330 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
gild, of Copenhagen, for making the potatoe more avail¬ 
able and pi-ofitabe in feeding cattle than it has hitherto 
been. Potatoe starch is easily converted into grape 
sugar, and he proposes to take advantage of this, in order 
to bring the whole potato into a soluble state, to make 
it more easy of digestion, and thus to increase its feeding 
properties. 
“He washes his potatoes well, steams them thorough¬ 
ly, and then, without allowing them, to cool, he cuts them 
in a cylinder furnished with revolving knives, or crushes 
them in a mill, and mixes them with a small quantity of 
water and 3 lbs. ground malt to every 100 lbs. of the 
raw potatoes. This mixture is kept in motion, and at a 
temperature of 14Qo to 180o F., for from one to five 
hours, when the thick gruel has acquired a sweet taste 
and is ready for use. Given in this state, the results of 
experimental trials are said to be— 
1st, That it is a richer and better food for milk cows 
than twice the quantity of potatoes in the raw state. 
2d. That it is excellent for fattening cattle and *sheep, 
and for winter food. That it goes much farther than 
potatoes when merely steamed; and that it may be eco¬ 
nomically mixed up with cut hay and straw.” 
A letter from Copenhagen, dated April 29th, 1845, 
says, “ This invention has been more and more appre¬ 
ciated and applied in my native country, (Norway,) and 
in Denmark, and the great advantages with which stall 
feeding may be introduced at considerable less expense 
than formerly, render it suited to general promulgation. 
The method has more and more gained adherents, and 
further comparative experiments made by scientific and 
experienced persons, have proved its superiority. Thus 
one of these experiments establishes that an increase of 
1^ lbs. of flesh is obtained from 25 lbs. of potatoes—that 
the feeding of horses with this mash is found to be ap¬ 
plicable and cheap, and they all confirm that potatoes 
used in this manner as food amply afford double the nu¬ 
tritive powers compared to the food formerly used.” 
I have heard of no experiments on the above method 
in this country as yet, and therefore cannot say how 
much credence is to be given to these statements; the 
matter however, is certainly worthy of a trial. A 
common cider mill would crush the steamed potatoes 
with great ease, and there is nothing in any part of the 
process involving much expense. Indeed I think all the 
hints contained in the above extracts are worthy of at¬ 
tention from our intelligent farmers, especially those 
who are far inland, away from readily accessible mar¬ 
kets. Very truly yours, John Pitkin Norton. 
MR. MITCHELL’S LETTERS—No. XI. 
Geneva, Switzerland, Sept. 8, 1845. 
Luther Tucker, Esq —Within a fortnight past, I 
have walked over half the distance from this to Paris. 
Some things seen by the way, may perhaps be jotted 
down with interest to your readers. Wine is the great 
crop, and vineyards stretch along by bits, and by hundreds 
of acres as far as the chain of the Juras, which separate the 
eastern districts of France from Switzerland, and which 
y ield immense quantities of charcoal and timber, anb in 
little basins of the hills oats and potatoes, with stinted crops 
of hemp and barley. The vines are tied to stakes forty 
inches in height, three to four feet apart each way—are 
kept closely trimmed, and in many vineyards, so late as 
the present month, the vine dressers were plucking ofl 
the young shoots. The ground is kept light, free from 
weeds, and generally without intermixture of other crop; 
though I have seen in a few instances sugar beets anil 
hemp growing with the vines. A light soil is preferred, 
and of situations, one upon the slope of a hill facing the 
south, is most productive—not always in quantity, but in 
what is of more consequence—of a better quality of wine. 
Particular vineyards enjoy great reputations for produ¬ 
cing a delicious wine, which they maintain for centuries, 
and fields immediately beside them, though of similar 
exposure, and possessing the same mineralogical char¬ 
acter, are found to fail in producing the desired flavor. 
The famous Burgundy wines are grown along the line 
of my route. The vineyards principally lie upon the 
slope of a chain of hills, from 800 to 1000 feet in height; 
the soil is of a yellowish red loam, producing good crops 
of Indian corn, clover, and hemp. Old vines produce 
the best wine—young vines, the most. The method of 
making, in general terms, is to tread the grapes with 
heavy wooden shoes in troughs, until all are broken, 
when they are placed in a large vat with the must, where 
fermentation takes place; after which the liquor is 
removed to lesser vats, and changed from one to the 
other every two or three months until fit for the cask. 
The wine of the young vines, or of the poorer soils, 
(poorer in producing delicacy of flavor,) and the pro¬ 
duce of a poor season make up the common drink of the 
country, or the vin ordinaire; which may be found in 
every little auberge by the way, and in nearly every 
house. Its price, when ordered at the humbler taverns, 
is about 10 sous, or 9 cents a bottle. It is rather better 
than poor cider and not so good as good beer. The vin 
ordinaire of the towns is of course much better. The 
best of the wines sell from seven to eight francs a bottle 
upon the spot, ($1.30,) but only when 8 or 10 years old. 
Barley was another considerable crop met with upon the 
plains of France, but was generally weak and unprom¬ 
ising in appearance. The oats very late, but in many 
parts a good crop. The smaller grasses I scarce saw at all; 
some crops of clover and of vetch were of only ordinary 
quality. Sugar beets no better than the average of ours 
at home. Beans and hemp good. Upon the plains at 
the foot of the Juras, I was surprised to see for the first 
time this side of the Atlantic, large fields of Indian corn, 
covering from 10 to 20 acres. It was late, wanting a 
full month or more of ripening, (3d Sept.,) and quite 
small. It was neither planted in hills or drills, but stood 
scattered over the ground some ten inches apart, and 
the culture, though it must have been very inconvenient, 
was thorough. The fields passed would have turned 
30 to 40 bushels to the acre. The season has, however, 
been most unfavorable—a succession of cold and wet 
until within a fortnight past. The vintage will be late, 
and it is thought, very much poorer than usual. The 
mode of conducting agricultural operations, so far as 
witnessed along the line of route, was very inferior and 
unbusiness like. Land laid down to the grasses left in 
an exceedingly rough state—hay-making lazily gone 
through with, and not unfrequently large quantities 
molded and ruined. I passed some twenty pieces of 
grain, which had been cut, and laid with the cradle, and 
then left until the kernels had sprouted from the damp¬ 
ness. The plowing was poorly done, and light crops 
the necessary consequence. I saw no ditching or drain¬ 
ing—no subsoiling—no irrigation—which latter indeed 
'vould be difficult, since but one or two brooks were 
crossed from Paris to the mountains. There are no 
hedges or fences except in the immediate neighborhood 
of some of the larger towns, and cattle when pastured 
are attended by keepers. Pasturing in the fields is, 
however, not common, except upon some rich meadows 
which are subject to overflow, and which, with their 
wide extent of green, and scattered poplars, and immense 
herds of cattle, offered a very grateful contrast to the 
general monotony of the country. The appearance of 
the vineyards is by no means so rich as the stranger who 
has heard only of La belle France—a land teeming with 
oil, wine, and silk, might suppose. At a distance upon 
the hill slopes, they have much the appearance of a New 
England brush pasture; nearer by, they have an aspect 
peculiar to themselves, but unless when the grapes are 
turning—no more inviting than so many brambles, nor 
one half so beautiful as the broad, long, glossy green 
leaves, and feathery spindles, and silken ear-tops of our 
American corn-fields. The implements of husbandry are 
almost universally of the clumsy and unuseful construc¬ 
tion; the plows entirely of wood excepting a point of 
steel upon the nose, of a huge size, and worked over the 
axle of a pair of wheels, as described in my Jersey let¬ 
ter of last June. The hand implements are even more 
awkw r ard than the larger ones; shovels have handles four 
to five feet in length; hoes are very similar to the bog- 
hoes of our country; scythe snaths are formed of natural 
crooks of extreme clumsiness, and forks for hay are 
mostly of wood, tipped with rams’ horns. Immediately 
