I 



I performed as promptly as possible after the frost has left the ground and it has 

 become settled, and after plantini? no fears need be entertained as to any subse- 

 quent frosts or freezing-, as the root or tuber when in the ground will withstand 

 i any cold. No manure should come in contact with the roots or tubers at tlie 

 ■ time of planting. The roots should be covered with about two inches of earth, 

 I and the tubers with one inch. Pearly planting by extending the season has 

 j proven so highly beneficial by the increase of the crop, that I think fall planting 

 I will be eventually adopted as preferable, the winter freezing being no prevent- 

 j ive, as it does not injure the roots. By a course of fall planting it is supposed 

 Ij that the crops will be increased fully 'io per cent. It is found that the greatest 

 I increase in the size of the roots takes place after the summer heat is passed, 

 j' and during the autumnal months, when the weather has become cooler, which 

 proves the great advantage of a prolonged season. It ia therefore best to defer 

 digging the crop for winter use till the latest possible period. 



Wintering the Crop for Use. 

 The crop desired for winter use can be ploughed out or dug out during the 

 autumn, at any lime most convenient before the ground freezes. 'I'he stock of 

 roots may then be buried in suitable burrows, or be placed in a cellar ready for 

 daily family use. It is the usual practice to cut off the slender neck (upper 

 portion) of tlie root, and to place these aside for spring planting, and then to 

 store the main roots for u^e. These should be allowed to dry for some days 

 before being packed away lor the winter. 



Present Prospects of Cultivators of this Yam. 



The number oC persons who have hitherto devoted their attention to the cul" 

 ture of this Kscnlent has been very limited, but they are now rapidly increasing* 

 as the public attention seems greatly attracted to its importance, so that every 

 day purchases are made by amateurs, who will ardently engage in the culture 

 the coming season. And indeed, nothing can be more tempting in a lucrative 

 point of view, as there must, for 3 or 4 years to come, be a most active demand 

 for all the surplus roots and tubers which the growers will spare. 'J'hese will 

 be quickly purchased by the many who will be attracted by this new pursuit as 

 soon as the knowledge becomes general, and the present cultivators of the po- 

 tato, will, on account of its rot and other maladies, gradually abandon it as un- 

 reliable and unprofitable, and adopt the Yam on account of its hardihood, the 

 certainty of its crops, and its admirable properties. The potato, in past time, 

 has been called the poor man's bread, but with how much greater justice may 

 we give to the Chinese Yam this favorable appellation. 



Supersedure of the Potato in all Northern Climes, and through- 

 out our Northern, Eastern and Western States. 



The introduction of the Tropical Potato from the coast region of South 

 America, hfis led to a continual war against Nature in our endeavors to accli- 

 mate a tender plant, subject, at all times, to the maladies of a new location and 

 chmate, and always destructible by frost to the plant, or by freezing to the root 

 itself. Grown under these adverse conditions, its culture could only be ex- 

 tended so far North as the length of the summer -^'ould permit, by a sufficiency 

 of time for the maturity of the root. The precarious culture of this plant has 

 been of late years so dubious and unreliable, subject to the rot and other dis- 

 eases, and to utter blight and decay, that the fre(pient results have been the de- 

 struction of entire crops, at periodical returns, which has proven mostly calam- 

 itous to its cultivators. Thus, a great scarcity has often resulted, with enhanced 

 prices for this hitherto indispensable article of food. 



This combination of untoward circumstances, so fatal to this plant, has caused 

 reflective minds to seek for an appropriate substitute. 



