36 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —In the last No. of the 
Cultivator, I observe a criticism over the signature of 
“ Herd Book,” on the pedigree of “Daisy,” in your 
November No.—also in the “ American Farmer,” pub¬ 
lished at Baltimore, on her form as there given. Both 
I acknowledge are very just, nor is there any thing in 
the matter or manner of either to complain of; on the 
contrary I confess I was glad to see them, as they were 
evidence to me that the caricatures in which our agricul- 
tural papers have so much abounded, and shall I say ge¬ 
nerally with impunity, were not further to be tolerated ; 
for while I admit that in both particulars, this was vul¬ 
nerable, I can but believe that very few I have seen, are 
less so, and besides in just so far as this does not come 
up to the life, it is against the animal, and consequently 
safe, while generally, I think it has been otherwise. 
In relation to her form, will you allow me now to say, 
rather by Avay of explanation, than justification, that 
when I said the engraving was a good likeness, I was 
presuming upon the high reputation for general correct¬ 
ness of the artist, having only seen the drawing, which 
I still believe was time, and though any one would re¬ 
cognize the animal from the cut, yet you will recollect 
I complained at the time that it did her great injustice. 
In regard to her pedigree, a mistake occurred in my 
transcribing it from memory ; and this I should probably 
not have ventured to do, but that I had seen so many 
and such glaring errors pass unnoticed, I thought it of 
but little consequence ; but in order now to correct it, I 
will give that of her dam “ Matilda,” whose likeness 
accompanies this communication. 
Matilda, then, is white, was calved in 1834, and bred 
by C. N. Bement, at Three Hills Farm, near this city. 
She was by “ White Jacket,” (bred by Anthony Dey, 
Esq., of New-York,) her dam Majesty, formerly 
“ Heart,” imported by the late Mr. Hollis, from his own 
Preservation of Root Crops. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —The perusal of each 
new number of your highly useful paper affords me so 
much, both of entertainment and instruction, that I al¬ 
ways feel as if I should be making some other return 
for such gratifications, than the usual yearly payment 
of one dollar. But the fear of seeming to your readers 
to be “ zealous overmuch,'” frequently restrains me from 
making communications for your Cultivator, when the 
spirit moves me to make them. I must beg you therefore, 
once for all, never to publish any thing I may send, unless 
you believe it will render sufficient service to some of 
our brethren, to make it worth reading. Of this, I Avish 
you always to be the judges ; and rest assured that your 
failure to publish Avill never “break any squares betAveen 
us,” since my chief motHe for writing, next to the 
hope of doing some good to our cause, is, the desire I 
constantly feel to contribute my mite of communications 
tOAvards sustaining a paper Avhich has already rendered 
great services to American Husbandry, and bids fair to 
render still greater. 
The subject of my present offering wall be the 'preser¬ 
vation of root crops; in regard to Avhich, although 
enough has been written, probably to fill a large A-olume, 
yet long experience has convinced me, that much of it 
is totally useless, or rather unnecessary, in all latitudes 
south of the Potomac River, and east of our moun¬ 
tains. 
Some of the various modes recommended, Avould cost 
nearly as much as the value of the crop for one year ; 
while the least expensive among them require a portion 
of time and labor in their construction, that might easi¬ 
ly be saved. Cellars in dAvelling houses are sometimes 
used ; but every physician Avill tell us, (and they say 
what is perfectly true,) that the gas Avhich constantly 
exhales,—even from sound roots, and still more from 
those which are decaying, as a portion always will be, 
in such places, is highly pernicious to health. Indeed, I 
once kneAV nearly a whole family to be destroyed by 
such a cau'se. But rooms are occasionally constructed 
for keeping roots in barns, Avherein cattle and horses 
axe kept; although good air is nearly as essential to 
yard in Blythe, England, on his remoAung to this coun¬ 
try for settlement. She was a remarkably fine cow, for 
Avhich he refused $700, on landing • and Mr. Bement 
says in a letter I have from him on the subject, “ Ma¬ 
jesty, the dam of your coav Matilda, was a large splen- 
did animal, and had all the points and appearance of a 
thorough-bred improved Short Horn Durham ; and al¬ 
though considerably advanced in years Avhen I bought 
her, she still possessed great A r igor of constitution. In 
color and general appearance, she very much resembled 
the Patroon’s stock ; and were I to venture an opinion, 
I should say she originated from that of Mr. Champion 
of Blythe, England, near whom the late Mr. Hollis 
lived before removing to this country.” 
That she was well bred, seems to be proved by the 
character of her stock, for without an exception, nothing 
finer has perhaps ever been seen in any country ; among 
the six heifers she now has, I am persuaded there are 
those w r hich would in England bring A^ery great prices. 
I have been told by others, and good judges, a thousand 
dollars. 
It Avas only after the death of Mr. Hollis, that “ Ma¬ 
jesty” was sold by the estate, and only in consequence 
of his death, is it, as I believe, that her perfect pedigree 
has not been found. 
White Jacket was by “ Young Regent,” dam the im¬ 
ported coav “ Hazel,” bred by Samuel Scotson, of Tox- 
teth Park, England, his g. s. imported Regent, whose 
dam was out of the thorough bred coav, Susan by Favm- 
rite—his g. g. s. was Regent by Favorite, a son of old 
Favmrite, the sire of Comet, sold for 1000 guineas. 
The dam of young Regent was Beauty, formerly 
“ Flora,” (also imported from England,) by “ George,’ 
a son of Phenomenon, by Favorite, a son of old Favor 
ite, out of Phillis by Petrarch. E. P. PRENTICE. 
Mount Hope, near Albany, January 20, 1841. 
brute beas s as to human beings. The only safe plan 
then, seems to be, to take care of your roots out of 
of doors. Here also a variety of plans have been pro¬ 
posed ; in regard to most of Avhich I can truly say, 
from my own experience, that, in our latitude, say 
about 38°, and of course in all lower degrees, they are,— 
to say the least of them,—unnecessarily troublesome. 
A very slight covering of earth seems quite sufficient 
to protect any of our roots from being injured by frost 
in our latitude. Some of them indeed, are the better 
for not being taken up ; for instance, the carrot and 
the parsnep. Those I have cultivated in my garden, 
for more than twenty years, and during the greater part 
of that time have suffered them to stand where they 
grexv, without any cov r er whatever, because I found they 
were the sweeter for such exposure, and I havm never 
during the whole period, found one of either kind in¬ 
jured by frost. Early in February, with us, it is best 
to take them up, in order to check the new growth Avhich 
commences then, and destroys their sweetness. EA r en 
turneps, both ruta baga and other varieties, I have suf¬ 
fered to stand uncovered, by way of experiment, and 
have lost very feAV, comparatively speaking. But to 
protect them effectually, I have found it quite sufficient, 
after twisting off the tops in November for stock, to 
plow a furrow on each side the drill, with the mold- 
board next the turneps, so as to make the furrows meet 
in a ridge. In this situation they were dug as Ave 
Avanted them, and were always found perfectly sound. 
It has generally been said, that Avhen buried in trenches 
or large separate mounds, a kind of chimney should be 
left to A r entilate them. This may be necessary in high¬ 
er latitudes than ours, where it is deemed essential to 
draw over them a thick covering of earth ; but this, 
even with us, where we bury in trenches or mounds, is 
nevermore than five or six inches thick, and often less. 
The trenches too, or the mounds, are not more than eight 
or ten inches deep ; the firstabouttwm feetAA’ide, and the 
second three feet in diameter. In these the roots are 
piled so as to form aridge in the trenches, and a point in 
the round mounds. Both are sometimes covered with 
straw, and then the earth is raised over them ; but no 
ventilation is left in either, as the roots keep well with¬ 
out any. In regard to Irish potatoes, a still thinner 
covering of earth than the one just mentioned, suffices 
Avith us to preserve them from rotting. Indeed it Avould 
seem as if they could freeze and thaw several times, 
during winter, Avithout being destroyed, provided they 
are covered with earth all the time ; for we often find 
them near the surface and perfectly sound, in the 
spring, when spading up the ground in which the crop 
had grown during the previous season. There they 
must have undergone freezing and thawing whenever 
the earth Avas in either state, as it often is to a much 
greater depth than the potato roots ever extend. Why 
those roots should always be destroyed Avhen they 
freeze above ground, and not suffer equally Avhen frozen 
under ground, is a matter of which I have never yet seen 
any explanation ; it is among the numerous mysteries 
m vegetable physiology f or the cause of which we have 
still to search. 
Before I quit this subject of roots, permit me to of¬ 
fer a few comments on the letter of your correspondent 
Mr. Guthrie, dated 24th of October, 1840.* This gen.’ 
tlemen, if I mistake not, is the same who informed you 
and your readers, in May last,f that he had fed away 
some fifty ton of French sugar beet, during the pre¬ 
vious Avinter, to his hogs and cattle ; not only without 
any apparent benefit, but to the manifest injury of both, 
unless in augmenting, for a time, the milk of his cows. 
But he endeavors to account for his failure by assert¬ 
ing that the French sugar beet contains “no starch 
Avhich he assumes to be the most nutritious of all the 
component parts of vegetables ; although many writers 
of high reputation maintain that sugar is quite equal, if 
not superior, to starch in this respect. But be this as it 
may, your readers Avho have not tried the sugar beet 
must still decide that it is a very valuable root for stock, 
un’ess indeed, they can believe that Mr. Guthrie alone 
is right , and all your numerous correspondents wrong , 
who have communicated to you the highly favorable re¬ 
sults of various experiments which they themselves 
have made Avith the sugar beet. Why, therefore, it 
failed Avith him, cannot have been caused by its defi¬ 
ciency in nutritive properties ; but by something else 
which he has not noticed. 
He concludes his letter of May last, with the follow¬ 
ing sentence : “ Mr. Thorburn has my thanks for intro¬ 
ducing this excellent article, (the Chinese tree-corn,) 
and Avhen its merits and demerits are well understood, 
I believe he will have the thanks of thousands of others, 
as a public benefactor.” Yet, this same gentleman 
tells you, in his October letter, that in “ his catalogue 
of humbugs this year,” (next to this corn,) “ he places 
the Rohan potatoes at the top !” 
Now, although I cannot rank myself among the thou¬ 
sands Avho will thank Mr. Thorburn as “ a public bene¬ 
factor,” since the public, in my opinion, paid him most 
amply for his corn, in giving him at the rate of about 
forty dollars a bushel for it; yet I must think that it 
detracts much from the authority of Mr. Guthrie to 
find him now calling the same thing a humbug, on which 
he had bestowed such high praise only six months ago. 
It is truly unfortunate for young farmers, and not a 
little perplexing to many old ones, that this vulgar term 
“ humbug ” should have been so indiscriminately applied 
Avithin two or three years past, as nearly to have lost 
its original meaning ; Avhich is, “ a deception, a cheat.” 
For it is now affirmed of every new thing, if—upon one 
or two trials, it happens not to answer the most san¬ 
guine expectations of those Avho try it. That Mr. 
Guthrie is one of these indiscriminate appliers of the 
term seems very evident ; unless indeed, Ave can believe 
that all the numerous individuals who have published 
accounts of the great produce both of the Chinese tree- 
corn, and of the Rohan pototoes, designed thereby to 
deceive and cheat the public. I have no doubt that such 
was the design of some Avho sold the corn at 50 and 100 
cents per ear, and the potatoes at 18 or 20 dollars a 
bushel. But that the great majority of the planters 
and farmers who have communicated the highly favor¬ 
able results of their experiments had no intention of the 
kind, seems equally certain, for they were not sellers, 
but disinterested recommenders of these articles. I my¬ 
self am one of this number, having tAvice succeeded 
equally Avell, both with the corn and the potatoes, which 
Thave found highly productive. For this recommenda¬ 
tion, however, I should deem no defense necessary— 
(having so many backers,) even if I Avere classed with 
the liumbuggers for making it. But Mr. Guthrie has 
brought the fearful charge of insanity against all avIio 
venture to eat the Rohans ; and moreoA^er, has estab¬ 
lished himself as dietetic physician both for man and 
stock, in this particular. His Avords are, “ the quality 
of the potato is abominable: no man would eat them in 
his right senses ; and they are undoubtedly as poor foi 
stock as the table.” Noav, it has so happened,— shall I 
venture to confess it? that I dined tAvice last fall, Avith 
six or sev r en gentlemen and ladies, Avho determined, on 
each occasion, to compare the Rohans with tAvo other 
common varieties of potatoes which are considered good 
among us, but not the best. Mark you, gentlemen, I 
A r erily believed, at the time, that we Avere all as much 
in our senses as we ever had been ; and yet all pro¬ 
nounced the Rohans quite as good as the other two 
kinds ; indeed, one of our company preferred them to 
both. Although I have no hope that this fact will con 
vince Mr. Guthrie, that it is possible for men to eat Bo- 
han potatoes and still be in their “ right senses yet. 
* Cult. vol. 7. p. 194. t Cult. vol. 7. p. 113. 
