AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 513 



POTATO. 



At tlie annual meeting of the Peterborougli Agricultural So- 

 ciety (England) on the 18th of December, 1799 : 



" It may be noticed as a proof of the improved culture of this 

 most valuable root, that the bailiff of T. Williams, Esq., at Hor- 

 ton, in Euckinghamshire, planted three potatoes which he had 

 from Fort George, in Scotland, on the 1st of June, 1799. On dig- 

 ging up the ground on the first day of November last, he found 

 07ie hmidred and thirty potatoes^ weighing one hundred and twenty 

 pounds. In Berkshire, also, from eight acres, Mr. Williams ob- 

 tained, last year, 3,520 bushels, or 440 bushels an acre, of the 

 very first quality., which, at 2s. 6d, (62i cents) a bushel, made 

 the product jE55 sterling per acre; and after digging the crop, the 

 neighboring poor gleaned twelve bushels. 



"The pigeons of Great Britain are estimated to consume grain 

 enough to support 100,000 people. 



"A three shear wether sheep of the New Leicestershire breed, 

 raised by Mr. Earl, of Darlington, w^as lately slaughtered at North- 

 hampton. 



Pounds. 



Live weight, 316 



Blood, skin, fat, entrals, ) «ni 



Head and 23luck, ) ^ 



Neat weight, 236^" 



The Secretary had consulted Col, Devoe, of Jefferson market, 

 as to the size of sheep here now. He said they seldom weighed 

 over 200 lbs.; were not esteemed better at that. The heaviest 

 four year old he recollected, was 325 lbs. 



Mr. Hinsdale exhibited patent horse shoes, invented by Tow- 

 ers, and manufactured by Messrs. Newbold and Safford, in Phila- 

 delphia. 



Mr. Hinsdale who has not tlie slightest pecuniary interest in 

 the matter, was so pleased with it, that brings it to the club for 

 examination. The ordinary horse is used. At the heels for the 

 space of about three inches, a steel spring fits in a slot of the 

 shoe at the inner end, and there secured by a screw. The point 

 is also of steel inserted in a slot. The heel springs play about 

 one-eighth of an inch, and is found very acceptable to the foot 

 treading on pavements. These three parts, that is the springs 



[Am. Inst.] 33 



