The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1871-03-02
Mark TwaIs's woSDERFrL porA-
TOE.


Some of our readers, or their neigh
bors, may be in want of form of eer-
tificate to append TO description of
some vegetable novelty, real or i'm
agined, and we offer the following as
one of the best:
Mark Twain has been visiting Gree
ley's farm, Beecher's farm, and the
farms of many of our leading city
farmers, so that he has fallen COM
pieteiy in love with the business, and
especially on the part of it which
raises the wonderful new seedling.-
He started his agricultural line by the
announcement of new potatoe- He
thus tells its origin: "I obtained it
by crossing the yam of the tropics
with the Canadian thistle, and by
carefully selecting and cultivating the
specimens of several seasons / have
procured product that permanently
combines the earliness of the former
and the endurance of the latter; in
other words, my new potatoe is rare
combination of speed asnd bottom, and
it will do to bet Oh. 1 christened it
the Early Stunner-a name suggest
ed by its extraordinary qualities and
performances.
Mr.. Twain, however, not having
much experience in farming, thought
best to place ii in the hands of some
reliable man in which the public has
confidence, and publishes heaps of tes-
timonials. We give specimen from
BIr. John Smith, respectable butch
er, whose reputation for vcracity is SO
well known. He says:
retsssI am perfectly satisfied with the
Early Summers. The pound that l
purchased of you will do me. In fact
it has already done me, so that [ shall
not want any more. The day after l
planted them my swine made q raid
on my patch, and supposed / had
lost my crop. You may imagine my
disappointment, when the foremost
hog, after briskly opening the first
hill, suddenly dropped the slice of
Summers he had found there, and with
an expression of disgust and mortifi-
cation walked off on his ear, sadder
and wiser hog, followed by the re-
lnainder of the drove. My hogs gen.
orally range on my potato crop, and O
hog proof potato has long been my
hope. l hailed the Sumner with en-
thusiasm as being the thing for poor
ly fenced fields"
DIR. Jones, the celebrated physician,
also gives the following testimony:
Having no ground of my own, l
planted a pound of the "EarIy Stun-
ners = in the macadamized road. op-
posite my residence. One of my
neighbors recommended an applica-
ton of plaster, as he thought the road
had been summer-fallOwed" too
much to raise crops without stimu-
liant; as this was nay first experience
in agriculture, acted upon his sug-
gestion, and applied one of Alcock's
porous plasters to each hill. The re-
suit was amazing. On the 1st day of
July 1 had ten bushels of Buckeyes ;
July I'd, one hundred bushels of Pink
eyes July -4th, a pair of black eyes ;
July 9th, twins; July 7th, had to dig
my potatoes or give bond to keep the
peace.
Accordingly l hired couple of
Irishmen, sunk a shaft in my front
yard, tunneled under the road, and
soon struck magnificent vein of po-
statoes. shall never know how many
bushels there were, for a rumor got
abroad that there was an eruption OF
predatory Feniaps. Before the next
mornings sun burst, the last potato
had disappeared, and Twas ruined"
i