The people's press, and Addison County Democrat. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1838-1841, 1841-05-11
AGRICULTURAL.
THE RoHAN AND SILVER LAKE PoTAroEs.

MEssRs. GAYLoSD & acknowledgment com.
munications have appeared In the agricultural
papers for the last few months, in relation 10 the
qualities of the Rohan potato. 1t is doubtless
true, that we as people. are somewhat prone 10
be taken up with new things hutI imagine
greater difficulty with many Of our farmers, is an
unwllnGness 10 adopt improvements, when they
are truly important, solely because they are new.
And it appears to me evident, also, that when
single experiment in relation 10 any new grain or
vegetable, does not exactly equal all that the Gu
pdy it NAV be, ofthe eXpermenter expected, the
article is at once cried down, and pronounced
chrat, or it is said, is done for specu alton
Now do not pretend that oil that has been
said about Rohan potatoes is true-rei:her do
believe that all that has beea said against them Is
any nearer the truth. In this. as IN many other
matters, the truth lies between the extremes, |
have raised tie Rohans for three seasons, and II
my experience is worth any thing, ii l., that tie
Rohan is very productive potato ard Of very
good quality. The frs season | planted but Il
few; the next planted hu>hel and the yield was
not far from one hundred bushels. Last season
planted five bushels OIL an are OF ground
I and although the season with US was unlavora-
bic for the soil which was occupied. yet the Weld
was equal 10 nearly 400 bushels 10 tie acre.
while other varieties in tie same field ard under
the same culture, yielded much less, besides u
sing three times as much seed to the acre.
| fattened my hogs mostly upon these potatoes,
occasionally throwing in sugar bcets 10 vary their
food-nnd venture to say finer lot OF pork or
| beIter fattened, was no, raised in this regon.-
The hogs were mostly half blooIed Berkshire and
Cbinas-and they did remarkably weli-and l
have never fattened hogs at so little expense, by
at least one-third. Your correspondent, Ii. ID.
GROVE, speaks of the Mefino potato. | have raj
! sed them, and consider the difference IN the
mItri;ive qualities very great, and entirely 10 Ia
vor of the Ruhans.
| have not used the ROhans much as table
potato, because have varieties mole choice but
| / can say, 10 those who call them "a5ominable,
that if their wives understand how to cook pota
toes as they ought to be cooked, they will lind
very many kinds Of potatoes which deserve such
an appelIauon rather than the Rohans. My Ro-
| hans boil up very uealy and are solid potato.
| and remarkably nutritious. | regret very much
TO see such sweeping denunciations as are con-
tained IN some OF the communications IN your
paper. la your February number, S. GUTHRIE
| has made furious attack upon the sugar beet
and itmay be the beet deserves all the hard words
that are spoken of it-but believe such kind O!
communications have tendency to weaken the
confie fthe community in statements which
are made in our agricultural journals.
| Ihave another variety Of potato, which pro-
cured in Ellington, Conn. TWO years since, called
| the Silrer Lake, which believe Is better poia-
to than the Mercer or Pinkeye, and Is much
better beaTer-the yield is full one third greater
tan the Mercer. | have considerable qLanti-
" of these potatoes, and ifihey prove on further
trial, as choice as they now appear TO be, you may
hear from me again. b. Z. JOdNSON.
Rome, Oneida county, NJ Y. Feb. %, 1s4l.