Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1817-06-20
T From TIE Cincinnati .Spy.l


The advantages which the
speculations anal experiments OF men Of sci
ence, have been ia agriculture and the arts
are always acknowledged with grateful plea
sure. bv every lover ofimprovemcnt. But it is
notwithstanding. to he ianeu,ed that the acct.
dental results OF "a few ingenious experiments
on an. subjects not founded ON rational theo-
~, should be handed about as real imnrove-
lnents, when at tie same time the numerous
failures to produce similar happy results are
operating To the discrsdit of the authors and
serious INJURY OF scientific Improvement. 1t is
from this cause, more than any other that IL
is so difficult 20 introduce improvements i'm
agriculture. The industrious. tho nnlettered
farmer laughs ut Your -" book knowlelge'
and StismatiZeS ii as the dreams of visionary
theorists
1t was the appearance Of production of RIr.
Richardson Gray, of E!izabethtown, published
IN the New-Jersey Journal, & re-pnbliShed i'll
The National Intelligencer, on The svbisct of
planting potat0es. that brought to my mind Sc
ries of experiments which had made some
years ago On the same 1 had somewhere
read in ar Almanack and afterwards i'm a News.
paper, that the ciiitS ar egcS of Potatoes. were
as good or better for planting than whole pota-
toes The latter account was communicate
on, think, - the - aSsaclusetts egrcultu-
raj Society, and published by order of the
same, probably u o. > years AFRO. This gave
ME much confidence in the discovery that
without further reconsideration pursued il with
The greatest lrccisiou-Eut the managed
my potatoes we'll. even better shan usual-had
always hitherto had tho best success in raising
them, and my neghhors had tcerable croDs
that year, mine was the worst had ever cen.
he number indeed was equal TO tu.erable
crop, but the stalks were not burger than small
>tTawS-But having observed that tins was a
very dry year. reflected that perhaps mi~It
have had bad crop if hal PLANTED in the
old way, and that il could not be possible
learned and respec' abe body Of men, or even
any Individual woHid risk his reputation bv f.-
pnDhcaiiCu 1t tactS not proven bv sufficient
M .4,rn fn-q in filn hafia
thc succeeding Neai aYain cut cut all the
les OF my seed potatoes a. directed / plant
ed part OF the eyes in spot Of rich mos.
land, and the rest on y, her land which Wa
rich enough II pros!rae in tie adioinins row.
excellent corn; {worscd py potatoes with care
and Iudnstry bur except few hills in the
moist part, hey were as before, the stalks were
uncommCuiy small and the potatoes Ike PI-
BINS eggs and less. bui n few larger Al NV
nrighhor- had good crops that wear " iau.Lecl
my folly. One of them told me, thai If
wanted IL raise large potatoes, ] must plant
large ones. took the matter then into cousi-
Iteration on my own plan--I planted the next
srrlng, number OF rows of very large pota-
toes one inn hill, an equal number OF smaller
ones OF a middle size, so as to ensure about six
or eight eyes in hill the same number of ths.
smallest size, AMI like number Of pieces crt
so as to divide the Potatoes nearly equal, with
one eye only TO each pieceI also planted a
few chits, as in tle preceding years-these
planted in the best ground in Order "a
give them the best possible chance aud marked
several hills of the Others where the nmnber of
eyes wasany way extraordinary. Allie fore
gong except the chits, were planted on The
same kind of ground and had the same atteu
ton (Which was rather indifferent rs then
thought they were merely laid on the surface
of the plOughed ground and covered well. In
august they were overrun with tie Cana da-
Thistle, which | then pioughed down and On
vered MP with earth, leaving nothing green
nut the pOtatOe tops in hills rs large as tic
GROUND would admit. This was the only atten-
ton they had, but / had fine crop of ex-
celent potatoes. at the rate of from $50 TO
42O bushels per acre. The two first sorts we're
about equa! in quantity and quality, the cut
pieces produced but few in number but they
were all large, or at least a good size and upon
the whole, nearly cqua! i'm quantity to the frst
But the number of small ones as well as few
large ones, and their yield upon the whole at
least one fifth less than the first mentioned
The chits produced small stalks small pota-
toes and but few of tlem-certainly not half a
crop.
From the foregoing | learned, what have
since verified by experiment. First, that the
seed is to the young plant what the lactescent
dam is 10 her young. The young animal lives
on the mother until she can sustain itself, which
rs accomplished in very gradual manner; but
when accomplished, the conneXon is dissolved
and the animal lives and propagates its kind.
after the manner of its species. In the same
manner does the young plant subsist, by draw
ing sustendnce from the germ, or the root from
whence 1t springs, only with the difference, that
the grain, the pOtatoe, &c uHdergoes a chemi
Cal change. which cOnveTtsits iarinaceOus parts
into sugar, mncilage and sometimes at length
into wood. The potatoe can no longer be boiled
soft in the usual way, after having undergone
this process. " hile the young plant is tlus
receiving sustcnauce from its parent, 10 is also
proyidgg for tie future. by sending forth roots
Ia draw food Ofdnother kind more suited TO its
mature state, which having affected, the parent
~ most instances dies, but in all il shows itself
capable OF supporting itself independently, -
propagaing its Kind like its species Now IL
the parert, either animal or vegetable happe,is
to be feeble, inirm or diminutive and il,e
means Of suIport for tho youpg. AZ might be
expected, deficient these must also be sfrau X.
weak, unless very ample artificial means be
supplied. Second, That 10 more Than q cor.
tain proportion Of nOurs'imert is uecceesarv
trOu ~" parent. animal ~ vcrctabie aud
therefore P0iain9s Oi a moderate size are
more profitable than those Of iir largest
Third. That regard slIorll always be had 10
the number Of cycs put into eli hill. as well
rs to the proportion that the humble, OF ewes
bear to Che potatoes itself Fourth pntaiccs
with irw eyes are aiwa,s preferable for use
as wtii IS for seed. FIFTH, : nat Nhere Ito
seed fytltoc contains toe MANY e"ts, thew
should he reru.4.,d BY cuttu~ Oni the sii.
pernumfrlt,Cs. aul 10y 50 divi,tuoiit that
cachpiecc Siall not contain more dian one OF
two.
in The came two or three succccd.uf- years. =
made The following eyi crinenfs shch appear
strOr~iN TO C0rrD5OrStc tho fJrcgo ~ irirrcu.
ces. took seed-c0rr. sl,cilod frnri the butts
OF t'ie eags from the middle and from the tops
Of the sane cary, and PLANTED each separately
Iu rove side by sioe putting four grains IN
| each bill observed ths' not more dian
| thrCe ont ~ four, ou an dverage, came up. n!
those taken from the butts, that several hills