NEW 
« TO IMPROVE THE SOIL AND THE MIND.” 
SERIES. 
VOL. II. 
ALBANY, NOVEMBER, 1845. 
No. 11. 
THE CULTIVATOR 
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Joreign ®orrespontrence. 
MR. NORTON’S LETTERS—No. XVII. 
Laboratory of Ag. Chemistry Association, ) 
8 Bank-st., Edinburgh, Aug. 20, 1845. \ 
L. Tucker, Esq.—I have just been reading- the proofj 
sheets of an artiele of Prof. Johnston's, and think I can 
scarcely g-ive you anything- more interesting or useful, 
than some extracts from it, which Prof. Johnston has 
kindly permitted me to make. 
He first speaks of the great bulk of the potatoe crop, 
which by the cost of its transport, prevents the farmer 
who has no near market, from growing it over a large 
extent of ground. It is therefore of much consequence 
if he can convert the potato into some more portable 
articles, which will at the same time meet with a ready 
sale. One of these articles is farina, or potato flour. 
“ Into this manufacture,” says Prof. Johnston, “ great 
improvements have recently been introduced, and the 
farina is converted into British Tapioca, into syrup, and 
other articles, which find a more or less ready market. 
The waste fibre of the potato, which formerly was con¬ 
sidered fit only for manure, is now 7 converted into a 
wholesome nourishment for cattle, and even the wash¬ 
ings of the starch, where skill and economy preside over 
the process, are collected and employed as a manure. 
Mr. Binning Home mentions that these washings, when 
allowed to run into the potato drills, had given, near 
Stirling, a larger crop of potatoes than was yielded 
by other parts of the same field to which guano and 
farm-yard dung had been applied. The farina, or starch, 
has hitherto commanded a ready sale in the Liverpool 
market; and such was the success of a manufactory es¬ 
tablished in 1843, on the Bay of Wigton, that in 1844 
several others were in process of erection, so that the 
outlet of the potatoe crop in that locality was greatly in¬ 
creased. The principal buyers of the potatoe starch 
have been the calico printers, and others engaged in the 
cotton manufactures.” 
Potato farina or flour has been laboring under a preju¬ 
dice against its use, and the mixing of it with wheat flour 
practiced by some bakers, has been considered an adul¬ 
teration. 
“In Germany a method has lately been introduced of 
making flour from potatoes, which has not, I believe, been! 
tried in this country, but which is recommended as giv¬ 
Varieties. 
Manure Applied. 
Starch. 
Refuse. 
Water. 
Perth Reds, . 
guano alone, 
lbs. 
15-3 
lbs. 
14-6 
lbs. 
69-9 
halfdung, half guano. 
15-5 
15-2 
69*5 
Rough Reds,. 
guano alone, 
16-0 
18-5 
65-5 
dung and guano, 
17-1 
18-1 
64-8 
White Dons,. 
guano alone, 
9-0 
14-5 
76-5 
dung and guano, 
10-2 
14-9 
74*9 
Connaught Cups, • • • • 
dung alone, 
14-5 
15-6 
70-0 
dung and guano, 
14-4 
14-3 
71-2 
Buffs,. 
dung and guano. 
14-8 
14-0 
71-2 
Berwickshire Blues, • 
dung and guano, 
14-3 
15-6 
71-0 
ing abetter, a more palatable, and a more abundant arti¬ 
cle of nourishment than the common process of prepar¬ 
ing potatoe starch. This method consists in washing 
the potatoes, cutting them into slices, as we do turneps, 
steeping these slices for twenty-four hours in water con¬ 
taining one per cent of sulphuric acid, (oil of vitriol,) 
drawing off the acid water, washing them several times 
with pure water, drying them in a stove or oven, and 
then grinding them in a common grain mill. The flour 
thus obtained is pure white, and the refuse siftings or 
bran seldom exceed five per cent of the weight of th® 
dried potatoes. The sulphuric acid in this process ex¬ 
tracts the coloring matter of the potatoe, with certain 
other substances which would give the flour an unpleas¬ 
ant taste. This flour will not make good bread if used 
alone—it requires to be mixed with from one-half to one- 
third of wheaten flour.” 
“ In growing potatoes for the manufacture of starch, 
(farina,) an attention ito various circumstances is neces¬ 
sary in order to secure the largest yield of this substance. 
The soil, the manure, the variety of potato, its state of 
ripeness, and the length of time during which it has 
been kept, affect the quantity of starch it is capable of 
yielding. Some unpublished experiments made by Mr. 
Fleming, of Barrochan, last year, and liberally com¬ 
municated by him, are very interesting. The results 
are exhibited in the following table : 
Relative proportions of Starch and Water contained in 100 
lbs. of different varieties of Potatoes manured with Dung, 
with Guano, and with half Dung and half Guano to¬ 
gether. 
Remarks. —The potatoes were lifted before they were quite 
ripe. The starch was made from the whole potatoes, well washed 
but not scraped. The starch was dried before an open fire, and 
the refuse at 300° F- in an oven. I found it difficult to get all the 
parcels of starch to the same degree of dryness.— W. Fleming. 
“There is a great dilference, as the above shows, in 
the proportions of starch extracted from these different 
kinds of potato. The white dons, for example, yielded 
little more than half of what was obtained from the 
rough reds. On the whole, the red potatoes seem to be 
the best starch givers, and it appears to make little dif¬ 
ference whether guano and dung be employed alone, or 
together in the proportions of half dung and half guano. 
The difference in the proportion of water between the 
white dons and the rough reds is very striking, amount¬ 
ing to about 2-§ cwt. in the ton. Such facts as these are 
of importance both to the starch maker in buying his po¬ 
tatoes, and to the grower of potatoes who raises them 
for sale to the manufacturer. 
A method has lately been recommended by Mr. Bog 
