398 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



1 . Animal matters, when decaying, throw off essential portions 

 of their substance in a gaseous form. 



2. Charcoal, in some form, is capable of absorbing those odors, 

 and of retaining them until required by plants. 



3. Farmers will find it to their advantage to take their fer- 

 menting manures from imder the eaves on the sunny side of the 

 barn, and compost them with muck. 



Mr. Waring continued his remarks at some length, recom- 

 mending the use of muck, and urging all farmers to study its 

 value. 



Mr. Disturnell presented the following paper from Mr. Jas. M. 

 Hamilton, which was read : 



ON PRESERVING POTATOES, APPLES, &c 



Mi\ John Disturnell, 



Dear Sir : — I j^roposed a few days ago to place in your hands, 

 in writing, the result of my experience in preserving root crops 

 during winter, which you are at full liberty to dispose of as you 

 see proper. 



As the most important, I begin with potatoes. These I pre- 

 ferred to leave in the ground as late in autumn as the weather 

 permitted. Just before commencing taking out the crop, I had a 

 pit or pits dug, of sutficient capacity to contain so much of the 

 crop as I designed keeping over winter. The usual size of the 

 pit was three feet deep, four feet wide and of any required length. 

 Having commenced taking up, the best only were immediately 

 gathered, and with whatever moist earth adhered to them, placed 

 in the pit, which was fitted so as to form a ridge, and directly 

 covered with dry straw or other material, and that again with 

 earth, about two feet deep, still forming a ridge, the top of which 

 was carefully thatched to shed the rain, the access of which would 

 infallibly have ruined the entire contents of the pit. In this 

 condition it remained until it was judged the frost had penetrated 

 at least twenty inches, which it will do more readily than in the 

 solid ground, which conveyed to the potatoes a degree of cold 

 which greatly aided in preserving them, besides preventing the 

 burrowing of vermin. It now became necessary to add more 

 covering; and for this purpose I preferred a plentiful supply of 

 cornstalks, placed but-end up; this shed the rain, prevented 

 alternate thawing and freezing, and preserved the potatoes at an 

 equal temperature. A trench should be dug, to carry ofl' surplus 

 water, occasioned by r^in or thawing snow. 



