Tumbledown Farm .9 Acres (give or take an acre or two)

CHINESE POTATO, OR JAPANESE YAM.

Dioscorea batatas.

Stem twelve feet or more in length, of a creeping or climbing habit; leaves heart-shaped, though sometimes halberd-formed; flowers small, in clusters, white. The roots are club-shaped, about two feet in length, two inches and a half in their largest diameter, of a rusty white or yellowish color without, remarkably white within, very mucilaginous, and so easily broken that they are rarely taken from the ground in a perfect state.

Propagation and Cultivation. --The Chinese Potato requires a deep, light, rather sandy, and tolerably rich soil; and this should be thoroughly stirred to the depth of at least two feet. No fresh manure should be used, but fine, well-decomposed compost applied, and deeply as well as thoroughly incorporated with the soil; avoiding, however, if possible, its direct contact with the growing roots. It is propagated either by small roots; by the top or neck of the large roots, cut off to the length of five or six inches; or by the small bulbs, or tubers, which the plants produce in considerable numbers on the stem, in the axils of the leaves. These


Chinese Potato, or Japanese Yam.

CHINESE POTATO, OR JAPANESE YAM. 31
should be planted the last of April, or as soon as the ground is in good working condition. Lay out the land in raised ridges two feet and a half or three feet asunder, and on the summit set the bulbs, or tubers, with the point or shoot upwards, eight or ten inches apart, and cover about an inch deep. Cultivate in the usual manner during the summer; and late in autumn, after the tops are dead, and just before the closing-up of the ground, take up the roots, dry them a short time in the sun, and store in the cellar for use. The roots are perfectly hardy, and will sustain no injury from the coldest winter if left unprotected in the open ground. During the second season, the growth of the old root is not continued, but gradually decays as the new roots are formed.

Use. --The roots are eaten either boiled or roasted, and require rather more than half the time for cooking that is usually given to the boiling or roasting of the common potato. When cooked, they possess a rice-like taste and consistency, are quite farinaceous, and unquestionably nutritive and valuable for food.

Though strongly recommended as a vegetable likely to become a substitute for the potato, the cost of preparing
32 ESCULENT ROOTS.
the ground for planting is so great, the harvesting is so difficult and laborious, and the yield is generally so small, that the plant must be classed as one not worthy of cultivation.