No. 144.] 471 



March 6, 1855. 

 Present — Hon. R. S. Livingston, Dr. Waterbury, Geo. H. Hite, 

 Messrs. Bowman, Cummings, Leigh, Rockwell, Coleman, of Brook- 

 lyn, Paul Stillraan, Dr. Church, Benjamin Pike, of Jersey, Tou- 

 sey, Van Buskerck, Dr. Newton, George E. Waring, Prof. Mapes, 

 Mr. Clark, of New Haven, Thomas B. Stillman, and others — in all 

 seventy-seveu members. 



President Pell ia the chair. 



Henry Meigs,-Secretary. 



The Secretary read the following translations, &c.j made by 

 Mm: 



DIOSCOREA BATATAS— THE CHINESE YAM. 



[Lindloy's Vegetable Kingdom.] 



According to Brown, this order is separable from the Sarsapa- 

 rillas by the threefold character of ovary, capsular fruit, and al- 

 bumen, having a large cavity. Although the genera are few, the 

 species are numerous. An acrid principle exists in the plants of 

 this order, and when concentrated they are dangerous. Tamus 

 communis, for example, has a large fleshy root, so acrid as to have 

 been formerly employed for stimulating plaisters, while the tubers 

 of Dioscorea triphylla aud dsemona have dreadfully nauseous 

 qualities, however carefully cooked. But the principal part of 

 the species of the Dioscorea are the yams — large, fleshy, farina- 

 ceous tubers, which form as important a food in the tropics as 

 potatoes do in Europe. The young suckers of Tamus communis, 

 the afXTTsXo? fxsXafva of Dioscorides and o^Spua of the modern Greeks, 

 and also of Tamus cretica, are eaten in Greece like asparagus. 



[Le Bon Jardinier of 1855, Paris.] 



We translate from this useful gardener's almanack on the Ig- 

 oame of China (Dioscorea Batatas.) 



It seems that after the many fruitless attempts within seven or 

 eight years past, to find a substitute for potatoes, it requires some 

 temerity to recommend a new plant. I do not believe that we 

 have totally lost the potato yet, but that it will be difficult, if 

 not impossible, to find any plant of equal value and quality for 



