20 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



August 10, ]8'27. 



From the American Farmer. 



ON THE SACCHARUM OF THE SWEET 

 POTATO, 



AND ITS FITNESS TO MAKE BEER, 



3i/ Robert Hare, M. D. Professor of Chemislry in 



the University of Pennsylvania. 

 fo John Hare Powel, Esq. 



Corres. Sec'y of the Pen:. Jig. Soc''y. 

 Dr Tidyman, of South CaroliiK,, lately supplied . „ ■ » 



mo wit!i some sweet potatoes, of a kind in which [tageously applied as a generic appellation to mo- 

 sweet matter is peculiarly abundant, and request- ! lasses, and the uncrystalizable sugar of grapes, o 



take the place of the malt necessary in a certain 

 proportion, to render distillers' wash fermentable. 

 The yest yielded by the potato beer, appeared in 

 odour and flavor, to resemble that from malt beer 

 surprisingly, and the quantity, in proportion, was 

 as great. In Raising bread it was found equally 

 efficacious. 



I propose the word suavin, from the Latin sua- 

 vis, sweet, to distinguish the syrup of the sweet 

 potato. The same word might, perhaps, be advan 



■^d that I would ascertain if there were any sugar 

 •n them. Haviug pared, and by means of the in- 

 strument used for slicing cabbages or cucumbers, 

 reduced them to very thin slices ; about a pound 

 was boiled in alcohol of the specific gravity of 

 345, which appeared to extract all the sweetness, 

 yet on cooling, yielded no crystals of sugar. The 

 solution being subjected to distillation, till the al- 

 cohol was removed, an uncrystalizable syrup re- i 



honey, and of rialt 



Crystaliizab:': sugar might be termpd saccha- 

 rine, since the l;;rminating syllable of saccharum is 

 appropriated in chemistry to metals. 



PICTURE OP A DROUGHT. 



The lafit Macon Telegrapli, after stating the 



Ivery flattering prospects of the planter a few 



I weeks since, says, the scene is now clianged — 



.,,,., ' ,•' ■ r ■ From almost evcrv part ot the state we hear the 



mamed. In like manner, when aqueous iniusions . , • , . c.i i .■ j 



. ^, . ^ ' . 'i u u r „ most melancholy accounts of the long continued 



of the potatoes were concentrated, by boiling or i . ., ,. , ,• c.u u e 



^ . ^, ., , ■" ,1° I drought, and the tt«c;' orostraiton ot the hopes ot 



3vaporation, the residual syrup was uncrystaliza- . = ' .. ^ . u- i .i • 



,, ^ J, ., r .u . .1 i t. _ ' tlie farmer — the structure on which the prosperi- 



ble. It appears, therefore, that the sweet matter i /.,,_., ■. • u j 



„ ,. . . I ■ , , , .1 tv of the whole community is based, 



of this vegetabo 13 analogous to molasses, or the •' „,.,, ,. .■ ,. i * l.• 



, ° „ ,^ ^ ' With a tew exceptions, the drought is very 



saccharum or malt. i , . .■ . ■ . ■ i r n r 



, , , . .1 T ir. 1 ui general. In some uistricts no rain has tallen tor 



Its resemblance to the latter was so remarkable. : ^ 



that I vias led to boil a wort, made from the pota- 



{ many weeks ; the earth has become fairly baked, 



„ ■ ■» 1 ini-n -.u and vegetation entirely suspended. Whole corn 



'oes, of proper spissitudc, says. r. lOoU, with a . ,, ° .. , , . , .l ii i 



.-. /■! u 1 . u I fields are entirely destroyed ; the cornblades, con 



iiue quantity ol hops, about two hours. , , ^ , , ,, ,, ... , 



,^ ^ ^r r J . 1 .. ■ , r J „ torted and scorched, fall to tlie ground 



It was then cooled to about si.\ty-tive degrees, , , ■ ,, , ^ , , -.i i .. 



, . .1 1 A r T II ■ j„„ the shrivelled stocks smoke with heat. 



and 



, . .1 1 A r T II ■ j„„ ! the shrivelled stocks smoke with heat, 



and yest was auded. As far as I could judge, i ^ r •. . .t j 



,, : c ., I- . .■ 1.1 ,rit The cotton plant, from its slower growth and 



the phenomena of the fermentation, and the result- . /i- , ^t i, ^ -^ i 



,. • 1 .1, i- 1, 1 „j deeper roots, suiters later than corn ; but it also 



ing liquor, were precisely the same as 11 malt had I " . ^ \ ^, „. . ^.i j i^ m, 

 , '' , m, . I i • 1 „ i begins to feel the effects of tlie drought. The 



oeen used. Ihe wort was kept in a warm place ° " 



^., ^, , . o- in 1 .1 r 11 ci,„ : leaves burn up and howers wither and tall, leav- 



until the temperature was 8a b. and the fall ot the , . , ,, ■ , ■ i 



, , ,' , „ .. . , a- • . * 1 ing no boll m their place, 



jiead showed the attenuation to bo sutncient.^ — i %., . , ,, ^, ■ . i.i i • j 



,. , , ., , . , 1 u The animal as well as the vegetable kingdom 



lost subsequently rose which was removed^ by a' ,•.,., ■ i. . i j i. t 



„ r .■ <■ .1 .-.(•. pants with the excessive heat and drouglu. In- 



spoon. By refrigeration a furtlier quantity 01 yest ' ..,.„, , . , ■, ,*■ ., ■ 



•^ Jo 1 J _ J . },ji,itant3 of ponds and streams are boiled m their 



. . ■ , f. " ,.,,,- L-j i. i naouaiiis Ol poiius aiiu sireains are uuiiuu iii tiieii 



arecipitated, from which the liquor being decant- ' / ■ , i ■. ,• r. ni 



• , '^ ' , ,, c r I 1 • a own element, or perish by its evaporation. Cattle 



nl, became tolerably line for new beer, and in fta- ^, ■ ■ , , , i i i . 



' 1 11 1 1 f u '^''OP 'h" juiceless herbage, and look to man in 



rop the J 

 vain for succor ; their emaciated carcases and 



rour, e.xactly like ale made from malt 



I have computed that five bushels of potatoe.,, , u .i i » * 



, ' , , ., I , 1 I- sunken eyeballs, as they watch the reluctant 



would produce as much wort as three bushels ot i .i i c.i. ■ a- ■ 



, '. r , .L 1 11 clouds, speak the keenness of their suffering. — 



malt : but I suppose that the residue would, as ' ' . ^ , 



• t ]• ,., I , 1 ii- u .u Laro'e streams have sunk to narrow rills, and 



food for cattle, be worth halt as much as the po- = i , j <■ i ■ i 



' fountains are drying up. Instead of dew, impal- 



tatoes employed. , ,■ f pable dust, lifted into the air by its dryness and 



I believe it possible to make as good liquor from f ' .i »i • . u u t j j 



,^ . ., . ^ ^ . „ 1 , 1 . ,1 f ■„ buoyancy, falls on the thirsty herbage. Indeed 



malt in this country, as in England, but that m .-',■" , . » . ii 



,. ^ , •' . ., ^ . ... the atmosphere, in many parts, travellers assure 



our climate much more vigilance is required to . T,, , •.,_ , .. ., . • »• • 



. . . , , , ■ ■ ,1 u 4U us, IS so filled with dust, that respiration is ex- 

 have It invariably good, principally because the ' ro u i 

 , ,, ■' ,^ c . ^ „ ,„„j„. ; tremely difficult. [Savannah paper.] 

 great and sudden changes of temperature, render | ■' l 



malting much more precarious. Should the sac- j CANADA THISTLES. 



charum of the sweet potato prove to bo a compe- : j)^. gjj^j, Holbrook, of Venice, N. Y. some years 

 tent substitute for that of germinated grain, the | ^j^^g purchased a farm, where he now resides, 

 quality will probably be less variable, since its de- , ^„j j-q^^j ^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^ quarter of an acre of the 

 velopment requires but little skill and vigilance. , Uanada Thistle in one of his fields, which from 



Besides, as it exists naturally in the p'ant, it g^pp^^^^^^^^g 1^^^^ ^^jj^^^gj j[jg ^ppt for some years, 

 may be had where it would he almost impossible | jjg ^^gjjgj i^^jH jl^g blossom appeared, then set 

 to make, or procure malt. Hops, the other mate- 1 [^jg [j^yg ^^ jj^^^^gij ^^. jj^^igg j|,era thoroughly to 

 rial for beer, require only picking and drying to j|,g ground ; a very few stalks sprouted up again 

 perfect them for use. | that season, which he bruised and sprinkled with 



They are indigenous, to the United States, »nd ] ^^-^^^ ,j-|,g ^^^^ season but one solitary stalk made 

 may, no doubt, be raised in any part of our tern- jf^ appearance in the field, which he destroyed m 

 '""■yi i the same vvav : and declares, he has never seen 



I have dried in my evaporating oveu, some of ^^g ^^ j^g premises since. [Auburn Free Press.] 



the sweet potatoes in slices. It seems to me that j . 



in this state they will keep a long while, and may | a London Alderman is said to have lately made 



be useful in making leaven for bread. They may j £.50,000 by his dealings in hops, and that he would 



—7~, '■ I m ,„t„ »i,„r„ „!,„,, 1,1 Ko ., !n==|have made £100,000, if it had not been for tlio 



■ In passing to tins state, there should be a loss . ' ' 



.~a gravity of about 4 per cent, 



perverse intermeddling of the press. 



ACACIA. 



The Robinia, Pseudo acacia, or false acacia, i.'; 

 a native of the United States. It is commonly 

 termed locust tree. 



It grows best in warm, sandy land, and bcecn}«s^ 

 fit for timber in about twenty-five years. The 

 greatest use made of the trees, is for ship trennels, 

 fence posts, mill cogs, and fire wood ; or, if work 

 ed into posts to be set into the ground for garden 

 fences, and other inclosures, they are superior in 

 point of durability to almost any known wood. — 

 The acacia is ornamented as a flowering tree. — 

 The blossoms unfold in June, and perfume the air 

 to a considerable distance with their sweet and 

 fragrant odour. It is easily cultivated, and is ol' 

 quick growth. As commerce and manufactures 

 improve, the demand for this valuable timber will 

 increase. 



The multiplication of this tree has seldom been 

 attempted by seeds, but almost constantly by 

 yonng trees sprouting up from the wounded roots 

 of the old one. The readiness of the roots of the 

 parent tree, to vegetate, soon after tlie incumbent 

 sward is broken up by the plough, surpasses that 

 of any other tree ; for in soils favourable to^their 

 growth, the farmers are obliged to grub with 

 great labour to prevent them from overrunning the 

 land, and whenever suffered to indulge their na- 

 tive luxuriance, they will soon convert a piece of 

 cleared land to forest. It makes good hedges. 



Acacia may be propagated by settino- the seeds; 

 and, when it is once introduced, numerous plants 

 may be obtained, by cutting its roots near the sur- 

 face of the ground. As the roots extend rapidl) 

 along the surface of the earth, and shoot up nu- 

 merous suckers, the Acacia may be advantageous- 

 ly planted on the banks of rivers, for consolidating 

 |anJ securing the soil from the encroachments of 

 the current ; farther, its wood is eminently adapt- 

 ed to ship building, and, though inferior in point 

 of durability to the oak, it is perhaps preferable 

 to any ether timber for barges, and similar ves- 

 sels of a small size. 



The leguminous seeds of this tree, after being 

 divested of their acrid taste, by infusing them in 

 different waters, and afterwards ground into meal, 

 are by the Tongusian Tartars converted into a 

 wholesome bread : these seeds are also eagerly 

 eaten by poultry, which may thus be speedily fat- 

 tened. 



It has been asserted, that the leaves of this tree, 

 when prepared in the same manner as indigo, may 

 with great advantage be substituted for that ex- 

 pensive dyeing drug. The folhige of the smaller 

 variety of the False Acacia, however, is reputed 

 to be better adapted for such purpose : its cul- 

 ture corresponds with that above stated ; and it 

 certainly merits to bo more generally cullirated 

 in ornamental slirubbcries, wliere it thrives rapid- 

 ly, and produces elegant odoriferous yellovv flow- 

 ers, which abundantly supply bees with honey. — 

 The seeds of both varieties also afford a large 

 proportion of expressed oil. It deserves to be no- 

 ticed, that the yellowish wood of these trees, tho' 

 hard and tough, is very brittle while the plants 

 are young, and they ought, therefore, in exposed 

 situations, to be supported by stakes. 



The leaves of acacia are said to afford an agree- 

 able nourishment to horses and horned cattle. — 

 They may be given either green or dry, alone or 

 mixed, with hay or chopped straw. 



The flowers of the acacia are said to be used by 

 the Chinese in making that beautiful yellow with 



