The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-12-28
Richmond, December &c, 1867.
Potatoes vs.. Rice.

From time immemoriai the potato has
been a principal article OF diet among the
worlds population on account OF It's nu-
tritiye qualities. Its use rs main staple
OF food varies in communities, Ireland, III
proportion to its population, being the
largest consumer; the partial failure OF the
crop in that country and consequent dls-
tress have not been infrcquent, as the 1anl'
inc in 1S49, and at other periods, attest. In
all chimes, however, but especially IN the
temperate zones, the table OF rich or poor
Is deemed incomplete without the favorite
tuber, Why this is we fail to comprehend,
unless it be from the fact that it is capable
of production elsewhere than upon its ma
tive heath. 1t may not be generally known
that the potato is native OF the warm
est portions OF the world, especially
the tropics, in which it is used as
an article OF diet much less in proportion
than in other localities into which 1t has
been introduced. In this period, when the
times are hard, and the 'poor mans food
scarce and high, we deem it expedent to
call attention to the food which will "till the
bill" as a substitutc-viZ., rice. This artl-
Gle Is also native Of the tropics, and is
still most abundantly cultivated in those To-
calities adjacent to the equator; yet its bor-
ders have been extended, so that close to
the Gland OF frosts" it is prominent in the
agricultural list OF products. 1t is in many
equatorial countries almost the sole article
of food, and ranks next in Importance Tor
the sustenance of the human family to that
OF wheat AS 1t is especially the design OF
this article to suggest low-priced cereal,
which by its composition is as palatable and
well-ftted for the table as the higher-cost
vegetable, we beg to submit the contrast in
fbo ctorcbipa npalitipS ri fhp two.
Potatoes contain 10 22 q cent
Possessed OF this latent quality'is the cause
Of its absorption Of so much OF water when
prepared for use, causing it to swell out to
proportions fully three times its natural
size. An idea practically OF its capacity
in this direction may be better understood
by a story told of some soldier-boys, who
during the late war essayed for the first
time the cooking of rice: After filling the
camp-kettle nearly to the brim with the
pearly grain they poured on the requisite
quantity of water, and then sat down, wait
ing patiently for results. The results came
in unexpected quantity, the more they took
out seeming to cause still further enlarge
ment Of that remaining, until the swelling
and uprising mass finally filled tub, barrel,
and three pals, that were hastily mustered
lHLo the Coiuibissaly ocI'ai tihchG' W. Gus
gest to institutions, public and private,
having desire to retrench, to make calcula-
tion OF the expense Of the two articles I'M
der discussion; by it will be discerned that
rice will cost less than one half than pota-
toes further, that its nutritive qualities eX-
ceeds that of the latter fully double. The
chief obstacle in the way of its use is the
fact that people generally do not know how |
to cook it. Rice, properly prepared, should |
standing out separate and distinct, and not
a sloggy mass, which is the result of the
average experiment. Further, it should
occupy the same place on the table as the
potato, being eaten with the condiments
usual to such, and not as luxury covered /
with milk and sugar.-Ne,o YorE Shipping
ana Commercial List.