THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



77 



many years ; and have been frequently 

 amused, particularly in witnessing its ef- 

 fects in a cask of rice, when it was almost 

 destroyed by weevil. 



It is wonderful to see with what expe- 

 dition they will leave it when the remedy 

 is applied. 



The great advantage of this remedy 

 over others, is, that it does not in the least 

 degree injure the grain, and also, it is so 

 simple and easy, that almost every person 

 has it in his possession. 



It is simply sassafras (Lanous) root, 

 placed among the grain, and in places in- 

 fested with them. I have never had the 

 opportunity of putting it in a stack of 

 grain at time of stacking, but have no 

 dou^»t if it be well mixed with the grain, 

 it would keep out many other kinds of 

 insects that are so injurious. 



It is a well known fact that no kind of 

 insect likes the smell of sassafras. 



The same root is useful about poultry 

 houses, and I find that poultry in the ha- 

 bit of roosting on poles made of the tree, 

 are not liable to get lousy. 

 Yours, respectfully, 



John H. King. 



Georgetown, D. C, Dec. 23, 1846. 



# 



For the Southern Planter. 

 THE POTATO. 



Mr. Editor, — Many theories have been 

 advanced, upon the subject of the dete- 

 rioration* of this, almost necessary article 

 of food — none of which appears to have 

 met with general sanction. If the follow- 

 ing ideas should be deemed worthy of 

 further notice, they are at your service: 



I have repeatedly noticed that where I 

 have planted the potato one year, the fol- 

 lowing spring many volunteers havesprung 

 up, and upon pulling up the vine, I have 

 invariably found a good sound potato at- 

 tached to the root. This suggested the 

 idea, that under the earth ivas the natural 

 element of this vegetable, and that it should 



* By deterioration, I mean that loss of its 

 original qualities, which it may be supposed 

 renders it more liable to disease. 



I never be removed from it, except for im- 

 j mediate use, or replanting. And that the 

 : rot has been produced gradually by some 

 peculiar action of the atmosphere, and 

 j perhaps light — to say nothing of the pos- 

 sible effect of- throwing them into bulk, 

 where they usually lay through the win- 

 ter, subject of course to the various che- 

 mical changes to which all vegetable 

 substances are liable, under like circum- 

 stances. That the potato loses much 

 (probably little less than twenty-five per 

 cent.) by being exposed to the atmos- 

 phere, may be easily proved by weighing 

 a bushel when first taken from the ground, 

 and subsequently at different times, after 

 exposure. May not much of the proper- 

 ties essential to its purity be thus lost by 

 evaporation, as well as by the changes 

 which take place in the heap. I think so. 

 "Every thing after its kind," is a scrip- 

 ture maxim — few would think of keeping 

 a fish alive out of water, or a bird under 

 it. Why, then, may it not be as essential 

 to keep the potato in its proper element — 

 but it is a vegetable ! True ! but do ve- 

 getables grow upon men's noses? Cer- 

 tainly not. Are not the laws which go- 

 vern the vegetable as imperative as those 

 which govern the animal kingdom ? — 

 These are facts which should not be lost 

 sight of in our reasoning upon the sub- 

 ject. We know, from experience, that 

 parsnips, carrots, cellery, the potato, arti- 

 choke, and other vegetables, are best pre- 

 served by letting them remain where 

 grown until wanted for use. Maj' not 

 the same be said of the potato? There 

 is another fact 1 have observed. I have 

 never yet seen a frosted potato taken from 

 the ground in the spring, after remaining 

 covered through the winter by the earth in 

 which it grew. This is an important 

 fact, and one which I believe will hold 

 good — the potato may freeze, but there 

 appears to- be a property in the earth 

 which extracts the frost and leaves it as 

 fresh as if it had never been touched by 

 cold. This fact, I think, T have demon- 

 strated, by experiment. East year, in 

 consequence of the season, neglect, or 

 some other cause, my crop was very un- 

 promising, so much so indeed, as to in- 



