A call made by Mr. W. F. Fall in this journal, 185?, p. 564, has produced several replies of interest to the public; the whole would embrace a larger space than we have at command, and we propose, therefore, to abridge them, giving the substance of each.

This new esculent has scarcely had a fair chance. It was taken by the hand in a manner which could not fail to make us fear that it was about to be quacked into notoriety. The mode in which it was advertised was sufficiently indiscreet, to use a mild phrase, and many who paid for the small tubers thought themselves badly used. A cry was raised against it which we are not yet prepared to sanction. The potato is giving out; with the same reason might the declaimer against this old standard vegetable now attempt to cry it down. It is decidedly unwholesome, say some of our physicians; it is decidedly unprofitable, assert a larger number of agriculturists. If new life cannot be infused into it, what are we to do? If, therefore, a substitute can be found it will be a boon of the highest value; that it is a duty of the journalist not to unjustly disparage what may be proved of infinite value to millions, is self-evident. With a feeling of the necessity of care in this respect, we now take up the mass of manuscripts which have been accumulating for the past two months, and we yield the pas to W. B.

Prince, whose grandiloquent advertisements did not win confidence; he claims the right to be heard, and says: -

Flushing, January 20,1858.

To Editor HORTICULTURIST: It is to me quite amusing to find some one still ushering forth his doubts. I refer to the attack on the Dioscorea batatas by Wm. F. Fall, who I will show has had no experience whatever in regard thereto. On April 24th last, we forwarded twenty tubers, value $5, to Mr. Fall per his order. These he received, and planted some time in May, six weeks after the proper period for planting them. Notwithstanding this late planting, however, long before the period for digging the roots, Mr. Fall denounces the plant as a failure. Whilst others, who have cultivated this root for four years, have confirmed every encomium that has been bestowed upon it, he, with only a few tubers, and without possessing one single root, has annihilated all its claim and demonstrated its utter worth-lessness in a less number of months. Having witnessed the exhibition of splendid roots weighing one and a half to five and a half pounds, at the numerous autumnal fairs, and Mr. J. G. Sickles having exhibited eight roots weighing thirty-three pounds, and Dr. Dar-nall having stated that he has grown forty-five thousand tubers and twelve hundred large roots, the produce of two years, from six tubers he obtained from me, and having received from the American Institute their silver medal for the roots I exhibited at the Crystal Palace, I feel now well satisfied with the rapid progress of this esculent, so pre-eminent for its azote and albumen over every other grown upon our globe.

Wm. R. Prince.

Three witnesses now make their appearance who have had poor success with their tubers. G, Westchester, Pa., imported from France a small lot of Dioscorea, which arrived about the middle of March, 1855, in fine condition. Twenty-five were at once placed in pots, to be put out as soon as the weather would permit, and the balance sold. Ground was thoroughly trenched and manured, the tubers were planted in April and received every attention, but on taking them up in November, digging down five feet perpendicularly by following a ropelike tuber half an inch in thickness, the ends of only two were reached. These as well as the others increased in thickness towards the lower ends, which were flattened and pointed at the ends so as readily to penetrate the hard sub-soil. A few were left in the ground to test their hardiness, and were slightly protected, "but they never made their appearance on this side the globe again.".

A "Pennsylvania subscriber" found the tubers had increased to three inches in circumference at the thickest end - a large increase. He had one cooked, and thought it equal to the best potato. The remainder were hung in a paper bag in the cellar and forgotten. In the spring they were sprouted, but shrivelled. They nevertheless grew and twined their stems around the poles to a height of three or four feet. The roots, in the fall, were quite as fine as those of the previous year, but the old shrivelled roots had decayed; be thinks tolerably well of the article as " agreeable and nutritious," but he enters, very properly, a protest against the mode in which they were advertised.

Mr. John G. Bubach, who dates from Princeton, but mentions no State, procured tubers of the size of peas, planted in pots and thence in prairie soil, well pulverized. They received the best cultivation, but when he dug them the largest was not more than three-fourths of an inch in diameter at the largest point; four-fifths of the whole length was a mere string. These were planted the following spring, divided into pieces several inches in length, but the same result followed, if indeed the roots were not rather smaller than before.

Such has been the experience of others, but many bare been more successful The next witness whom we deem it proper to introduce is one for the defence, and he makes out an excellent case, such as should "give pause" for time to develop more fully the value of this root. We give our space to the telling of the story, only abridging it of particulars that are unnecessary to recapitulate.

Dr. F. Hollick, of Staten Island, who appears to have had a single eye to the truth, relates his experiments and their results, as follows: -

"In the spring of 1856, I made an investment of three dollar* in the new root, for which I obtained a small tin box, about three inches by two inches, half-filled with mould, in which, after close inspection, I discovered twelve small tubers and bits of root, each about as large as a pea. To tell the truth, I considered them very small potatoes indeed, and planted them with no great expectation as to the result. The ground they were put in was a poor, clayey, soapstone soil, with a small quantity of stable manure dug in; it was, however, well trenched. Each set was put in a small hill of wood mould, and the hills were three feet apart, as I wished to give them a chance to run. Well! I watched these hills very carefully, but saw nothing till the 4th of June. Then, two leaves appeared in one hill, and, three days after, two similar ones on another. None others put forth till past the middle of June, when they came up in all the hills but three, thus leaving me but nine plants. Of these nine plants, I lost three more by an old hen, who scratched them up.