, 1855." 



" Mons. Capp, Chief Gardener of the Useful Plants in the Mu. 

 seum of Natural History, in the name of Prof. Decaisne, pre- 

 sented magnificent tubers of the Dioscorea Batatas, (Chinese 

 Yam). 



The small pieces of this Dioscorea were planted in April, 1854, 

 and are now of considerable size, and weigh 500 to 1000 gram- 

 mes, (11^ to 35 ounces) and ramify much. 



Messrs. Chevet, of Montigny, said that they had tasted this 

 Dioscorea the last week, and that the flavor rendered them^ excel- 

 lent eating. 



Mons. J. Dumas, on the contrary, said that he had tasted some 

 that were " fade " (insipid,) and looked like mucillage. Some 

 members said that perhaps they were not sufficiently matured. 



Mons. Boui-geois, said that he had the last year received some 

 of the tubers, which were different in figure from the rest, and 

 that instead of being round, they were flattened. 



Mons. Kemont, of Versailles, presented several specimens of 

 his first crop of the Dioscorea or Igname. They were raised 

 from the Bulbilles, (little bulbs) : some were grown on new 

 lands in the environs of Dax, Department of Landes. Others, 

 near Versailles, in rich and well-manured soil, produced an in- 

 ferior crop to the former. Mons. Eemont stated, that he had tried 

 panification (Bread-making,) by adding 20 per cent, of this 

 Dioscorea to wheat-flour, and that the bread was excellent. He 

 hopes that 35 per cent, of this root may be added to flour with 

 advantage. Planted in April, a hectare (2| acres) may yield 

 sixty-five thousand killogrammes of the tubers — about thirty-five 

 tone to an acre. (This would be 780 bushels per acre.) 



