382 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



Potatoes are without doubt an exliausting crop, but by proper 

 manuring, plowing and cultivation, the same field will yield 

 remunerating crops of corn and potatoes alternately, for very 

 many years, and great crops, if a mixture of soda, with the sul- 

 phate of magnesia, or the sulphate of soda is used, a supply of 

 inorganic and organic substances always produce a corresponding 

 healthy growth and early maturity, and likewise add to the pro- 

 portion of nutriment, which is remarkable as containing within 

 itself all the varied elements necessary for forming healthy blood; 

 not a single substitute for it, with perhaps the exception of oat- 

 meal, possesses this remarkable property ; and hence, the use of 

 several articles of food is necessary, in order to secure a sufficient 

 supply of the numerous elements of nutrition contained in the 

 potato. To accomplish this end with other food, you would be 

 compelled to use carrots, cabbage and turnips together, or spin- 

 ach, asparagus and cucumbers, or beans, peas, and rice, or Indian 

 meal and oatmeal. Starch iiour made from rotten potatoes has 

 been erroneously considered as equivalent to the potato; this so 

 called potato flour is not flour in the proper sense of the word, as 

 applied to wheat flour, for it does not contain the elements of the 

 potato, but consists wholly of fecula, and is unfitted to support 

 health or even life for any considerable length of time; you might 

 as well consider this starch equivalent to the potato, as to con- 

 sider whether starch is equivalent to wheat or flour. Onions are 

 very rich in nutritive qualities, so much so that one ounce and a 

 half may be considered as equivalent to one ounce of Indian meal; 

 therefore, if onions are mixed with potato starch, and used as food 

 they will furnish some of the elements o± nutrition essential for 

 forming healthy blood. If you would possess that inestimable 

 blessing health, always use parsnips, carrots, turnips and cabbage, 

 along with meal of some sort, either with beau, pea, or corn. As 

 neither of them alone contain a sutficient variety of nutritive ele- 

 ments to support the human body in health. Next to pota- 

 toes, oatmeal has more superior nutritious qualities, than any 

 other cereal as human food ; and if the inhabitants of Ireland 

 could be induced to turn from the potato, which has become an 

 uncertain crop there, to grain, as their food, it would produce an 



