RCH. Raw potatoes, in whatever condition, constantly afford
starch, differing only in quality. The round grey or red produce the
most, affording about two ounces of starch to a pound of pulp. The
process is perfectly easy. Peel and wash a pound of full grown potatoes,
grate them on a bread grater into a deep dish, containing a quart of
clear water. Stir it well up, then pour it through a hair sieve, and
leave it ten minutes to settle, till the water is quite clear. Then pour
off the water, and put a quart of fresh water to it; stir it up, let it
settle, and repeat this till the water is quite clear. A fine white
powder will at last be found at the bottom of the vessel. The criterion
of this process being completed, is the purity of the water that comes
from it after stirring it up. Lay the powder on a sheet of paper in a
hair sieve to dry, either in the sun or before the fire, and it is ready
for use. Put into a well stopped bottle, it will keep good for many
months. If this be well made, a table-spoonful of it mixed with twice
the quantity of cold water, and stirred into a soup or sauce, just
before it is taken up, will thicken a pint of it to the consistence of
cream. This preparation much resembles the Indian Arrow Root, and is a
good substitute for it. It gives a fulness on the palate to gravies and
sauces at hardly any expense, and is often used to thicken melted butter
instead of flour. Being perfectly tasteless, it will not alter the
flavour of the most delicate broth or gruel.

POTATOES. The following is allowed to be a superior method of raising
potatoes, and of obtaining a larger and finer growth. Dig the earth
twelve inches deep, if the soil will admit, and afterwards open a hole
about six inches deep, and twelve wide. Fill it with horse dung, or long
litter, about three inches thick, and plant a whole potatoe upon it;
shake a little more dung over it, and mould up the earth. In this way
the whole plot of ground should be planted, placing the potatoes at
least sixteen inches apart. When the young shoots make their appearance,
they should have fresh mould drawn round them with a hoe; and if the
tender shoots are covered, it will prevent the frost from injuring them.
They should again be earthed, when the roots make a second appearance,
but not covered, as in all probability the season will be less severe. A
plentiful supply of mould should be given them, and the person who
performs this business should never