THE 
GARDENERS' 
CHRONICLE. 188 
12.—1846.] 
lowing comparison: — 
Potatoes from tubers after 
the researches of Einhof, 
Henry, and Lampadius. 
Potatoes from. 
seed by 
Substances, 
Dobereiner. 
15 per cent. 11.1 per cent. 
d; 5. 
» dn) 
TUR 76.0 . 5» 
4) 13 
Of the remaining elements of Potatoes, Henry,in his 
researches, gives 3.3 of sugar and 0.1 of fat; Vauquelin 
9.1 of asparagin, a highly nitrog substance found 
in Asparagus ; 1.2 of citrate of lime; and an undeter- 
mined quantity of pure citric acid, citrate and phos- 
Phate of potassa, and phosphate of li 1 
Whieh, in their quantitative analysis, determine the 
reater or less value of the Potato. In addition to these, 
uchner, Barry, and Otto, have pointed out the existence 
of solanin, a poisonous substance, which is found in 
largest quantities during the germination of the Po- 
tato, and is the cause of the paralysis which comes on 
in the extremities of animals which have been fed upon 
Potatoes that have been used by the distillers. 
The following Table gives the result of the chemical 
examination of Potatoes at various seasons of the year. 
240 lbs. of Potatoes contain, of starch— 
lbs. lbs. 
In August.. . 23 
», September HE 
» October .. .. 82 
November ag 88 
. 88 — 28 or 16 
1L6 
» May m +. 2 20 or 11.6 — 8.3 M 
From which results it will be found that Potatoes ought 
to be protected against frost, heat, and germination. 
ayen found starch and water in the following pro- 
Portions in various sorts :— 
Starch. Water. 
Rohan Potatoes .. m —7 
Large yellow do. .. . m — 
Scote' do. .. m — 
i do. .. . — 
Suganzak do. .. oe P ps 
Siberian do. .. . ES 
illier: 
f No an DE MIS c S 
From this Table it appears that starch and water exist 
in Potatoes always in an inverse proportion; where 
there is most starch there is least water, and vice versa. 
It will also be found that starch and water together 
constitute from 91.7 to 92 per cent. of the mass of all 
Potatoes. 
Appendix B, Upon the regeneration, or profitable 
propagation of Potatoes from seeds, by Inspector Tinz- 
mann, of Laasnig, in Silesia. 
The variety of opinions which exist with regard to 
the Proper culture of the Potato, determined me to un- 
dertake experiments for myself, which I have now car- 
Tied on for 10 years ; and as the results of their propa- 
B ion by means of seeds appear to be important, I 
ave determined to give them to the public. In the 
commencement only a few plants were tried, but as the 
result was good, this plan of culture has been conti- 
hued till now. The propagation of Potatoes from seeds 
tee with many advantages. The Potatoes are 
by it regenerated, their produce is increased, and, what 
15 of most importance, the Potato itself is very much 
improved. 'The tubers, also, of Potatoes produced from 
Seed are able to resist the influences of weather, &c., 
Much better than those grown from eyes, germs or peels 
in me usual way. It has also the advantage of a saving 
th sowing, as, although small Potatoes are used when 
d € crop is grown from the tubers, yet these may be 
mployed more profitably for feeding animals. In the 
UE of Potatoes from tubers there is no certainty 
im regard to the crop, as a fine-looking Potato may 
in e weak vital powers, or the germs, ou account, of 
estt nutrition, may not be able to develope healthy 
terio Phe following is the history of my experi- 
p ES autumn of 1833, the seeds of an ordinary va- 
ai ug field Potato (Futter-Kartoffel) were collected 
EM in a garden on the 16th of April, 1834. From 
and SERO only 12 plants made their appearance, 
They w ese 9 were transplanted in the middle of June. 
apant Pd then 5 inches high, and were plaeed a foot 
favourable. ER other. This was au exceedingly un- 
drought th, Mes for this experiment, on account of the 
up; they yiel ed When these plants were dug 
the size of a h only 73 Potatoes. The largest were 
nut, a Aen’s egg, the smallest as big as a Hazel 
In the N p 
in a eld, RN these 73 Potatoes were planted out 
D plants, "Tho of them, even the smallest, 
the old sorts i 
and more eu “ir vigour, their dark-green leaves, 
and in 1837 produced 21 These were again planted, 
planted, and produced 44 
bushels were planted, and 
rest were sold. 
Ro as compared with the 
bu: X 2 Was as 14 to 8}, and the 
shel of the new variety Bis ae 91 lbs, whilst the 
aese are German weights 
second experiment was made with the Ger 
table Potato (Speise-Kartoffel). The seeds om 
oR the 26th April, 1836, which came up, and 60 plants 
ere transplanted on the 20th of June following. The 
Produce was 51 metze (a metze is the 16th part of a 
cheffel or Prussian bushel). The tubers were small, 
not any larger than a dove’s egg, and were 1382 in 
number, or 23 on an average to each plant. These 
were planted in 1837, and yielded 8 bushels of per- 
fectly formed Potatoes, with an excellent flavour. In 
the year 1838, 3 bushels were planted out, and 56 
bushels obtained. The produce of this variety was 
always greater thay the last, as it afforded, on an ave- 
rage, from 60 to 70 tubers on each plant. Although in 
the first produce many of the tubers were very small, 
this was found to be no disadvantage in using them 
as seed-tubers, the very smallest frequently having the 
largest number of’eyes, and yielding the greatest produce. 
The propagation of Potatoes.from seed having been 
found so valuable, I have adopted the plan, and now 
possess a large assortment of different varieties. The 
following Table has been drawn up for the purpose of 
affording a view of the relative merits of Potatoes grown 
from seeds and from tuber: 
Kiwp or POTATO. Acr 
Ad 
S5 
29 
Lr 
mE 
B | Starch. 
1. Field-Potatoes from tubers .. 
2. The same from seed eere 
3. German Garden-Potatoes fn 
4, The same from seed ...- 
5. Early Kidneys from tubers 
5. The fy 6 
6. Th le f db eegee 196 LS 
As these three sorts of P grown o 
soil of equal goodness, and received the same treatment, 
they prove very satisfactorily the advantay 
the raising the Potatoes from seed. & might communi- 
cate the result of experiments on other kinds of Pota- 
toes, but they are all equally favourable to the plan of 
culture now recommended. I will now say a few words 
on the obtaining, treatment, and sowing of the seed. 
In order to obtain good seed, not more than from two 
to three of the fruits or Apples of the Potato plant 
should be allowed to come to maturity, For these the 
most perfect should be selected, and all the rest cut 
away. In the neighbourhood of the plants selected for 
seed, no other sort should be allowed to grow, because 
the pollen of the other plants may mix with those in- 
tended for seed, and the sort will thus be changed. Of 
this I have had ample proof, and have sometimes had 
the varieties of Potato spoiled by such a mixture. It 
is well known that a change in the variety of a plant 
can only thus take place by the application of the pollen 
of other varieties. Sometimes this mixture of other 
pollen exerts a powerful influence, and I have found that 
sorts of Potatoes which would not bear seed from im- 
pregnation with the pollen of their own flowers, would 
bear it when impregnated with pollen from other flowers. 
The ripeness of the seed may be known by the soften- 
ing of the Apple, or should not this come on in late 
varieties, then, when the vegetation dies. I collect the 
Apples generally at the time the tubers are dug up. 
They should be then placed in a damp, not a wet place, 
as in a cellar, till decomposition takes place. The 
pulpy parts should then be separated by squeezing, and 
the seeds washed with luke-warm water, the seeds should 
then be picked out, and washed carefully several times, 
until all the mucus is got rid of. This is a point of 
great importance, and it was from not properly sepa- 
rating the seed from the investing mucus that I did not 
succeed so well in my first experiments. When left 
on, the mucus prevents the seed from germinating. The 
seeds after washing should be dried in the air, and 
kept in a well ventilated place. 
When varieties are wished to be produced, a fine 
dry still day, when the plants are in full blossom, should 
be chosen, and the pollen of the one plant be carefully 
applied to the stigma of the other with a camel’s-hair 
pencil. This process it is very desirable to adopt where 
none of the Potatoes of a district will bear Apples at all, 
as it frequently happens that Apples are borne after this 
artificial impregnation. 
In the cultivation of Potatoes from seed the following 
notes may be of service. The seed of the Potato should 
either be sown at the latter end of April or the begin- 
ning of May, in a loose soil, which, during the previous 
autumn, had been well manured. The ground should 
be sown thinly and in rows 4 inches apart. The young 
plants will have appeared within 10 days. The ground 
should be carefully cleared of weeds. At the end of 
about eight weeks they will be 4 or 5 inches in height, 
when they should be dug up and planted out in a well 
worked field, about 18 inches apart in breadth, and 
7 inches in a line. In the course of time the soil should 
be loosened with a hoe, and later dug up and housed in 
the same way as other Potatoes. 
The Potatoes obtained from seed the first year do 
not attain their perfect size, and are watery and not 
agreeable as food ; they seldom attain the size of a hen's 
egg, and the majority are not bigger than a‘hazel nut, 
but in the second year the Potatoes grown from these 
attain a large size and deliver asfine and perfect a fruit 
as possible. 4 
(To this statement of the Herr Tinzmann, J ustiz-rath 
Isensee appends a note, stating that the results of his 
observations differ from those of the author. In the 
previous report from Herr Albert, and in the reports 
in Appendix A, it will be seen that the first crop of Po- 
tatoes was large, free from any large amount of water, 
and eatable. ‘This was the case, not only with the early 
sorts of Potatoes, but with the later sorts, the same as 
those referred to by Herr Tinzmann.) An important 
point to be attended to is the preservation of the seed 
tubers during winter. They should be carefully stowed 
before heating takes place, so as to produce germina- 
tion, and this should be done as soon as possible after 
the taking up of the Potatoes, If the seeds are sown in 
February on a hotbed, then the Potatoes which are 
produced may be employed for food, but I prefer the 
second year's produce. (It will be seen from preceding 
arts of the reports that it is not necessary to take this 
precaution to secure as useful a crop the first year.) 
Since obtaining the foregoing results from the propa- 
gation of Potatoes by seed, I have not only always had 
abundant crops, but they have all been free from the 
various forms of Potato disease. 
Appendix C. In Number: 245 of the “Berliner 
Zeitung,” of the 20th of October, 1845, the following 
occurs. The Minister of. the Interior is induced to lay 
the following communication before the publie :—The 
prevalence of a disease in Potatoes in various parts of 
the world has led some to the conclusion that it is 
desirable again to raise Potato-plants from seed. There 
appears, however, to have been but few experiments 
performed upon this subject, and, consequently, persons 
have been led to doubt its value. An experiment has 
however, lately been performed by Herr Zander, of 
Boitzenburg (Court Arnim’s gardener), in which he not 
only obtained Potatoes from seeds, but when all others 
were attacked with disease these were found free. The 
following is the plan pursued. The berries of the 
Potatoes are collected in the autumn, and are squeezed 
with the hand into a pot or other vessel, in which they 
should remain six or eight days, to decompose, by 
which process the pulpy part separates from the seeds ; 
the seeds are afterwards washed with water and treated 
in the same manner as the seeds of Cucumbers. They 
are then dried, and kept in a warm and dry place. At 
the end of March, or the beginning of April, the seeds 
are sown in a hotbed, and are treated generally in the 
same manner as Early Peas. The young plants should 
be protected from the frosts to which they are exposed 
at the season of year in which they are planted. In 
the month of May he transplanted and planted in a 
light soil at the distance at which Potatoes are usually 
planted. Zander’s plants were sown on the 11th of 
April, and transplanted on the 26th of May. The 
plants at the harvest yielded largely, and one plant gave 
280 tubers. Zander has grown Potatoes thus for the 
last five years, and while the Potatoes all around have 
been subject to attacks of disease, those grown from seed 
have been free. The success of these experiments 
ought to induce persons, wherever the Potatoes are not 
got in, and berries have been produced, to collect the 
seed for the purpose of sowing in future years, should 
the erop turn out to be a failure. The space required 
for sowing seeds, in order to plant an acre of land, is 
not more than a square rod, so that persons with only a 
small amount of land may successfully pursue the plan. 
Appendix D is a short report made on the 7th Octo- 
ber, 1845, by C. Berendt, on the merits of the Potatoes 
grown by Herr Albert, from seed ; which is very 
favourable. 
Appendix E. — The president of the Agricultural 
Society of Rosslau and Cüthen, in consideration of the 
importanee of the subject, had been indueed to allow 
the collection of seed under the superintendence of an 
experienced farmer, for the purpose of supplying those 
who may wish to have it. 
Appendix F.— Potatoes from seed by Von Blacha, of 
Jaschine, near Kreuzburg. In consequence of the 
marked diminution in the g inating power of the Po- 
tatoes of this district, I three years ago obtained, by 
means of washing, an ounce and a half of seeds from 
sound Potato berries. These were sown, for the sake 
of experiment, the first year in a hotbed, and when the 
plants were up, and no frost to be feared, they were 
planted in the open field. From these I had the first 
year one sack and a half, the next year 12 sacks, and 
the present year, 95 sacks of perfect and good Potatoes. 
Allmy Potatoesare at present infected with the prevailing 
disease in a high degree, except the 95 sacks obtained 
from the seeds, and they are all perfectly sound. 
Wome Correspondence. 
The Amaranthus oleraceus, which you describe as a 
new esculent under the name of Chusan Han-tsi, is one 
of the most common native vegetables in India, and of 
which there are two or three kinds in use, either 
varieties of this or different species of Amaranthus. 
The two most frequently met with are, one with stem- 
branches and leaf-stalks of a light green, a shade lighter 
than the leaves ; in the other, the whole plant is ofa 
brownish green, or rusty colour ; in other respects, the 
plants are apparently the same. The time at which 
they grow in the greatest perfection as a vegetable is 
just after the first fall of the tropical rains, when the 
air is saturated with moisture, and the direct action of 
the sun broken, but not wholly intereepted, by a thin 
covering of clouds, accompanied by a generally calm 
state of the ph a p ranging 
from 709 to 80°, but with variations exceedingly small 
between day and night, as compared with other seasons 
of the year. At this time the plants grow very rapidly, 
and arrive ata state for use in a month or less from 
the sowing of the seed, rising from 1 to 14 foot in 
heighth, with stems as thick as the forefinger. In this 
state of rapid growth, the whole plant is used, being. 
eut off about 2 inches above the ground, and the most 
delicate part of the vegetable is decidedly the succulent 
