394 Transactions of the American Institute. 



Sweet Potatoes — How to Keep. 



Mr. Truman Mabbet, of Vineland, New Jersey, was present, and 

 e'xliibited a basket of sweet potatoes, some of wliich w^ere grown in 

 1807. They were in appearance as fine as ever, and a few specimens 

 baked for tlie occasion proved tliat appearances in this instance were 

 not deceptive. Mr. Mabbet said, in explanation of tlie process, that 

 it is very simple, namely : Keep the tuber dry. I plant about May 

 25, or as soon a's there is no danger of cold snaps. In October, when 

 the vines are withered, dig in the forenoon of a fine day, and in the 

 afternoon put into barrels, and transfer at once to the cellar. Here 

 the barrels are placed in proximity to the heater, where there is a 

 temperature through fall and winter of about seventy or eiglity 

 degrees ; but no fire is kept up during the summer season. 



The Chairman. — This exhibition speaks for itself. The question 

 how shall we keep sweet potatoes has been asked a hundred times, 

 and now we have the answer. "We are greatly indebted to the gentle- 

 man who has come so far to furnish the valuable information. 



Bolts Through Trees. 



Mr. E. P. Allen, Athens, Penn. — We have in our neat and time- 

 honored village a large number of sugar maple trees, many of which 

 have become large and very beautiful. Some of them were left 

 forked (or as the anatomist would say, bifurcated), and now are occa- 

 sionally splitting apart and breaking down. The question now is 

 what the best remedy is to prevent the destruction of the remainder 

 that is forked. It is proposed by some to pass a bolt through the 

 center and hold it by a nut screwed upon the opposite end ; by others 

 to pass a strong iron clamp around the tree near the crotch. Which 

 of these methods is the best, or are there any other methods better ? 

 Any information upon the above subject will be thankfully received 

 by the citizens of Athens. 



The Chairman. — A bolt with a big head and a large nut is the 

 best for two reasons : 1. It takes less iron. 2. If the tree is vigor- 

 ous it grows and buries both the head and the nut. Numbers of the 

 ancestral elms of New England have been ironed in this way, and 

 have reached a lordly size. 



vVdjourned. 



