Fred asked why it was not possible to have the yam take the place of the potato in the United States, if it grew so large and was such a good article of food.
"It is quite possible to do so," was the reply; "but the potato is easier to cultivate than any yam that will thrive in our latitude. The great yams grow only in the tropics. The only one that will grow in the Northern States is the Chinese or Japanese variety, and many experiments were made with it some years ago, when there was a general failure of the potato crop.
POTATO AND YAM FIELDS.
"The Chinese yam has a root two feet or more in length, largest at the lower end, and going straight down into the ground. The difficulty with these yams was the trouble of digging out the roots, as their shape and brittleness prevented their being pulled like beets or carrots; and the only places where they are now cultivated in America are in the gardens of gentlemen who are fond of curiosities without regard to the expense."
Some of the yams in the garden they visited weighed fifty or sixty pounds each, and their shape was like that of a deformed human foot. Enough of them were taken for the wants of the steamer, and in their place was left a box containing an equivalent for their value in beads and brass wire. The captain of the steamer did not think it necessary to leave anything, but he was overruled by Doctor Bronson, who said he would have nothing from the garden unless it was paid for; and as the owner was not present to receive his compensation the articles must be left where he could find them.
After the yams had been secured our friends turned their attention to fishing, but without much success, as their implements were limited, and they did not know the proper localities for the sport. They succeeded in capturing a few specimens, which were pronounced similar to those they had seen at the village near the head of the river, and identical with the fishes found in the upper part of the Nile.
