280 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



It ofttimes is found on our lawns mixed with Poa annua, and being peren- 

 nial it will sometimes usurp the place of that annual species. 



Blue Gi'ass or Poa compressa is a perennial and creeps vigorously. It is 

 extensively cultivated in some I'egions of our country and held in high esti- 

 mation in the Western states and elsewere. 



DioscoREA Batatas. 



Mr. Solon Robinson. — Mr. Hillraan also wants to know what has 

 become of the Dioscorea Batatas which made such a great noise a while 

 ago, and of which it was said it would produce sixty tons to the acre. " I 

 suppose," he writes, "such a vegetable must have found its way to the 

 New York market by this time. I should like to know its wholesale 

 price ; what have been the profits of its cultivation, and how near any 

 have come to raising sixty tons per acre." This enquiry about an ex- 

 ploded humbug produced no little merriment. 



Mr. Fuller said he had found no difiiculty in growing a large quantity 

 per acre, but no one could afford to grow it as a crop, as it cost more to dig 

 the roots than they are worth in this market, I think the flavor of this po- 

 tatoe is equal to the Irish variety. 



Mr. Wm. S. Carpenter. — I do not agree with the last speaker ; I do not 

 consider it equal to the Irish potato. I tried it in my family, but they did 

 not relish it, and did not care to taste them again. 



Potatoes. 



Mr. "William Edmonds, of Newark, N. J., wants to know if any of the 

 Club "have tried Goodrich's seedling potatoes — enough to form an opinion 

 as to their merits ? The Mercer has got to be so notoriously unproductive 

 and uncertain, it becomes us to try some other to take its place." 



Mr. William S. Carpenter. — A great many persons beside members of this 

 Club think that Mr, Goodrich has conferred a great benefit upon the country 

 by producing several varieties of potatoes of great excellence. The Gar- 

 net Chili is very good, but the Cusco White is probably better and moi'e 

 profitable, producing three hundred bushels per acre, or twice as many as 

 can be grown upon the same soil of Peachblows. The Pink-eye Rustycoat 

 was another excellent sort. The Copper Mine is very valuable wherever 

 it is desirable to have a crop ripening late. All these new sorts have im- 

 proved, year by year, and are still improving in quality. 



Mr, Williams, of New Jersey, said he had had two years' experience 

 with these potatoes, and considered the Copper Mine the best, though most 

 liable to rot. The Rustycoat is coarse and rank, early in the season, but 

 is a very good potato at this time. Of the yield of these new sorts of 

 potatoes, compared with the old varieties, Mr. Williams gives the following 

 tabular statements of his experiments in 1862 : 



Primes. Culls. Rate per acre. 



2 rows P. Alberts yield 1 bu. 18 qts. 9 qts. 88 bu. 6 qts. 



2 rows Jersey Mercers yield. . .1 bu. 22 qts. T qts. 91 bu. 18 qts. 



2 rows Nova Scotia Mercers. . .2 bu. 23 qts. 22 qts. 163 bu. 20 qts. 

 2 rows Peachblows yield. ... . . .1 bu. 22 qts. 22 qts. 114 bu. 3 qts. 



2 rows Garnet Chili" yield 2 bu. 10 qts. 6 qts, 120 bu. 3 qts, 



2 rows Copper Mine yield .3 bu. 24 qts. 13 qts. 199 bu. 21 qts. 



2 rows Pink-eye Rustycoat. . ..3 bu, 16 qts. 32 qts. 216 bu. 6 qts, 

 2 rows Cusco White. . . . . . ... A bu, 16 qts. 16 qts, 240 bu. t qts. 



