OBSERVATIONS ‘ON THE POTATOE, AND A REMEDY FOR THE POTATOE PLAGUE. Int W OP ARTS. CONTAINING A HISTORY OF THE POTATOE, ITS CULTIVATION, AND USES, ALSO A TREATISE ON THE POTATOE MALADY, ITS ORIGIN AND APPEARANCES IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, A VIEW OF ' VARIOUS THEORIES CONCERNING 1T, WITH THE REMEDIES PROPOSED, AND AN INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSES PRODUCING THE DISEASE, WITH DIRECTIONS FOR STAYING ITS FURTHER PROGRESS. BY CHARLES P. “BOSSON, Member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Editor of the N. E. Agriculturist, Author of a Treatise on the Sugar Beet, etc., ctc. Eo S-T ON PUBLISHED BY! Eko PRATT: 1846. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1846, By E. L. PRATT, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. Boston : Printed by S. N. Dickinson & Co. No. 52 Washington St, CONTENTS. CHAP T EH Rel, Some Account of the Appearance of the Disease in different parts of the World. Action of the British Government — Report of the British Commission- ers — Proceedings of the French Academy of Arts and Sciences — Report of Professor Morren—H. S. Thompson on the prevention of curl and dry rot in potatoes — experiments with ripe and unripe seed — Causes of the disease stated —Conclusions of Mr. Thompson — Objections to his theory considered, . : : : ° . o7—77 CHAPTER. 12. A View of the different Theories entertained on the Potatoe Plaque. First symptom of degeneracy of the plant in Scotland — Diseased tu- bers examined — Seeds from an over-grown crop will always be a diseased crop — Remedy proposed — Raising from the apple — Dis- ease supposed to be caused by rust — European pamphlets on this subject — Result of chemical investigations — Conversion of diseased potatoes into starch — Evil ascribed to too much moisture — Fungi analogous to smut in barley — Remedies against fungus — Disease as- cribed to various causes — Professor Liebig’s opinion — Ascribed to fungus in the leaf— Sporules of fungi— Experiments in planting dis- eased potatoes — Disease supposed to attack the stem primarily — On new high ground the crop less affected — Opinion of J. E. Tes~ chemacher— Salt a remedy — Analysis of sea-weed— A. B. Allen’s opinion — Cause of fungi, and remedies proposed, A , . 76—94 CHAP TES LL, Cause of the Disease and Remedies stated. Review of the prevailing theories — The disease exists in the potatoe — If fungi is the cause a certain remedy is at hand — Causes of the disease —Over Ripentinc — OveR CuxtivatTion — DETERIORA- TION OF SEED— CARELESSNESS IN SELECTING SEED — Improper management in taking up potatoes — An improved method of plant- ing — Table — Selecting potatoes forseed, . +» «+» +» 95—116 bess: Se gi poeiak wa ie oe 2 a rea e's aga _ Dermishuagao: uo aall aad OF 9 hee ee Vy St eat he Stats Seo prec yi BS sis Yo. ‘ We onttagerig ny mers inaingesten E vt neers! < tomemien't i9 tp fon soptiost bate ‘sigh: iter aterm — ehoka).<¢ ase eal ase = eG oRONT aE apotigia RGD Sahela sdanuh edt to. = nd ¥ oo An sa ee ae ¢ ’ st “at hs primp E sa brabens 3 oe Bir 2:9 yy es @ ed preet + -TBpe gree acters te dell aba bei ai Dm oleae ats cette. Bit tall Boe s had: “efits ae rN ceor eta Rilhy recess ‘nal rt — thay Stern oP OR Fljaade fuoaagiip eas doligs tit Stet lanl eit fu-rifeaneia IO! Bashan d o-oo AE pars ood. af badioipad iy Bhatia a oan OBauMel — myivriath sstif ~ eth lo eqagrn hs bitert 18 al yi)nerna une “KROHN rah ~ Sot raR cian) ; seagerergeneT 5 Meare OSTEO stteotey te Detain banat 7 scat . CA eer . CONTENTS. PART. 2: CHAPTER’ F- Page Some account of the early history of the potatoe —Its introduction into Great Britain and other European countries — Extravagant price of potatoes, : 5 : ’ A - 5 . : : 3—7 CHAP. TER, TI. On the Cultivation of the Potatoe. When first cultivated as a field crop—Thaer’s principles of agricul- ture — Classification of varieties—Skin of the potatoe — Color of the flesh— Nutritive matter contained in different sorts— Soils —Clearings and marsh lands—Strong land —Setting potatoes — Best sort for seed — Comparative value of whole and cut tubers — Quantity of produce is in proportion to seed — Plowing the land — Manner of setting potatoes — Influence of the weather in planting, 7—15 CU APT BB EET On Planting Potatoes, Harvesting, &c. The marking plow — Harrowing — First cultivation — Tenacious and wet soils — Effect of cutting off the blossoms — Effect of cutting off the leaves — Digging the crops— Gathering — Potatoes dug in dry CONTENTS. weather —In damp weather— Heaps of potatoes — Management of the heaps in autumn. : c - 5 5 : : - 16—20 CHAPTER IV... An Account of Diseases which have previously affected the Crop, and the Remedies that have been found efficacious. Subject to disease at an early period — The curl— Probable causes of the curl — Observations of Mr. Knight — Discovery by Mr. Crozer — Failure or taint — The drought of 1826 — Remarks of Mr. Shirreff— Deterioration of varieties— The potatoe a short lived plant — Late planting recommended by Mr. Knight— Over ripened and wnder ripened seed — Effects of comparative wet and dry soils on whole and cut tubers — Scab or ulcerated surface — Causes of total or partial failure have existed from a very early date — Planting of entire tu- bers recommended — Rust, black rust — A description of this disease — Cause assigned — Observations on the disease from various author- ities — Dr. Yan Martius on the epidemic diseases of potatoes — Views of Rey. Mr. Allen, 5 3 3 5 - : . 21—34 CH eA.P oT EUR. -V.. Various Uses to which Potatoes are applied. ipp Comparative value of potatoes and grain — Potatoe flour — Farina in po- tatoes —Meal of potatoes may be preserved—Tapioca from potatoes — The process described — Potash from.potatoe leaves and stalks; Po- tatoes for cleaning woollens — Making wine and ardent spirits — Ger- man method of making potatoe flour — Method of using potatoes in Denmark and Norway, . : : : : . : - 389—A42 PART II. THE POT ATOR PLAGUE. Preliminary Remarks. - Importance of the subject —Extent of the crop in the United States — Review of various theories concerning the malady, . . . 43—056 PREFACE. PoTaTOES, as an article of human food, are, next to wheat, of the greatest importance in the eye of the political econo- mist. From no other crop that can be cultivated, will the public derive so much food as from this valuable esculent; and it admits of demonstration, that an acre of potatoes will feed double the number of people that can be fed from an acre of wheat; they are relished by every palate, and, it is believed, there is hardly a dinner served up in any country where they are cultivated, without them. An article of such vast importance, — that forms a grand staple of our agriculture,—the principal source of national wealth, — that forms a prominent article in the diet of every individual, — deserves the particular attention of every one; and the object of this treatise is, to collate the most important facts in the history of this esculent, as well as the opinions and practice of the best cultivators, with regard to its manage- ment, the cure of diseases affecting it, and every other item of information respecting it that can be turned to profitable account by our own farmers. But more particularly, and above all, my object has been 1 ii Preface. to collect facts, opinions and remedies, on the alarming and fatal disease that now threatens destruction to this UNIVERSAL FOOD FOR MAN, and to furnish the conclusion which emi- nent practical men have arrived at, both in this country and Europe, on the causes of the disease, and the appropriate remedy for it. Itis believed that a sure remedy has been discovered, and the subsequent pages of this book will detail such facts as will encourage farmers to proceed with the cul- tivation of the potatoe crop in all confidence. Independent of the particular object for which this small treatise is especially designed, to wit: —the cure of the Po- tatoe Plague, farmers will find much valuable information on the general cultivation of this crop, which will be valuable for reference long after the plague, (may its reign be short !) has disappeared. HISTORY, CULTURE, AND DISEASES OF THE POTATOL. PAY. CHAPTER I. Some Account of the Early History of the Potatoe; its In- troduction into Great Britain and other European Coun- tries. Tue Potatoe now in use, (Solanum tuberosum,) was ~ brought to England by the Colonists sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh, under the authority of his patent, granted by Queen Elizabeth, “for discovering and planting new countries, not possessed by Christians,’ which passed the great seal in 1584. Some of Sir Walter’s ships sailed in the same year; others, on board one of which was Thomas Herriot, after- wards known as a mathematician, in 1585; the whole, how- ever, returned, and probably brought with them the Potatoe, on the 27th of July, 1586. This Mr. Thomas Herriot, who was probably sent out to examine the country, and report to his employers the nature and produce of the soil, wrote an account of it, which is printed in De Bry’s Collection of Voyages, vol. I. In this account, under the article of roots, page 17, he describes a 4 Early History of the Potatoe. plant called Openawh: “These roots,” says he, “are round, some as large as a walnut, others much larger; they grow in damp soil, many hanging together, as if fixed on ropes; they are good food, either boiled or roasted.” Gerard, in his Herbal, published 1597, gives a figure of the potatoe, under the name of Potatoe of Virginia, otherwise called Norembaga. : The manuscript minutes of the Royal Society, December 13, 1693, tell us, that Sir Robert Southwell, then President, informed the fellows, at a meeting, that his grandfather brought potatoes into Ireland, who first had them from Sir Walter Raleigh. This evidence proves, not unsatisfactorily, that the potatoe was first brought into England, either in the year 1586, or very soon after, and sent from thence to Ireland, without de- lay, by Sir Robert Southwell’s ancestor, where it was cher- ished and cultivated for food before the good people of Eng- land knew its value; for Gerard, who had this plant in his garden, in 1597, recommends the root to be eaten as a deli- cate dish, — not as common food. It appears, however, that it first came into Europe at an earlier period, and by a different channel; for Clusius, who at that time resided at Vienna, first received the potatoe in 1598, who had procured it the year before from one of the attendants of the Pope’s legate, under the name of Taratoufli; and learned from him, that in Italy, where it was then in use, no one certainly knew whether it originally came from Spain or from America. Peter Cieca, in his Chronicle, printed in 1555, tells us, chap. xi., p. 49, that the inhabitants of Quito and. its vicini- ty, have, besides Maize, a tuberous root, which they eat, and call papas ; this, Clusius guesses to be the plant he received from Flanders, and this conjecture has been confirmed by the Early History of the Potatoe. 5 accounts of travellers, who have since that period visited the country. From these details we may fairly infer, that potatoes were first brought into Europe from the mountainous parts of South America, in the neighborhood of Quito; and, as the Spaniards were the sole possessors of that country, there is little doubt of their having been first carried into Spain; but as it would take some time to introduce them into use in that country, and afterwards to make the Italians so well ac- quainted with them as to give them a name,* there is every reason to believe they had been several years in Europe, be- fore they were sent to Clusius. The name of the root in South America, is Papas, ane in Virginia, it was Openawh; the name of potatoe was evident- ly applied to it on account of its similarity in appearance to the Battata, or Sweet Potatoe; and our potatoe appears to have been distinguished from that root, by the apellative of Potatoe of Virginia, till the year1640, if not longer. Several authors have asserted, that potatoes were first diss covered by Sir Francis Drake, in the South Seas; and others, that they were introduced into England by Sir John Haw- kins ; but in both instances the plant alluded to is clearly the sweet potatoe, which was used in England as a delicacy, long before the introduction of our potatoes; it was imported in considerable quantities from Spain, and the Canaries, and was supposed to possess the power of restoring decayed vigor. The kissing comforts of Falstaff;{ and other confections of similar imaginary qualities, with which our ancestors were duped, were principally made of these eringo roots. * Taratoufli signifies also truffles. + Gerard’s Herbal, by Johnson, p. 729. ¢ “Let it rain potatoes, and hail kissing comforts.” — Merry Wives of Windsor, Act V., Scene V. 1* 6 Early History of the Potatoe. The potatoes themselves were sold by itinerant. dealers, chiefly in the neighborhood of the Royal Exchange, and pur- chased when scarce, at no inconsiderable cost, by those who had faith in their alleged properties. The allusions to this” opinion are very frequent in the plays of that age. CHAPTER II. Cultivation of the Potatoe. Ir was not till 1771 and 1772, that the practice of cultivat- ing potatoes as a field crop began to acquire supporters; but at that time all the grain crops failed, and the famine which ensued led to the discovery that proper and sufficient nour- ishment might be derived from those very potatoes which had hitherto only been regarded as a luxury, just as well as from bread. Still its cultivation did not exceed the wants of _man himself. It was not till a later period that the practice | yao giving the refuse and surplus to the cattle began to creep in. But it was thus gradually discovered that potatoes might be advantageously cultivated as food for live stock. Bergen, in his “ Introduction to the Management of Live Stock,” was the first to recommend the practice of this cultivation ona large scale, and the use of a kind of horn hoe to save manual labor. At the present day it appears scarcely credible that the extreme utility of this plant should have so long remain- ed unknown, and that so much difference of opinion should have existed on the propriety of raising it on extensive tracts of land. . “There is no plant,” says Thaer, in his “ Principles of Agriculture,” “to which I have paid greater attention than to the potatoe. Even before I entered upon the practice of © agriculture, my attention was excited by the innumerable varieties which were produced by raising it from seed. I 8 Cultivation of the Potatoe. treated it in various ways at that time, merely with a view to vegetable physiology, my object being to discover whether the distinguishing characters of these varieties were due to the nature of the soil, or the mode of fertilizing it. Since that time I have, in raising the potatoe, tried all the methods proposed by others, as well as those which I have myself devised. As far as the quantity of produce is concerned, the results of various modes of planting and cultivation have shown but little difference, unless, indeed, the cultivation were altogether neglected or badly arranged. ‘The quantity of produce was found to depend upon the soil, when the spe- cies cultivated was the same. But the manual labor, and, consequently, the net profit, varied considerably. I have done my utmost to reduce this manual labor to the smallest possible amount, without sensibly diminishing the produce, for, in the raising of potatoes the rent of land is much less considerable than the expenses of cultivation. “T will venture to say, that I have attained this object more: nearly than any one else, and that I have found myself near- er and nearer to it at the end of almost every successive year. I therefore beg those persons who have read my for- mer works,* and the observations which I have made on the culture of the potatoe, to consider such observations as the result of my apprenticeship, and those which I am now about to make, as more complete and matured.” In order to make some sort of classification of the innumer- able varieties of the potatoe, we must confine our attention to the most useful part,—the tuber. It is true that the leaves and the flowers appear to bear some relation to the form of the tuber, but the particular examination of them belongs more properly to the botanical cultivator. The skin of the potatoe is, in some varieties, of a dark color, approaching almost to blackness; in others of a red- * Thaer’s English Agriculture, vols. 1 and 2. Cultivation of the Potatoe. 9 dish violet, which varies to pale, brownish, or yellowish red ; in others, again, of a whitish yellow. The color of the flesh is sometimes yellow, sometimes whitish, or perfectly white, and sometimes slightly tinged -with red. The several varieties of the potatoe have different times of arriving at maturity; that is to say, at the state in which the tubers are detached from the maternal plant, and the lat- ter dies. But the points of difference we have chiefly to consider, relate to the consistence of the potatoe and the quantity of starch contained in it. Some varieties are very spongy, their interstices are filled with water, their specific gravity is small, and they contain but a small quantity of nutriment in a given bulk. The flavor of some potatoes is very agreeable; of others, very disagreeable. Some improve by keeping, others are best when fresh gathered. Some cook speedily and burst, others resist the action of steam and hot water for a long time. Some varieties require a dry soil, becoming quite watery and hollow in the middle when grown on land which requires - much moisture; they also secrete water in their cavities. Others, on the contrary, are very small, and are scarcely worth the expense of cultivation when grown on a dry soil. Some put out long filaments into the soil; others press their tubers so closely together, that they show themselves above ground. ' Some varieties thrive particularly well on marshy land, others perish on it, and thrive on an argillaceous soil. All these particulars must be taken into account, when a selection is to be made of varieties for cultivation. The cul- ture of anew variety should never be undertaken on a large scale, till a proper trial has been made of it. 10 Cultivation of the Potatoe. The amount of produce of each variety must be taken into consideration, but the value calculated according to the quan- tity of nutritive matter contained -in it. This may be judged of approximately by the sensation which the fleshy part of the tuber produces when applied to the tongue; or more ac- curately by cutting the tubers in pieces, drying them, and com- paring their weight in the dry state with what it was before ; but an accurate estimate is only to be made by chemical an- alysis. Great bulk is by no means. desirable, if it be not attended with increase in the quantity of starch: for the pota- toes then take up more room, although their intrinsic value remains the same, and they are more likely to be spoiled. In other respects when potatoes are cultivated for sale, the choice must be directed by the taste of purchasers. Potatoes will grow on soils of all descriptions, and in favor- able weather will yield a good crop, even on moving sand, provided that it has heen well manured. On a stony soil, well prepared, and lightened with dung, containing straw, the success of the potatoe is certain; though a sandy soil is best adapted to it. On clearings and marsh lands, provided the soil has been well drained, and especially if the turf has been burned upon it, potatoes thrive particularly well, and sometimes yield a very large produce. It is generally admitted that potatoes grow larger after recent manuring; they will, however, yield a good crop even when raised as a second or third crop; but the soil will then be greatly exhausted. I have never even thought of assert- ing that potatoes do not impoverish the soil ; on the contrary Ihave stated that they do so; they do not, however, exhaust the resources, of the establishment in general, but increase those resources to aconsiderable extent, 7f they are given as food to the cattle. On strong land, fresh dung mixed with straw is most ben- Cultivation of the Potatoe. i eficial to potatoes, and the more so in proportion to the close- ness of its contact with them; it should, therefore, not be carted and put into the ground till just before the seed time of ploughing. But for light soils, the dung must either be in a more advanced stage of decomposition, or it must be mixed with the earth by several ploughings. Very healthy potatoes are also produced by the use of other active manures, such as scrapings of horn spread in the furrows at the seed time ploughing, rags of wool, and the refuse of the tan yard. Turning sheep on to the field after the potatoes have been set, is likewise very efficacious in promoting their growth, but it gives the tubers a bad flavor. There is also a limit to the degree of cultivation proper for potatoes ; if it be surpassed the haulm becomes excessively large, and falls upon the ground; the number of tubers is then much diminished. In setting potatoes, it is necessary to select the most healthy and vigorous tubers; not such as have already been depriv- ed of two or three of their buds, because the most vigorous buds are always the first chosen. Especially must those be rejected which have been much exposed to the cold, even though they should not have been much injured by frost. Potatoes grown in pits, mounds, or hollows, where frost has penetrated and destroyed a portion of tubers, are very uncer- tain in plantations; I am sure of this from my own experi- ence. They either do not shoot up at all, or produce but feeble plants; great care should therefore be taken to pre- serve those which are intended for setting. Jam aware that many cultivators have obtained abundant crops of large potatoes by planting none but small tubers; nevertheless I prefer setting those of large and average size, especially for certain varieties. Small tubers have not the same power of germination as large ones, and often do not germinate at all; whereas, those of large size may without injury be cut in halves. 12 Cultivation of the Potatoe. When circumstances are otherwise favorable, very strong plants are often obtained by setting mere cuttings of potatoes containing a single eye; or, even the eye by itself. But on heavy land, which has not been well pulverized, as well as on a sandy soil, there is great danger of failure, if, after setting, or during germination, the weather should be unfa- vorable for the formation of the plant. To ensure success, this plant must, by means of its feeble roots, immediately seek for nourishment in the soil. It must not encounter a hard piece of ground: for, as it derives no nourishment from the maternal plant, it would then dry up and perish. I therefore abandon this method altogether, although I former- ly recommended it ; it succeeds very well in gardens, but is very uncertain for potatoe crops grown in the open field. There will always be a difference of opinion touching the expediency of setting potatoes close together, or far apart; for the decision of this matter depends upon adventitious cir- cumstances ; but repeated trials accurately described, seem to show that the quantity of produce is, to a considerable ex- tent, in proportion to that of the sets. The practical results of these trials are as follows : — 1. The amount of net produce, deduction being made for the quantity of potatoes used for setting, bears a tolerably ex- act proportion to the latter quantity,— that is to say, that one who sets a larger quantity of tubers, will usually obtain a more abundant crop than one who sets a smaller quantity. - 2. Fine large tubers produce not only larger potatoes, but also a greater number of them. 3. The degeneracy often observed in potatoes, apparently results from the use of unhealthy plants for setting. 4. Small tubers, and those which are destitute of buds, cannot by any means be recommended for setting. 5. When potatoes of medium quality are planted, it is bet- ter to set them whole; but when the tubers are very large, TT Cultivation of the Potatoe. 13 _ the halves w “ill be found sufficient, provided, homenen; that they are set rather closely in the rows. 6. It is not advisable to cut a potatoe into more than two pieces. 7. It is better to set the tubers, one by one, and close to- gether, than to put a number of them into the ground togeth- er, particularly when all the labor is performed with the: plough, and no cultivation is given with the hand-hoe. 8. It is not advisable to plant mere buds ; they often fail.* I give these principles as being in accordance with my own experiments made on the large scale, with the exception, - “however, of the first. It does appear, from actual experi- ment, that the quantity of produce is in proportion to that of the potatoes put into the ground. The author deduces a result by dividing his plantation into two parts. In one of these he places the trial in which the quantity set amounted to more than 1,254; and in the other, those in which this quantity was less. In the former the net produce of each row was 16.81; in the latter, only 15.41. These two results: are in the proportian of 1000 to 917. The loss in the latter is, therefore, 85 per cent., but the difference in the relative quantity of the sets is much greater. Then, again, among the trials included in the latter division, there are several which ought not to be included in the comparison: where, for example, the set consisted of mere eyes, or handfuls of very small scattered shoots, all of which gave but a very insignificant product. If we take into account those trials only in which good potatoes, or cuttings of them, were set at intervals of 1, 2, 38 and 4 decimetres,f it will be found that the difference is very small, not exceeding two and a half. per cent. * German Agricultural Gazette. t+ A French measure of about three and a half inches. \ 2 14 Cultivation of the Potatoe. I am willing to admit the existence of this difference, and even of one of five per cent., if the potatoes are set in one part of the rows, at eight inches, and in another at twenty- four inches distance; so that the quantity of sets used for the former shall be three times as great as that used for the lat- ter. The quantity obtained from the half in which the pota- toes are at the greatest distance apart, will not amount to more than ninety-five bushels beyond that of the sets, while the produce of the other half will amount to one hundred bushels. On the other hand the practice of setting at greater distan- ces is attended with the following advantages, in field culti- vation. 1. Potatoes, especially those fit for setting, bring a much higher price in spring than in autumn, which is the time for gathering; the keeping of them occasions both trouble and risk, and there is always a portion spoiled. 2. Setting at greater distances occasions saving of manual labor. 8. When the plantations are laid out im rows in all direc- tions, and the distances between the rows are wide enough to allow the plough to pass crosswise, almost all the manual labor which would otherwise be required to weed the spaces will be saved. f 4, These ploughings are much more efficacious in cleans- ing, pulverizing and aerating the land, than they would be if performed in one direction only, so that the object of follow- ing one of the principal ends of the culture of weeded crops, is completely attained. We say nothing about the effect pro- duced on the potatoes themselves, by cultivation on all sides, since we have admitted, for argument’s sake, that those»which are cultivated on one side only, yield the greatest increase. 5. The gathering of potatoes is performed with far greater facility and despatch when they are grown on separate hil- — Cultivation of the Potatoe. 15 locks, than when they are arranged in continuous lines, My farmers are more willing to raise potatoes planted singly, for the fourteenth part of the produce, than for the tenth when they are planted in rows, for a man will raise eighteen schef- fles of the former in a day, where of the latter he would raise only ten, even though they may have been cultivated with the same care. This saving of time in taking the crop is of great importance. . Such are the reasons which induce me to prefer the meth- od of setting potatoes at moderate distances, and arranging them in lines in all directions. I admit that when this meth- od is adopted, a somewhat larger extent of surface is required for the production of a given quantity; but the great saving of labor, and the excellent preparation of the land which it affords, are of much greater importance. In setting potatoes regard must be had to the state of the weather. In this country I never plant them till the soil has become heated; and I have always observed that the pota- toes set last were the first to come up. I have planted them with success till the beginning of June; but I endeavor to get the setting finished by the middle of May. If the soil contain ever so small a quantity of clay, it is absolutely ne- cessary to defer the planting till it is Loita dry, and no longer adheres to the implements. As early as possible in autumn I break up the soil to the depth of two inches lower than before, and then pass the har- row over it. In winter the dung is carted and uniformly spread. At the beginning of spring, this dung is buried by a light ploughing. I like to have a portion. of the manure brought up to the surface by this operation, because a greater quantity is then collected around the roots of the potatoe. CHA PO RR. Ls On Planting Potatoes. Harvesting. Preserving the Crop. In the preceding chapter I could not resist the temptation to copy entire Mr. Thaer’s article on potatoes; it seemed to me so characterized by clearness and perspicuity, so emi- nently practical, that I could not, with propriety, withhold it from a compilation of the kind in hand; besides the article is new to American readers, and cannot be uninteresting. I continue in the present chapter, the account of Mr. Thaer, embracing some suggéstions, the most important to us at the present time, on the subject of keeping and preserving pota- toes through the winter. The extract commences with Mr. Thaer’s method of planting, which was alluded to in the previous chapter. By means of the marking plough, or furrower, already _ noticed, lines, or small furrows, are traced at right angles, or obliquely, to the direction which the plough is to take. Five persons are then stationed at equal distances on the line of the plough, each having assigned to him the space which he is to plant. One plough traces the furrow, which is imme- diately set with potatoes ; ‘two other ploughs then’ follow, and the potatoes are set in the furrow traced by the third. It will be understood that the persons who set them will haye to go from one side to the other, each one keeping within his allotted space. Each potatoe is set at the point of intersec- Cultivation of the Potatoe. 17 tion of the line traced by the marker, with the furrow formed by the plough. It is of importance that the potatoes be set as close as possible to thé perpendicular side of the furrow, and not on that where the slice has been turned over ; for, in the former position, the potato is more likely to remain in its place, and not to be disturbed by the horse’s foot. The best ploughmen must be employed to trace the fur- row in which the potatoes are set; first, to ensure that the furrow may be of a proper and uniform depth, — three inches on a heavy, and four or five on a sandy soil. If the laborers are well practised three ploughs and five planters will finish eight acres per day. A week after the setting, the ground is harrowed, an op- eration by which a few weeds are destroyed. Great numbers of them afterwards spring up. Nothing more, however, is done to get rid of them till the potatoes are about to spring up and some of them just beginning to show their leaves above ground. The extirpator is then passed lightly over the whole surface of the field. This may be done without fear of hurting the potatoes. The whole of the weeds are thus destroyed. The soil is left in this state till all the potatoes have come up, and is then harrowed to level it. After this harrowing, the potatoes are as clean as if they had been care- fully weeded, so that it only remains to pass the horse-hoe or cultivator over them. The first cultivation is performed with the small hoe, and should be given in the direction followed by the marking plough or furrower; the second must be performed by the horn-hoe and in the direction of the plough. This will be sufficient in the greater number of cases. If a few weeds should have escaped here and there, by growing close to the potatoes, it will cost but little labor to pull them up while yet in flower. By these operations the cultivation is completely finished 2* 18 Cultivation of the Potatoe. before harvest time; and nothing remains to be done for them till they are ready for taking up. When the soil is tenacious and exposed to humidity, I prefer the following method of cultivation: The soil having been well prepared, lines crossing trans- versely are traced with the marking plough, and a potatoe set at each intersection. The planting goes on much more ‘quickly in this way; one man can easily plant three acres per day. The small horse-hoe is then passed close to each row, and covers it with earth. When weeds spring up, they are destroyed by passing the large horse-hoe in the same direction, an operation which is performed whether the pota- toes have come up or not. When the potatoes have grown up to a certain height, the banks or edges formed by the hoe in the last cultivation are cut transversely with the large hoe; another and final cultivation is perhaps given in the direction of the first. ; The advantages presented by this method when applied to an argillaceous soil are very striking. The potatoe is sur- rounded on all sides by light earth, and dung heaped around it. It is preserved from-any excess of moisture that might injure the crop, because it is placed above the bottom of the furrow by which the water drains off. The soil in which it rests is also thoroughly warmed by the sun. But this meth- od is recommended for those soils only in which potatoes might suffer from excess of moisture, as a sharpish frost attacking the potatoes before they were gathered might pen- etrate too deeply into the ridges. When the earth has been laid up for the last time, and the potatoes begin to blossom, they must be left quiet; for it is then that the young tubers are formed. Some persons have recommended that the flowers be cut off, in order to increase the growth of the tubers; but the recommendation is absurd. Cullen, of Edinburgh, observed ‘ Cultivation of the Potatoe. 19 some time ago, that the developement of the tubers keeps pace with that of the flowers; and experiments especially directed to this point have uniformly shown that the crop ts much injured by the removal of the flowers. Cullen also tried the effect of cutting off the leaves as fast as they grew; the consequence was that the potatoes pro- duced no tubers, but merely filamentous roots. The experi- ments of Anderson, showing the injury occasioned to potatoes by the hasty removal of their leaves, are conclusive against this practice. The digging the crop has always been looked upon by great cultivators as the most difficult part of this branch of husbandry, and has been the main cause of their unwilling- ness to undertake it on a large scale. This fear, has, how- ever, greatly diminished; it has, indeed, been found, that the getting in may be performed with greater expedition and fa- cility than was formerly thought possible. They are taken up by means of a mattock, or potatoe hoe. When they are planted according to my method, one man can with such an instrument easily prepare work for twelve pickers. In this manner potatoes can be taken up with less work than with the plough. In gathering potatoes, I make use of boxes, which hold about thirty bushels, and are placed on waggons. In one side of these boxes is an opening, which shuts by means of a - sliding door. When the boxes arrive at the barn the door is opened and a kind of gutter adapted to the opening, and along this gutter the potatoes descend to the place intended for them. | Potatoes dug in dry weather may with safety be placed immediately in a cellar, or store-house, protected from frost ; but the place in which they are kept must be left open, to afford a free circulation of air, till cold weather comes on. 20 Cultivation of the Potatoe. But if the potatoes are raised in damp weather, it is better to spread them out on a floor, and let them dry there. A point of great importance is to cover heaps over with a layer of straw, at least six inches thick. This layer of straw should be thickest near the ground; it should there extend beyond the heap of potatoes, -xo as completely to prevent the access of frost. The straw should be well filled at the sum- mit and angles, and the whole covered up with earth. It is not, indeed, the earth which protects the potatoes from frost ; this effect is produced by the straw, which prevents the radia- tion of heat from them; but the earth should be closely pressed to prevent the air getting through the straw. Earth which has no consistence and easily crumbles is, therefore, unfit for the purpose ; if no other can be obtained, some kind of coy- ering must be placed over it. A precaution very necessary to be observed, is not to close the heaps completely in autumn so long as the weather con- tinues warm. A small quantity of air must be allowed access through the top till the_frost comes on; a vent will thus be afforded for vapors which rise ‘from the heap. Covering the heaps with dung is always useless and often mischievous. When a thaw comes on it is prudent to open the heaps a little at the top, to permit the escape of vapor. Cub A Pol ER p hin An Account of Diseases which have previously affected the Potatoe, and the Remedies that have been found efficacious. In finding materials for this chapter I must necessarily confine my attention principally to English publications, as English writers on agriculture have noted and marked the nature, effects, and cure of the various diseases which have affected this root, with more exactness and precision than have characterized American writers on this subject. The potatoe is subject to disease at a very early period of its existence, not merely after it has developed its leaves and stems, but before the germ has risen from the sets. The disease which affects the plant is called the curl, from the curled or crumpled appearance which the leaves assume when under the influence of the disease. What the imme- diate cause of the disease is, it is very difficult to say; but the puny stems and stinted leaves indicate weakness in the constitution of the plant, and, like weak animals affected with constitutional disease, the small tubers produced by curled potatoes, when planted, propagate the disease in the future crop. The curl is so well known by its appearance, and the curled plant so generally shunned, as seed, that the disease is never willingly propagated by the cultivator; still there are circumstances in the management of the tubers which induced the disease therein. The experiments of Mr. T. Dickson 22 Diseases of the Potatoe. show, that the disease arises from the vegetable power of the sets planted, having been exhausted by over-ripening, so that sets from the waxy end of the potatoe produced healthy plants, whereas those from the best ripened end did not vegetate at all, or produced curled plants. It is the opinion of Mr. Crichton, that the curl in the potatoe, may often be occa- sioned by the way the potatoes are treated that are intended for seed. “Ihave observed,’ he says, “wherever the seed stock is carefully pitted, and not exposed to the air in the spring, the crop has seldom any curl; but where the seed stock is put into barns and not houses, for months together, such crop seldom escapes turning out in a great measure curled; and if but few curl the first year, if they are planted again, it is more than probable the half of them will curl again next year.” i Mr. Knight, on the subject of this disease, in an article written in 1810, says: “ A few years ago the curl destroyed many of our best varieties of the potatoe, to the attacks of which every good variety will probably be subject. I observed that the leaves of several kinds of potatoes, which were dry and farinaceous, that I cultivated, produced curled leaves, while those other kinds, which were soft and aqueous, were perfectly well formed, whence I was led to suspect that the disease originated in the preternaturally inspissated state of the sap in the dry and farinaceous varieties. I conceived that the sap, if not sufficiently fluid, might stag- nate in, and close, the fine vessels of the leaf during its growth and extension, and thus occasion the irregular con- tractions which constitute this disease; and this conclusion, which I drew many years ago, is perfectly consistent with the opinions I have subsequently entertained, respecting the for- mation of leaves. I therefore suffered a quantity of potatoes, the produce almost wholly of diseased plants, to remain in the heap, where they had been preserved during winter, till Diseases of the Potatoe. 23 each tuber had emitted shoots of three or four inches long. They were then carefully detached with their fibrous roots, from the tubers, and were committed to the soil; where having little to subsist upon except water, I concluded the cause of the disease, if it were the too great thickness of the sap, would be effectually removed, and I had the satisfaction to observe, that not a single-curled leaf was produced ; though more than nine-tenths of the plants, which the same identical tubers subsequently produced, were much diseased. In the spring of 1808, Sir John Sinclair informed me that a gardener in Scotland, Mr. Crozer, had discovered a method of preventing the curl, by taking up the tubers before they are nearly full grown and consequently before they became farinaceous. Mr. Crozer, therefore, and myself, appear to have arrived at the same point by very different routes; for by taking his potatoes, whilst immature, from the parent stem, he probably retained the sap nearly in the state to which my mode of culture reduced it. I therefore conclude that the opinions I first formed, are well founded, and that the disease may be always removed by the means I employed, and its return prevented by those adopted by Mr. Crozer. Another disease affects the seed, and ts called the fadlure, or taint, which consists of the destruction of their vital pow- ers. Many conjectures have been hazarded as to the cause ‘of the failure, and most of them have ascribed it to the fer- mented state of the dung, to the drought of the season, to the heating of the sets, to the tuber being cut into sets, and other secondary causes; but all these conjectures leave untouched the principal consideration in the question, how these cir- cumstances should induce failure now, and not in by-gone years. Cut sets have been used for many years without causing failure. Farm-yard dung in various states of de- composition, has been used as long for raising potatoes. The extraordinary drought of 1826 caused no failure, while in - comparative cool seasons the disease has made great havoc. 24 Diseases of the Potatoe. Mr. John Shirreff takes a general and philosophical view of the cause of disease in the potatoe crop, and though, no doubt, his observations are particularly applicable to the eur, still they will apply equally well to the taint; for the con- nection between the two diseases is so intimate, that you have seen Mr. Dickson’s observation is, that some ‘sets “did not vegetate at all,” that is, facled, “or produced curled plants.” Mr. Shirreff adopts the general doctrine broached by Mr. Knight, “The maximum of the duration of the life of any individual vegetable or animal,” he says, “is predetermined by nature, under whatever circumstances the individual may be placed; the minimum, on the other hand, is determined by these very circumstances. Admitting, then, that a pota- toe might reproduce itself from tubers for a great number of years in the shady woods of Peru, it seems destined to be- come abortive in the cultivated champaign of Britain, inso- much that not a single healthy plant of any sort of potatoe that yields berries, and which was in culture twenty years ago, can now be produced.” Mr. Shirreff concludes, there- fore, that the potatoe is to be considered a short-lived plant, and that though its health and vigor may be prolonged by rearing it in elevated or in shady situations, or by cropping the flowers, and thus preventing the plants from exhausting themselves, the only sure way to obtain vigorous plants, and to ensure productive crops, is to have frequent recourse to new varieties from seed. The same view had occurred to Dr. Hunter, who, in his Georgical essays, has limited the duration of a variety in a state of perfection to fourteen years. The fact ascertained by Mr. Knight deserves to be noticed. That by planting late in the season, an exhausted good variety, may, in a great measure be restored ; that is, the tuber resulting from the late planting, when again planted at the ordinary season, produces the kind in its pristine vigor and of its former size. It is obvious that all these opinions Diseases of the Potatoe. 29 refer to the possibility of plants indicating constitutional weakness, and why may not the potatoe? I have all along been of the opinion that the failure has arisen from this cause, nor does it seem to me to be refuted by the fact, that certain varieties of potatoe have been cultivated for many years in the same locality without fail; because it is well understood that every variety of potatoe has not indicated failure, and one locality may be more favorable to retention of vigor of constitution than another; at least, we may easily believe: this. Ihave no doubt in my own mind that were seed pota-- toes securely pitted, until they were about to be planted,— not over-ripened before they were taken out of the ground,— the sets cut from the crispest tuber and from the waxy end ; the dung fermented by a turning of the dung-hill in proper time ; led out to the field, quickly spread, the sets as quickly dropped in it, and the drills quickly split, there would be little: heard of the failure even in the dryest season. I own it is difficult to prove the existence of constitutional weakness in any given tuber, as its existence is only implied by the fact of the failure; but the hypothesis explains many more facts than any other, than atmospheric influence, for example,. producing the failure like epidemic diseases in animals, for such influences existed many years ago, as well as now. The longer the cultivation of the tuber of the potatoe, which is not its seed, is persevered in, the more certainly may we expect to see its constitutional vigor weakeried, in strict analogy to other plants propagated by similar means; such as the failure of many varieties of the apple and pear, and of the cider fruits of the seventeenth century. This very season (1843,) contradicts the hypothesis of drought and heat as the primary cause of failure, for it has hitherto (to June) been neither hot nor dry, while it strikingly exemplifies the theory of consti- tutional weakness, inasmuch as the fine season of 1842 had . so much over-ripened the potatoe, — farmers still unaware of 3 26 Diseases of the Potatoe. the cause of the failure, permitting the potatoes they have used for seed to become over-ripened,—that the sets this spring, to repeat again the words of Mr. Dickson, “did not vegetate at all,” even in the absence of heat and drought, and in the presence of moist weather. Had the potatoes been a little less over-ripened in 1842, the sets from them might have produced only curl this season, though it is not improb- able that the same degree of over-ripening may cause entire failure now, that would only have caused curl years ago; and as over-ripening was excessive last year, owing to the very fine weather, so the failure is extensive in a corresponding degree in this, even in circumstances considered by most people preventive of its recurrence, namely, in cold and moist weather. And observe the results of both 1842 and 1845 as confirmatory of the same principle, illustrated by diametrically opposite circumstances. The wnder-ripened seed of the bad season of 1841 produced the good crop of potatoes in 1842, in spite of the great heat and drought existing at the time of its planting in 1842; while the over-ripened seed of the good season of 1842 has produced extensive failure, in spite of the coolness and moisture existing at the time of planting in 1843. How can heat, drought, or fermenting dung, account for these things ? : As fact, may be mentioned the effects of comparatively dry and moist, soil, on cut sets and whole potatoes, which were brought to light by an experiment of Mr. Howden, and which obtained results no one would have anticipated. Says Mr. Howden: “On the 28th of June I selected from a stock of potatoes which had been repeatedly turned and kept for family use, seventy tubers of the old rough black variety. I divided this number-into five lots, sizing them so that each lot of fourteen potatoes weighed exactly four pounds. I made on that day one lot of fourteen pounds into starch, and obtained nine ounces. a — Diseases of the Potatoe. 27 On the same day I put fourteen potatoes whole, and fourteen cut into fifty-six sets, into a deep box, filled with dry mould. The remaining fourteen whole and fourteen cut, I put into another box filled with mozst earth, and which was watered from time to time. At the end of three weeks, all the plants» with the exception of five sets, made their appearance. All this time the dry box had been kept from moisture. On the 21st of July, however, I allowed it to be moistened with heavy rain, and on the 28th of July, I. took up and extracted starch from the whole. Before doing so, however, I weighed the several lots, and what seemed to me curious was, that each lot of the whole potatoes had gazned eight ounces ; while each lot of the cut ones had lost six ounces of its weight, and of their number ten did not vegetate. The sprouts from the whole potatoes weighed four ounces, and those from the cut only two ounces. Yet the starch from the twenty- eight cut potatoes weighed but two ounces, and that from the twenty-eight whole potatoes nine ounces, being exactly the produce in starch of half that number, which was made into starch at the commencement of the experiment.” Loudon, in his Encyclopedia of Agriculture, says: “The diseases of the potatoe.are chiefly the scab, the worm, and the curl. The scab or ulcerated surface of the tubers, has never been satisfactorily accounted for; some attributing it to the ammonia of horse dung; others to alkali; and some to the use of coal ashes. Change of seed and of ground are the only resources known at present for this malady. The worm and grub both attack the tuber, and the same preven- tive is recommended. The same causes which have been assigned to a total or partial failure of the potatoe in numberless instances, and to a most distressing extent in Ireland, have existed since the cultivation of the potatoe commenced, but without the effects deplored, which have only prevailed within a very recent 28 Diseases of the Potatoe. space of time. But from the frequent and searching investi- gation of the subject by the most competent and practical men, a preventive against the failure has been ascertained, namely, the planting of entire tubers. When the cut sets have failed, the entire tubers have resisted premature decay ; whether it arises from atmospheric influence or debility of constitution, or from any of the conjectured causes, the entire tubers exert their noxious influences, and germinate healthily and freely. All reports agree on this point; there is no risk in this case, if the tubers be sound when planted; and it may be added that in all stages of their growth, the uncut tubers maintain a decided superiority and yield a correspond- ing produce.* In this country, the most prevailing disease that has been noticed is the rust, which, by some, is regarded as an entirely new disease, while others speak of it as having prevailed years ago, As a general rule with us, the potatoes have been more exempted from disease than any other cultivated crop, the least liable to injury from insects, and, of conse- quence the most certain crop which our farmers could culti- vate. The scab and curl have been the only known diseases in Europe, and probably not one in a hundred of American cultivators ever saw an instance of the latter disease. In 1839, the potatoe in New England found a formidable enemy in the black rust, which has caused great loss wherever it has shown itself. It has been most destructive on low lands, sluggish streams, near ponds, or on low meadows or plains; the more elevated, airy, and dry situations, have generally escaped. The following, respecting this new dis- ease, is from the Farmer’s Monthly Visitor, and I invite particular attention to this account, and the observations which follow, as I believe it will be found closely allied to * Dictionary of the Farm, p. 413. —— ss Diseases of the Potatoe. 29 the Potatoe Plague, which will be fully described in Part II, of this treatise: “The cause of the rust this season, (1859) we believe to be the extraordinary humidity, combined with a peculiar state of the atmosphere, at some period in the high heat of summer. It was remarked that the rust struck universally on the 27th of August. Early planted potatoes were not so much injured by it as the later crop. Last year, it will be remembered, the severe drought in that part of the country south of a line drawn east and west, at the distance of fifty to seventy miles north of Boston, generally lessened the crop of potatoes, affecting those early and late planted in a similar manner that the rust has this year injured them. It was too dry last summer, and the uncommon wetness of the present “summer has been alike injurious. More than half the days in June, and two-thirds the days in July, and one third in August were rainy days. In a season so uncommonly wet we could not but anticipate quite as much injury to some crops as we have suffered. The benefits to the grass crop and small grains, have amply compensated for every thing.” In 1841, a correspondent of the Maine Farmer wrote as follows : “ Almost all persons with whom I have conversed on the subject ascribe the failure of the potatoe crop to rust; and I know very well the tops have a rusty appearance, while some few have mentioned other causes. I have had ample time and opportunity to examine numerous fields under all the different circumstances of soil and culture, and time of plant- ing, which could be found, and the result in my mind was satisfactory that no single cause assigned could alone pro- duce it. In one field, planted partly with the pink-eyed variety, and partly with the long reds, the pink-eyes were so dead, the tops, on pulling, broke off, without pulling up the potatoes, and the owner had commenced digging. The long 3% 30 Diseases of the Potatoe reds growing side by side appeared as fresh and fair as ever, to a casual inspection. But on closer examination the leaves at the bottom were dying, and the same process of decay appeared to have commenced, by which the pink-eyes died. It is said the sap which forms the potatoe is elaborated ‘in the leaves, and I believe this is not doubted by any physi- ‘ologists; but how can this fact be reconciled with the fact ‘that some varieties are quite as large as usual, and the assigned cause of rust we have mentioned. “ From all the observations I could make there seems to hhave been some general cause operating, from the time of the blossoming of the earliest variety, and the earliest planted ‘to the latest, by which the formation of the bulbs was restricted to few in number. This cause, I am constrained to believe, ‘is atmospheric.” A work has lately been published by Dr. Van Martius, on ‘the epidemic diseases of potatoes. He enumerates all the ‘diseases that have been observed from time to time, and describes more particularly two forms which did extensive damage to the potatoe crops of Germany, in 1841. These he calls, in literal English, stem rot, scab. It is to the first of these diseases that we wish to call attention, as resembling, in many of its symptoms, moist gangrene. ‘There is, however, this difference between that disease, and the one we are about to mention, that the-former attacked only leaves and fruits, and was accompanied by the presence of a large quan- tity of moisture, whilst this attacks the tuber, an underground stem, and is characterized by a diminution of water in the tissue of the plant. It is, in fact, a dry gangrene, and Mar- tius calls it Gangrena tuberum Solant. When potatoes are attacked with this disease, the first thing that is observed is, a drying up or shrivelling of the tuber. The skin loses its ordinary lustre, becomes wrinkled, and shows at last little irregular spots, of a dark brown color, Diseases of the Potatoe. 31 which, as the disease progresses, run together into larger spots. In these places the skin seems thicker, and has the appearance of having been rubbed against something. Sub- sequently, the tissue of which the skin is composed becomes loosened and torn; and by the breaking up of its continuity, it‘assumes the appearance of the back of an old tree. Some- times the skin is split up into distinct patches, like scales; at the commencement of the disease the interior of the tuber does not suffer; but, at last, a change of color takes-place -in the tissues under the spots of the skin. Patches of a yellow, or brown color, are observed, which are at first isolated, but at last run into one another. These patches are drier than the surrounding tissue; but up to this period in the appear- ance of the disease, no changes have taken place that render the tuber unfit to eat. As the disease advances, little warts, or excrescences, form on the skin, which are of a dark color inside; they are at first small, but keep on extending, and at last run one into» the other. From the surface of these warts, a fungus, be- longing to the mould of the potatoe tribe, is observed to pro- ject.- The potatoe now begins to emit a disagreeable odor, and its physical character is greatly changed. Its specific gravity, which, in a state of health, is 1.163, becomes succes- sively reduced, as the disease proceeds, and at last is about 0.9. If potatoes are planted with this disease, in no case do they put forth healthy shoots. In the commencing stages, ~the eyes put forth shoots which rise above the ground, but soon perish. In the latter stages the whole tissue of the potatoe is involved in disease, and on cutting into it, it pre- sents a dark colored, disorganized mass, very dry, and not unlike the appearance of a truffle. On examining the tissues under a microscope, it will be found that the cellular tissue of the skin has lost its trans- parency, and become of a brown color, and that of the in- 32 Diseases of the Potatoe. terior has lost its brightness as well as its moisture and whiteness. The starch grains gradually disappear, and cells filled with air, and a yellow fluid, occupy their place. Many cells are torn, and the passages are filled with a brown fluid. Scattered between the cells in all directions will be found dark colored, opaque grains of various forms and sizes. These grains do not develope any further, but at last burst, and in their appearance and history resemble the Protomyces, or primitive fungus germs of unger. On cutting into the little knobs, masses of the fibres of a fungus are observed, which at last make their way to the surface, and there either fructify or become shrivelled into a whitish layer. Sometimes the fibres of this fungus, which are very delicate and trans- parent, are found throughout the whole mass of the diseased tuber. On examining these fibres, they present two distinct forms, the one being probably a variety of the other. T am not aware that this form of disease has prevailed very extensively in this country. With regard to the cause of the disease nothing certain is known. In Germany it has oc- curred in all soils and in all weathers. It has occurred to almost all sorts of potatoes, and after all modes of planting and gathering; so that many have been inclined to attribute it to the influence of contagion; whilst those who are advo- cates of the doctrine that all diseases arise from the sporules of fungi, will at once conclude that the influence of the fungus in this disease ‘is a proof that it originated in their presence. For the prevention of this rot every precaution should be taken in planting them to secure their healthful growth. The conclusions of Von Martius are as follows: The newer the variety is, the better. The potatoes intended for seed should be grown separate from the rest. The seed potatoes should not be kept heaped up in damp cellars, and allowed to shoot before they are planted, and they should never be cut for sowing before they are brought into the field. / Diseases of the Potatoe. 33 _I conclude this part of my subject, by extracting the fol- lowing article by Morrill Allen, an intelligent, practical far- mer, of Massachusetts. The extract properly belongs, per- haps, to Part II, of this work, but it is also connected with ‘the present chapter. He says: “There have been sufficient indications of the existence of disease, and advances, to justify some general attention to the subject, and the employment of such preventive, or remedial means, as may seem to cultiva- - tors the most likely to prove efficacious. Until the causes of the malady shall be more satisfactorily investigated, no rules ean, with implicit confidence, be given for the treatment. The farmers must do as physicians are sometimes obliged to do in cases of undefined bodily disease, — prescribe to the symptoms. This practice is attended with great uncertainty, yet the results, of it in experience sometimes prove highly valuable. The different causes to which the disease in pota- toes has been ascribed, lead writers to suggest a great variety of remedies in ‘accordance with their views of the probable origin. Let farmers select and apply such as their reason and judgment best approve, and it may be that merely prac- tical men will, in the course of their experience, clearly prove what theory has hitherto failed of doing, the moving cause of the difficulty. If, as supposed by some, it be of insect origin, then salt and lime would seem proper applica- tions, and these are also strongly recommended by persons who think that fungus is the producing cause of the disease. Those who suppose it arises from atmospheric influence may properly apply the same means which would be recom- mended by those who believe it the result of excessive growth. Preparation of the soil, and a course in the culti- vation likely to produce an even growth is unquestionably important in this and other crops. Some persons seem con- fident that the rot in potatoes results wholly from deteriora- tion in the seed. If this be true we may not expect to avoid 34 Diseases of the Potatoe. the evil merely by sending to another place for seed potatoes ; we should renew them from the balls. This is a process requiring some patience, but we know of no easier method of entire renovation. We suppose renewal can be approached in successive plantings of unmatured potatoes. These have often been strongly recommended for seed, not only for the purpose of avoiding disease, but as a means of increasing the crop. It is manifestly contrary to what we regard as a gen- eral law in vegetation, that the most perfect seed produces the healthiest and most fruitful plants. There are, however, several reasons for believing that the potatoe may be an ex- ception to the general law. The vegetative principle is not so concentrated in the potatoe as in most other articles. It can be produced from the balls, the bulbs, or from sprouts which have grown in the cellar, or the earth, The vegeta- tive principle being so widely diffused, it may be reasonable to suppose, that the perfect ripening of the potatoe to some extent weakens its power of reproduction, ‘That power after the complete maturity of the bulbs may be more perfectly concentrated in the balls. The experiment is easily made, and it is hoped that many farmers will this year plant pota- toes for the next year’s seeding as late as the 25th of June,” CG. A.P IT BR. iV. Various Uses to which Potatoes are applied. THE most important application of potatoes is as human food ; on this it is unnecessary to enlarge. Einhoff found mealy potatoes to contain twenty-four per cent. of their weight of nutritive matter, and rye seventy parts; consequently sixty-four and a half measures of pota- toes afford the same nourishment as twenty-four measures of rye. A thousand parts of potatoes yielded to Sir Humphrey Davy two hundred to three hundred parts of nutritive matter, of which one hundred and fifty-five to two hundred were mucilage or starch, fifteen to twenty sugar, and thirty to forty gluten. Now, supposing an acre of potatoes to weigh nine tons, and an acre of wheat to weigh one ton, which is about the usual proportion, then, as one thousand parts of wheat afford nine hundred and fifty nutritive parts, and one thou- sand of potatoes say two hundred and thirty, the quantity of nutritive matter afforded by an acre of wheat and potatoes will be nearly as nine to four; so that an acre of potatoes will supply more than double the quantity of human food afforded by an acre of wheat. The potatoe is, perhaps, the only root grown, which may be eaten every day in the year without satiating the palate. They are therefore the only substitute that can be used for bread, with any degree of suc- cess. In the answer by Dr. Tissot to M. Linquet, the for- 36. Uses of the Potatoe. mer objects to the constant use of potatoes for food, not because they are pernicious to the body, but because they hurt the faculties of the mind. He owns that those who eat maize, potatoes, or even millet, may grow tall and acquire a large size. It does not, however, by any means appear, that the general use of potatoes has impaired either the health of body or vigor of mind of its inhabitants. The manufacture of potatoe flour is carried on, to a consid- erable extent, in the neighborhood of Paris, and the flour is~ sold at a price considerably higher than that of wheat, for the use of confectioners, and of bakers who supply the finer kinds of bread. The potatoes are washed and grated, and the starch separated from the pulp so attained by filtration; it is dried on shelves, in a room heated by a flue, and afterwards broken on a floor, by passing a cast iron roller over it. It is then passed into a bolting machine and put into sacks for sale. It is reported by Count de Chatrol, in his statistical account of Paris, that forty thousand tons of potatoes are an- nually manufactured into flour within a circle of eight leagues around the city. The quantity of farina which potatoes produce varies not only according to the species, but according to the period when the extraction takes place. The variations produced by this last cause are nearly as follows: — Two hundred and forty pounds of potatoes, produced of farina, or potatoe flour, in smevents from 25 to 25 pounds. Sept., C6 8 1D 5G MBB NE October, “ 32 “ 40- « Nov., CC se BB ee AAS Pace March, 6:6 ):045 "Bg ou April, 6 RSS ee Bi. May, “« 98 « 99 “ The extraction of the farina should be discontinued at the Uses of the Potatoe. 37 period when the potatoes begin to grow, the farina being de- stroyed by germination. Red potatoes produce a smaller quantity of farina. Those which are blue on the outside give little, but it is of good quality ; the white, which is often ting- ed with red ii the interior, is the least proper for this extrac- tion. The best of all are those which have a yellow tint, as the farina is of very good quality and abundant. The meal of potatoes may be preserved for years,. closely packed in barrels, or unground in the form of slices, these slices having been previously dried by steam. Some German philosophers have proposed to freeze the potatoes, by which the feculent matter is separated from the starch, and the latter being then dried and compressed, may be preserved for any length of time, or exported with safety any distance. The manufacture of tapioca from potatoes is thus given in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. The potatoes selected are thoroughly washed, afterwards they are grated in a machine constructed for the purpose. The parts thus reduced or grat- ed fall into a vessel placed underneath. From this. vessel they are removed, and strained into a tub. On the juice being well expressed for the first time, the fibrous matter is set apart, and cold clean water is thrown over them. The fibres are again put through the same strainer, till the whole of the substance is collected, when they are finally cast aside. On this being done, the contents of the tub, now in a state of mucilage or starch, are allowed to settle. A reasonable in- terval being suffered to elapse, the old water is poured gently off, and fresh water supplied. After this process of washing the bleached matter is passed through a smaller strainer. The offals are separated; the starch now becomes much whiter; but still fresh water is abundantly dashed over it. When by frequent ablution the surface of this mass is ren- dered quite smooth and clear, it is filtrated a third and last time. 4 38 Uses of the Potatoe. The strainer now used is of very fine texture, so that no improper or accidental admixture may interfere. As soon as the starch thus purified, has firmly subsided, it is spread on a board, and exposed to the open air. The damp speedily evaporates, on which it is, as a security for cleanliness, put through a sieve. A large circular pan is now procured, and set upon the fire. The farina is gradually put into the -pan, till what is conceiv- ed to be sufficient for one cooking has been ‘supplied. As the natural tendency of the farina, in a warm state, is to ad- here to the pan, great care is requisite in constantly turning and stirring it. This is effectually done with a broad flat piece of wood, having a long handle to prevent inconvenience from the heat. A temperature of one hundred and fifty de- grees, Fahrenheit, suits best for perfecting the tapioca, When the farina becomes quite hard, dry and gritty, it is then ready, and may be taken off the fire-— Quarterly Journal of Agri- culture, Vol. IL, p. 68. Potash may be extracted from potatoe leaves and stalks, by the following process: — Cut off the stalks when the flowers begin to fall, as that is the period of their greatest vigor; leave them on the ground eight or ten days to dry; cart them to a hole dug in the earth, about five feet square by two feet deep, and then burn them, keeping the ashes red-hot as long as possible. Afterwards take out the ashes, pour boiling water on them, and then evaporate the water. ‘There remains, after the evaporation, a dry saline reddish substance, known in commerce under the name of salin; the more the ashes are boiled, the greyer and more valuable the salin be- comes. The salin must be calcined in a very hot oven, until the whole mass presents a uniform reddish brown. In cool- ing it remains dry, and in fragments bluish within, and white on the surface, in which state it takes the name of potash. — Smith's Mechanic, Vol. IL, p. 381. EE Uses of the Potatoe. 89 Among extraordinary applications of the potatoe, may. be mentioned cleaning woollens, and making wine and ardent spirits. Cleaning Woollens.— The refuse of the potatoes used in making starch, when taken from the sieve, possesses the prop- erty of cleansing woollen cloths, without injuring their color; and the water decanted from the starch powder is excellent for cleansing silks, without the slightest injury to the color. Wine and ardent spirits of a good quality are made from potatoes. Under the influence of certain chemical agents, which it is not my province here to speak of particularly, starch is converted, into sugar, and this sugar, by fermenta- tion, yields spirits, On the European continent potatoe spirit is almost universally used; and in flavor it so resem- bles brandy that it is well known that a large quantity of the French brandy brought into London, is potatoe spirit from Hamburg, colored with burned sugar. On converting potatoes into flour, Mr. Abiel Abbott, of Sidney, Me., thus writes to the Kennebec Journal : — “ After much study and many experiments, I have made a discovery which I think will, with that encouragement it merits, be of great importance to the people of this state and all others similarly situated. “Tn 1852 I was strongly impressed that flour might be ob- tained from the potatoe; accordingly I ventured an experi- ment, the result of which was, eight pounds of flour from the bushel. I then suspended my experiments until the winter of 1844, when I resumed them, and found the result to be the same as 1852, that is, eight pounds of fine flour from the bushel. Owing to a deficiency of gluten good bread cannot be made from it alone, but when mixed with equal parts of wheaten flour, the bread made from it is much better than that which is made from all wheaten flour, — that is, in the estimation of those who have eaten the bread. 40 Uses of the Potatoe. “Two hundred bushels of potatoes to the acre, is called by the farmers an average crop in Maine, yielding, according to the foregoing experiments, about eight barrels of flour to the ‘acte. The following article, extracted from the last number of the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, will be found in- teresting in this connection : — “In Germany, a method has lately been introduced, of making flour from potatoes, which has not, I believe, been tried in this country, but which is recommended as giving a better, a more palatable, and a more abundant article of nourishment than the common process of preparing potatoe starch. This method consists in washing the potatoes, cut- ting them into slices, as we do turnips, steeping these slices for twenty-four hours in water containing one per cent. of sulphuric acid, (oil of vitriol) drawing off the acid water, washing them several times with pure water, drying them in a stove, and then grinding them in a common corn-mill. The flour thus obtained is pure white, and the refuse siftings or bran, seldom exceed five per cent. of the weight of the dried potatoes. The sulphuric acid in this process extracts the coloring matter of the potatoe, with certain other substances which would give the flour an unpleasant taste. This flour will not make good bread if used alone. It requires to be mixed with from one-half to one-third of wheaten flour.” But the following is the most interesting piece of informa- tion that we have met with on this subject. It refers to the most economical method of using the potatoe crop as food for cattle : — ) 3 “ As I have said so much on the subject of potatoes, I may as well describe to you a method which has lately been re- commended in Denmark and Norway, for making the potatoe more available and more profitable in feeding cattle than it has ever hitherto been. You are probably aware that potatoe Uses of the Potatoe. 41 starch can be readily converted into grape sugar, and that the syrup obtained from it is largely employed for the manu- facture of brandy in the north of Europe, and even of the best brandy which comes from France. In the more north- ern of the French wine-growing provinces it is also mixed with the less sweet varieties of grape juice, so as to give an additional strength and richness to the wine. One of the methods by which the potatoe starch is converted into grape sugar, is to mix it with one tenth of its weight of ground malt diffused in water, and to keep the mixture for some hours at a moderate temperature. The starch dissolves, and the liquid becomes sweet from its conversion into grape sugar. This is the method which M. Béggild, of Copenhagen, proposes to apply to the whole potatoe,’ in order to bring it into a soluble state, to make it more easy of digestion, and thus to increase its feeding properties. He washes his potatoes well, steams them thoroughly, and then, without allowing them to cool, he cuts them in a cylinder furnished internally with revolving knives, or crushes them in a mill; and mixes them with a small quantity of water and three pounds of ground malt to every one hundred pounds of the raw potatoes. This mixture is kept in motion, and at a temperature of one hun- dred and forty degrees to one hundred and eighty degrees Fahrenheit, for from one to five hours, when the thick gruel has acquired a sweet taste and is ready for use. Given in this state, the results of experimental trials are said to be — “1. That it is a richer and better food for milk cows than twice the quantity of potatoes in a raw state. “2. That it is excellent for fattening cattle and sheep, and for winter food: that it goes much farther than potatoes when merely steamed; and that it may be economically mixed up with chopped hay and straw. “T have before me a pamphlet, published at Christiania, by the Royal Society for Promoting the Improvement of Nor- 4% 42 _ Uses of the Potatoe. way, in which this method is strongly recommended; also a letter from Copenhagen, dated 29th April, 1845, in which my correspondent writes as follows :—‘This invention has . been more and more appreciated and applied in my native country (Norway) and in Denmark, and the great advanta- ges with which stall-feeding may be introduced, at considera- bly less expense than formerly, render it suited to general promulgation.’ —‘The method has more and more gained adherents, and further comparative experiments, made by scientific and experienced persons, have proved its superiority. Thus one of these experiments establishes that an increase of one and a half pounds of flesh is obtained from twenty-five pounds of potatoes—that the feeding of horses with this mash is found to be applicable and cheap, and they all con- firm that potatoes used in this manner as food amply afford double the nutritive powers compared with the food formerly used.’ I cannot here state my reasons for believing that there is really something worthy of attention in the alleged superior feeding qualities of the potatoe given in this state ; but I can strongly recommend you to make experiments upon this subject. Ifthe potatoe can in this way be converted into a larger quantity of beef, mutton, or pork, than hitherto, an- other outlet will be provided for the potatoe crop, which may, perhaps, prove more profitable even than the manufacture of it into flour.” ae PA BR Few LS. THE POTATOE PLAGUE. Preliminary Remarks. In the preceding pages I have collected important informa- tion on the history, cultivation, diseases and uses of the pota- toe. I commend that part of the book to the candid attention of the farming community, as it contains much that is new. The views of M. Thaer, especially, now for the first time republished to American readers, will claim their attention as being the mature experience of a distinguished cultivator, after years of observation into the nature of the tuber and the best modes of managing it. I now approach the great subject of this treatise with un- feigned diffidence. I would, in the outset, deprecate criticism, by the confession, that the material portions of information contained in these pages are not from my own knowledge, or the result of my individual experience. The work is com- posed of better materials than any one farmer or scientific cultivator could possibly furnish, were he even the most pro- found and practical in the land. It is a condensation of the opinions of farmers and scientific men from every part of this country and Europe, respecting every variety of the potatoe, 44 The Potatoe Plague. grown under every variety of treatment, soil, and tempera- ture, and under every possible change or variation that can ‘be supposed with reference to it. E It is almost impossible to over-rate the importance of an inquiry like the one we are about tomake. Its influence upon the prosperity and wealth of nations may be gathered from the fact that the potatoe crop of the United States alone is estimated at ninety-nine millions nine hundred and forty-three thousand bushels annually, and in New England it is thus stated by Mr. Ellsworth, in his report to Congress, in Janua- ry, 1845. \ Maine, - - - - 12,304,000 bushels. New Hampshire, - - 4,643,000 <« Massachusetts, - - 4,050,000 « Rhode Island, - - - 812,000 « Connecticut, - - - 2,117,000 ~*« Vermont, - - - - 6,158,000 “ 50,084,000 Thus it will be seen, that the crop in New England, at a low estimation, is worth ten millions dollars annually, and the ROT threatens, if not the total desertion of this large: source of productive wealth, at least a very great diminution of the profits of the farmer, and a decrease much to be dreaded in the supplies of the most healthful, as it is the most universal, article of food for human consumption. f It was hoped in 1844, that the disease had reached its cul- minating point, and that the year 1845 would witness a great falling off in its destroying effects, and that, like the Asiatic Cholera, and other similar diseases affecting the human con- stitution, it would disappear and be heard of no more. This very desirable consummation, however, was not realized. The rot has prevailed more extensively this year than ever before, and not only throughout the wide extent of The Potatoe Plague. 45 our own country are the complaints of entire failure or partial destruction heard, but the voice of lamentation and the fear of famine come to us with a foreboding moan from the British isles, and some of the countries of continental Europe. ‘The rot this year has been universal in its effects, and the exi- gency has called forth particular and anxious inquiries into the nature of the disease, accounts of which, and the re- sults arrived at, are subjoined. It would, perhaps, be difficult to name a subject on which more has been written, or which has engaged the attention of more able men than the prevalent potatoe blight, rot, or by whatever name it may be called. The plague and the yellow fever have not been more anxiously discussed; nor_ can it be denied that the subject is of almost equal importance. A calamity that involves the destruction of a great portion of the food and labor of the civilized world, and reduces millions of fellow-creatures to literal starvation, cannot be too dili- gently studied ; if, happily, thereby, the evil may be averted, checked, or in any considerable degree lessened. It is esti- mated by those more competent to form an estimate than I ean pretend to be, that-three fourths, at least, of the potatoe crop of all Ireland will have been lost the present season. Supposing that the potatoe is the principal food of only four of the millions of that wretched country, what an amount of human suffering does the prospect present. I find, by a careful comparison of much that has been writ- ten on this interesting topic, that most of those who have made it a subject of inquiry, have fallen into the common error of generalizing too much, of deducing the rule from the particular instance, instead of tracing wherein the instance has coincided with, or deviated from, the rule. Now, there are countless varieties of the potatoe, and to suppose that the treatment which has succeeded with one, or two, or a dozen of these, is the one only means to be used with regard to the 46 The Potatoe Plague. whole family, however plausible or natural such deduction may be, is certainly not the way in which scientific knowledge has been’ brought to its present degree of perfection. Be- cause a certain mode of treatment has proved. beneficial to a lymphatic inhabitant of the arctic circle, in a particular dis- ease, does it follow that the same mode would produce the same result on a sanguine or bilious temperament between the tropics? Does it follow that the same laws and government to which New England quietly submits would be fitting for the island of Hayti, or one of the pseudo South American Republics? Yet this is the process of reasoning and induc- tion that has been applied almost universally to the culture of the potatoe. One writer has tried one or two varieties of the root in certain soils and situations; he has applied certain manures and a particular treatment of his own, and he therefore argues that what has succeeded or failed with his variety will be equally successful or otherwise, with the whole potatoe family. This is, to the multitude, very plausible and com- fortable doctrine; they adopt it, and suffer, because they have not discovered that the. coat that fits a tall, thin man, will not fit a short, thick one, of equal weight. We sometimes find, in investigating the reports of scientific men, that the same variety, planted and dug at the same season, from the same soil, and haying received the same treatment, in short, as far as human sagacity can discern, having had precisely the same advantages and disadvantages, has shown very different results. In one field, the crop is healthy and abundant ; in another, it is scant, defective and diseased. ‘The reader will find many instances of this kind . by referring to the report of the Commissioner of Patents to the twenty-eighth Congress. What, then, is the inference? Clearly that the disease is owing to some cause independent of culture, or soil, or weather, or atmospheric influence ; that, The Potatoe Plague. 47 I think, must be plain to every capacity. Neither is the det- riment likely to have arisen from the presence of fungi, infu- sorii, or insects, where nothing of the kind has been discover- ed by the most vigilant observation. Indeed, it seems to me a death blow to either of these theories, that, in very many instances, the disease has broken out after the roots were dug, apparently in a sound and healthy condition, as well as the stalks. One cause remains; an obvious, if not the only one—the difference in the quality of the seed planted, of which I shall have more to say in another place. It appears to me that there are many causes to which the failure of the potatoe crop the world over, may be attributed, without supposing any specific disease, epidemic, or malig- nant influence whatever. The blight assumes different ap- pearances in different climates and regions. In some parts of Germany, the diseased potatoe becomes hard, like a stone, so that it requires considerable force to break it with a ham- mer; in other parts it has been observed to turn fibrous and woody, or withered, or watery, or to turn into liquid putre- faction. Can it be that all these appearances are but differ- ent forms of one and the same disease ? Every one who knows what a potatoe is, knows that all kinds of potatoes do not bear the action of boiling water alike. One kind comes from the kettle watery or waxy, another mealy ; one requires twice as much time in cooking as anoth- er. Those who eat know not the cause; but they know that it isso. They are satisfied to say that it is a good or a bad “potatoe, and to eat or fling it away; and they often come as nigh the fact without investigation as they could have done with it. The truth is, that it is not owing to culture, soil, or disease, that the fruit so turns out; it is the nature of one variety of potatoe to be watery, and another to be mealy ; and we could not make it otherwise were we to study a thou- sand years. 48 The Potatoe Plague. I have said that many theories have been broached: in regard to the supposed potatoe epidemic. Most of them are entitled to respect, as the results of the laborious investiga- tions of ingenious, learned, or practical men; and I shall therefore briefly notice a few of them, with such comments as they appear to me to require. The first of these theories attributes the rot to too early or too late planting and digging. There is no doubt, in my mind, that either of these causes will injuriously affect a crop ; the failure on a field, or a farm, may justly be referred to either or both of them. It needs no ghost to tell me that green fruit is unwholesome, or that, if allowed to hang too long on the tree, it will rot; but these causes are altogether insufficient to account for a decay extending over all christen- dom, of many years duration, and of continually increasing progress. It cannot be that all, or even a great portion of those interested in the cultivation of the potatoe throughout the world, plant too late or too early, or fail to gather and store the harvest in its season. This theory will do, there- fore, for a district, but not for the whole temperate zone. The same reasoning will hold good of the effects of soils, manures, and seasons. These have their influences; they are partial and local; but any- considerable and general fail- ure may be prevented by care. It is hardly credible that they, or any of them, should, for a long series of years, exert the same baleful influence, every where. Besides, if this were the case, would this influence be confined to the potatoe alone, of all the vegetable kingdom? Do we hear of any: epidemic or general disease of any other vegetable? We do, indeed, hear, now and then, of a failure of the beet crop, or the crop of apples, here and there; but the next year makes _ all right again, and if fruit fails in New England, we get it from New York and Jersey. The world is not an Egypt, The Potatoe Plague. 49 where the entire vegetation may be destroyed by too wet or too dry a season. ; These attempts to trace a general effect to partial causes appear to me very like the deductions drawn from the pre- tended rules of phrenology. I examine astranger’s head, and find the bump of destructiveness, for example, fearfully prom- inent. I therefore pronounce him a dangerous person; buty. on inquiry, I learn that he is a man of remarkably benign and quiet temperament. “That.” says the phrenological the-. orist, “is because his organs of benevolence and reverence are equally developed, and neutralize his destructiveness.” What practical use can be cut out of a science that defines no limits or proportions ? In like manner, “one intelligent farmer (we quote from. the report above mentioned,) on his own farm, where the soil was porous, lost none of a crop yielding two thousand bushels ; while of a field he purchased on a neighboring farm, where the soil was clayey, and retained much water, he lost the greater part of the crop.” Hence he argues that the soil and season together caused the injury, and so, undoubtedly they: did ; but, supposing there had been a drouth, the seed plant- ed in clay must have fared best. No general rule can be deduced from any such success or failure. From this and the concurrences of many other like instances, however, I draw the inference that a light soil is more congenial to the potatoe family, generally, than a heavy one. Another.set of theorists attribute the potatoe disease to flies, or other insects. These, however, as far as satisfacto- rily observed, appear to be tio other than have been always found upon the potatoe, without producing any injurious effects. They are the common aphis or vegetable louse, and flies which confine their ravages to the leaves. It might be argued in favor, or rather in disfavor of these parasites, that, by injuring the leaves, they deprive the tuber of its proper 5 50 The Potatoe Plague. nourishment; but this will not at all account for the decay of roots dug in an apparently healthy state, after being stored. Again, we have a goodly array of proofs that insects of dif- ferent kinds are found in the diseased potatoe, both in the tops and the tubers; but it is by no means sure that they are the cause of the disease; on the contrary it seems highly probable that they are generated by it. This theory has, comparatively, few supporters, and does not seem to be con- sidered entitled to much consideration by the learned in such matters. A third theory, of which Doctor Hitchcock, of Amherst, is the most prominent supporter, attributes the universal sick- ness of the potatoe to “atmospheric agency, too subtle for the cognizance of our senses, like those which bring such epi- demics as the influenza and the cholera over particular dis- tricts or continents? Modern science,” he adds, “ has shown us that many of the most powerful agencies of nature are concealed from common and even acute observation. May there not be others, yet undiscovered, which deeply affect the delicate machinery of organic life?” Aye, truly may there; and there may be a sixth sense, and a measure to infinity, and a limit to time and eternity. It is much easier to ask than to answer questions, and, when they relate to things confessedly beyond or above human intelligence, it is hardly worth while to ask them. There may, nay, there must be a cause for the yellow fever, and the cholera, and the potatoe plague; but if it is not within the capacity of the senses, it is hardly worth while to grope for it. Ido not mean to undervalte inquiry, of any kind; but it seems to me that it is time enough to seek the transcenden- tal causes of an effect, when the visible, tangible, and palpable ones have been thoroughly examined. It is not proved, — there is no evidence beyond conjecture, that yellow fever or cholera is dependent or consequent on atmospheric agency ; ——— | The Potatoe Plague. dl neither do I see any reason even to guess such a cause of the potatoe plague. A great number of experimentalists contend that the potar toe rot is attributable to the fermentation of animal manure, and it strikes me, forcibly, that the rapid, malignant rot of a great proportion of the lost crops, may justly be attributed to this cause. More instances where the result of this mode of treatment has proved fatal to the plant are adduced than of any other. I cannot altogether withhold credence from such a mass of concurrent testimony. Wherever potatoes have been manured with animal matter, and especially barn- yard manure, in the hill, and when they have been planted before such compost has been allowed to disintegrate and as- similate with the soil, the rot seems to have been the inyaria- ble consequence. On the other hand, it appears that the disease seldom appears on virgin soil, or newly broken sward land. I the more incline to the belief that this theory is more extensively corroborated in practice than any of those I have thus far noticed, from the fact that, of the potatoes treated with animal manure, those which lie nigh the outside of the hill are found best and soundest, while those in the centre, among the manure, are most specked and rotten. It is not conclusive, however, that the disease can be stop- ped by planting on new or sward land, inasmuch as potatoes dug from such land sound, have often been found to rot after storing, so as to have been entirely lost before spring. Neith- er does this solution of the mystery suffice, even partially, to account for the extent of the injury in other countries; for we do not know how potatoes are manured there, or whether they are manured at all. All that can be predicated on the evidence before us is, that manuring with new animal matter is calculated to cause loss and injury. There is yet another theory that I feel bound to notice in this connection, inasmuch as it is advanced by a very intelli- gent gentleman, (Mr. Teschemacher, of Boston,) as the result 52 The Potatoe Plague. of a series of scientific experiments made by him. He has detected in the potatoe the growth of a fungus analogous te the mushroom family. It is usually seen as a green mould, and is often found in the cores of apples and the interior of nutshells. The seeds are invisible to the naked eye, easily carried about by the wind, and penetrate wherever the air ean enter. Their extensive dissemination is, therefore, easy. When they fatl on the potatoe, in circumstances favorable to germination, the blight, or decay, is the consequence. The dry rot in timber proceeds from an analogous cause. Though maintained by several learned men, I do not deem this theory a very probable one. It is rather difficult to con- ceive a fungus alighting on the tops of a plant and thence growing its subterranean way downward to the tuber; and, when arrived there, if it ever does so arrive, there is no con- clusive testimony that it produces decay. That a parasite vegetable can live and propagate itself in the capillary ves- sels of another vegetable, is a supposition extraordinary, to say the least ; and, if it descend the outside of the stalk to the tuber, how does it penetrate the skin and first appear, where one would naturally least expect to find it, in the heart of the potatoe? This theory has, at least, the merit of novelty, to recommend it; but I cannot concede it my belief without fur- ther evidence. It appears to me much more likely that the potatoe fungus, like the supposititious potatoe fly, is an acces- sary after the fact; a consequence, and not a cause of the disease. There are other some, who ascribe the potatoe plague to the occurrence of a honey dew, a thing which, it appears, was known to the ancients; but is certainly so little known to the moderns that I am sure they will not take it as an affront that I tell them what it is. Early in the mornings of May or June, after a long drought, in Carolina, and after a succession of warm days and cool nights, there is found on the leaves of plants a fluid like The Potatoe Plague. 53 diluted honey, transparent, and tasting like the syrup of re- fined sugar. It thickens as the sun rises, and ceases to be fluid by ten or eleven o’clock. I leave it to the reader’s ingenuity to discover how the honey dew of Carolina can afilict the poor potatoes of Yan- keedom, where it has not been seen for a hundred years, if ever, and how a disease that originated thirty years ago, in Kurope, certainly, and probably in Ireland, should at last have found its primal cause among the alligators of North America. This theory seems to me too absurd to demand serious refutation. Having now stated what I believe but partially and what I do not believe at all, the reader is, perhaps, desirous to know what I do believe. I say, I have no theory but nature’s, but that which is consistent with experience and common sense, but that will account for the potatoe plague, in all its phases, whenever and wherever it may appear; and which, while it detects the cause of the disease, also prescribes the remedy. But, firstly, There are some things certain, for which I ask no man to take my word, and which it may be of advantage to all to learn, viz: — ' 1. The disease is not confined to any particular kind of soil or to any locality. Some assert that it pertains exclu- sively to dry soil; others as stoutly maintain that it belongs only to wet. 2. It does not exclusively affect any particular kind or kinds of potatoes. : 3. The affected potatoes, like other diseased vegetables, are unwholesome, if not poisonous. 4. Decomposition proceeds more rapidly among the infect- ed potatoes, when placed in a heap; whence I do not infer, as many others do, that it is best to defer digging till late in the Fall. 5* 54 The Potatoe Plague. It is an undenied, uncontroverted, uncontrovertible and “undeniable fact that, in both the animal and vegetable king- ‘doms, between which there is a close analogy, every stock ‘propagated for a Iong course of years within itself, exhausts fits vital energies and deteriorates. This has been known to ‘all nations, in all ages; this is the reason of the wise prohi- ‘bition of the intermarriages between near relatives; this is ‘the cause of the deterioration of most of the reigning families in Europe; and hence it is that there are no more heroes among the Bourbons, or wise men among the Guelphs. The intermarrying cretins and cagots have transmitted their taint- ed blood to a race of dwarfs and idiots, and — but why need ‘I multiply instances? —every practical farmer and sports- man knows the inevitable consequence of “breeding in and in,” and breeding from defective specimens. And this dete- rioration is as true and certain in the vegetable kingdom. “The scrub oaks, and dry, short grass of the western prairies attest it. That the potatoe is not exempt from this inherent tendency to deterioration, I shall cite two, among a thousand evidences. For thirty years, or more, this disease has been making slow and insidious progress in Europe; but it is not until quite lately that it has excited any alarm on this continent. What does this show, if not, that the old stocks of Europe, having had time to exhaust their vital energies, have at last fallen into inevitable decay, which is but beginning among ‘the younger stocks of America? The once famous apple potatoe of Ireland, for a long series of years the pride and boast of the island, at last showed such signs of decay that the cultivation of it was entirely abandoned. This happened some years ago, and the rest of the Irish stocks appear to be now further advanced in the same Broeress, | In another famous potatoe growing country, Nova Scotia, the progress of the diseasé, and its arrest, speak volpmes in The Potatoe Plague. 55 proof of the truth of this theory. For many years it pervad- ed particular farms, sometimes appearing in tle stalk, long before the potatoe had arrived at maturity ; sometimes after it was harvested and put into the cellar. and what shows con- clusively that this was caused by reproducing from the same, and from defective seed, is, that after ineffectually trying many other remedies, the suffering farmers hit upon the true one. They planted the balls, and thus procured new seed, which, in two or three years, came to full size and maturity, and were proof to the prevailing disease. A writer who appears to understand this subject, (the edi- tor of the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser,) says, “The latter opinion in Scotland, Germany, Sweden and Russia, is, that, by long propagation, without recurring to the natural seed of the plant, it has lost a portion of its vital power, and hence is extremely prone to blight, to rust and to rot.” Now, though there are several varieties, and good ones, which produce no balls or blossoms, it is not thence positively to be inferred that they have lost none of- their vital power. The old age of a stock comes on gradually, and these, it is probable, though they have not reached the stage of visible decay, are not far from it. Neither does the fact that some new varieties have suffered more than some old ones, militate very strongly against my position, unless it can be proved that the said new varieties, were not only from seed of a new stock, but seed of a healthy and perfect quality. It does ap- pear that entirely new varieties, and seed obtained from new countries have, on the whole, suffered much less than old ones. It is self-evident that, as sickly and weakly parents are seldom blessed with strong and healthy offspring, so neither will imperfect seed produce perfect, thriving plants. I there- fore recommend, where seed is suspected, to come to the root of the evil, as did the agriculturists of Ireland, in the 56 The Potatoe Plague. matter of the apple potatoe, and as the Nova Scotians do; by rejecting it altogether. The potatoes planted should be of good size, and not cut into small pieces. You may as well expect a vigorous blade of corn from a diminutive, shrivelled grain, as a strong plant froma small potatoe. There never was a more fatal error than the common one that “ any pota toes are good enough for planting.” It is confidently asserted by many writers, and I believe it to be true from by own experience and observation, that the weakness of the seed is usually caused by over-ripeness; that is, by coming to full maturity before being taken from the ground. The best potatoe growers dig their seed potatoes before they have quite completed their growth. They are full of sap, and remain so. From the fact that they are too waxy for the table, they are the fitter for seed. Seed pota- toes should not be of a mealy quality, nor should they be stored so that they will heat, or be kept out of the ground long after they are cut for planting. : It does not follow that all potatoes of what are called new ‘ varieties are necessarily equally new. Some of them may have gone through more generations than others. I have been forcibly struck with the truth, as it seems to me, that most varieties now in vogue are actually dying slowly of old age, the principles of decay being more or less quickened by unfavorable seasons or unskillful management. ‘The chenan- go, for example, has been among the longest cultivated by farmers, and has been, perhaps, the most affected by disease. English whites and reds have not suffered so much, being of a hardier constitution ; but they, too, have, for years, been showing symptoms of decay. Perhaps the wisest course , universally, would be to obtain new varieties from the seed, or to resort to the wild South American original. CHAPTER f. Some Account of the Appearance of the Disease in Different parts of the World, and the Means taken to arrest tts Progress. Tue British Government have issued a commission to proceed to Ireland, for the purpose of examining into the eauses of the disease. The commission consists of Profes- sors Kane, Lindley and Playfair. Their first report, directed merely towards improper methods of storing the crop, has been published by the Irish government, and distributed by ‘means of the constabulary, through the whole country. In Ireland the official inquiry is essentially aided by the important evidence collected by various diligent inquirers, especially by the Royal Irish Agricultural Improvement Society, a most zealous and useful association, and the officers of the Royal Dublin Society. In England the Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. Edward, Jolley, are occupied with a mi- nute investigation of the subject for the Horticultural Society, in the mycological and chemical points of view ; and in Scot- land the Agricultural Chemistry Association have put forth a circular inviting the public to subscribe five hundred pounds for the expense of an entomologico, botanicc, chemico prac- tical examination of the matter. The following is the report above alluded to: 58 The Potatoe Plague. Board Room, Royal Dublin Society, 24th October, 1845. My Lorp,— We, the undersigned Commissioners, ap- pointed by Her Majesty’s Government to report to your Excellency on the state of disease in the potatoe crop, and on the means of its prevention, have the honor to inform your Excellency that we are pursuing our inquiries with unremit- ting attention. We are fully sensible of the important and difficult nature of the inquiry, and therefore are unwilling to offer, at the present moment, any final recommendations, as we are still receiving evidence, and awaiting the results of various ex- periments now in progress. But at the same time we ought to state to your Excellency that we have reason to hope that the progress of the disease may be retarded by the applica- tion of simple means, which we trust may appear worthy of adoption, until we are enabled to offer further recom- mendations. In the present communication we avoid entering into any account of the origin or nature of the disease; but we would particularly direct attention to the ascertained facts, that moisture hastens its progress, and that it is capable of being communicated to healthy potatoes when they are in contact with such as are already tainted. A knowledge of these facts, determined, as they have been, by experiment, and agreeing with the scientific information obtained as to the causes and nature of the disease, lead us to propose the adop- tion of the following plan for diminishing the evils arising from the destructive malady : In the event of a continuance of dry weather, and in soils tolerably dry, we recommend that the potatoes should be al- lowed, for the present, to remain in the land; but if wet weather intervene, or if the soil be naturally wet, we consider that they should be removed from the ground without delay. OO The Potatoe Plague. 59 ” ‘When the potatoes are dug out of the ground, we are de- cidedly of opinion that they should not be pitted in the usual way, as the circumstances under which potatoes are placed in ordinary pits are precisely those which tend to hasten their decay. We recommend that potatoes when dug should be spread over the field, and not collected into heaps, and if the weather continue dry and free from frost that they should be allowed to lie upon the field for a period of time not exceeding three days. The potatoes, after being thus dried and improved in their power of resisting disease by the means proposed, should then be sorted, by carefully separating those which show any tendency to decay. Those potatoes which appear to be sound should then be placed about two inches apart in a layer, and over each layer of potatoes should be placed a layer of turf ashes, or dry turf mould, or dry sand, or burned clay, to the depth of a few inches. Thus will be formed a bed of potatoes, each potatoe being completely separated from the other by a dry absorptive material; upon this bed, another layer of potatoes should be spread in like manner, and be also covered with the dry materials employed; as many as four layers may thus be placed one above the other, and when the heap is completed, it should be covered with dry clay, straw, heath, or any other material adapted to protect it from rain. ’ In the event of the weather becoming wet these recom- mendations are not applicable. In that case we would advise that the potatoes be packed in small heaps, with either straw or heath interposed, and well covered ; in such a situation they would become as well dried as seems practicable under the cireumstanees. Where outbuildings exist, it would be ad- visable that this mode of temporary packing should be carried on in those places. If there be no outhouses the heaps may 60 The Potatoe Plague. be left in the open field. We, however, particularly recom- mend that potatoes should not be removed into inhabited rooms. With regard to the treatment of potatoes already attacked with the disease, we have to state that in this early stage of our investigation we do not fvel justified in proposing to your Excellency any mode of positive treatment, — this subject we reserve for a future report; but we may remark that expo- sure to light and dryness, in all cases, retards the progress of alterations, such as the disease in question, and we therefore suggest that all such potatoes should; as far as possible, be so treated. We do not mean to represent that these recommendations, if carried into effect, will prevent the occurrence of disease in potatoes, but we feel assured that the decay will extend less rapidly and less extensively under these circumstances than if the potatoes, when taken from the ground, be at once pitted in the usual manner. Neither do we offer these suggestions, to your Excellency as a final means of securing the crop, but merely as a method of retarding the progress of an enemy whose history and habits are yet but imperfectly known, whilst we endeavor to ascertain the means of more com- pletely counteracting its injurious effects, if any such ean be discovered. All which we submit to your Excellency’s consideration, — and remain your Excellency’s obedient and faithful servants, Rogvert Kane, Joun LInpDiey, Lyon PuLayratr. In France, the French Academy of Arts and Sciences deputed M. Charles Morren, of Liege, to examine into the cause of the potatoe rot. Mr. Morren is a foreigner, and his selection by the French, for this inquiry, is a sufficient guar- ‘The Potatoe Plague. 61° antee for his talents and ability. . This gentleman states the result of his investigation to be, that the rot is caused by a JSungus, the spores or seeds of which exist in vast quantities in the atmosphere, and this opinion has been generally re- ceived as true by the best informed circles in Europe. But the letter is a document so important to the present question, as conveying the prevailing opinions that are entertained om this subject in Europe, that we quote it below. Mr. Morren, after stating that the evil has prevailed in: Belgium for several years, though to a far less alarming” degree than at present, proceeds : “The real cause of the evil is a fungus, or sort of mush-- room, which the learned will classify under the genus botrydis, but which agriculturists, without further specification, will call’ a spot, or blemish, or blotches. This mushroom is of ex-: treme tenuity, but it breeds amazingly, and reproduces itself by thousands. Its stems are formed of little, straight, hollow’ threads, which bear on their summits one or more branches, always divided into two, and at the end of these branches reproductive bodies are found, which have the form of eggs, but which are scarcely the hundredth part of a millimetre im size. It will be said that this is a very small body to do so much mischief; but I answer that the 7tch is not a disease: the less to be feared because the acarve which produces it can only be seen by the aid of the microscope. After the formation of the yellow spot, and the develope- ment of the botrydis on the leaf of the potatoe, the stalk receives the deleterious influence. Here and there its epi- dermis turns brown, blackens, and, following with the micro- scope the phases of the evil, you perceive that it is by the rind that the stalk is attacked. The morbid agent carries its action from the rind on the epidermis, and though this last > does not always disclose mushrooms, it is not the less for that struck with death. 6 62 The Potatoe Plague. The infection soon descends into the tubercle itself. If the disease follows its course, the tubercle mortifies forthwith. A potatoe is not a root, but a branch, whence it follows that a tubercle contains a marrow, which is the eatable part to be preferred, and a separate rind ; between the marrow and the rind there is a zone of vessels, which represent wood. This construction is apparent to any one who chooses jo cut a thin slice of potatoe, and place it between his eye and the day light. The infection attacks that part which receives the sap on its descent. By following the progress of the evil upon a great number of tainted tubercles, I have been able to see how the evil, by one continuous, progress, at length reaches the heart itself of the potatoe, and corrupts the vegetable entirely. The skin of the diseased potatoe comes off easily; the flesh cracks under the knife: a flatulent liquid drips from the potatoe; a musty, and presently an animal smell, analogous to the smell of mushrooms recently cut, manifests itself,. and occasions considerable nausea. My * Bes The evil being traced to its source, the cultivator must direct all his attention to the destruction of the fungus, or mushroom, for it is unfortunately but too true that all the parasites of this genus once introduced into a country, remain there and propagate. This year the epidemic has been gen- eral; the germ exists every where: millions upon millions of. propagules, if their numbers are not diminished this year, will next year attack the plants, and then it will be more difficult to eradicate the scourge. It is essential to adopt the following precaution : When the leaves are decidedly spoilt, cut down the vines forthwith, and burn them on the spot, instead of taking them. away. When certain varieties or certain localities are free from the scourge at the time of the harvest, it is always prudent to The Potatoe Plague. 63 burn the leaves, for a field may appear secure from the botrydis, when it is not so; several leaves are attacked; these leaves throw the propagule on to the tubercles, which, if preserved for the purposes of reproduction, will spread the plague the following year. ; If the potatoes themselves are attacked, it is essential to separate as speedily as may“be, the potatoes that are tainted from those that are not. Turn the sound ones over to account as soon as possible, for they are not noxious so long as the rind does not become yellow. The diseased ones should be burnt. As it is probable that the tubercles preserved for seed will be infected with the spawn of the mushroom, it would be ad- visable for cultivators who can, to procure tubercles for reproduction from places where the present scourge is anknown. In case of using for reproduction the tubercles of crops visited by the plague this year, it will be necessary to sub- mit them, previous to planting, to the agency of lime, as it is practised with wheat and all plants that are liable to invasion by parasitical bodies. The process ought to be by the im- mersion of the tubercles in lime water. Fifty pounds of lime, a quarter of a pound of sulphate of copper, and six pounds of marine salt, for twenty-five quarts of water, consti- tute a preparation, the utility of which, in the destruction of parasite vegetation, has been experienced by a great number of well-informed cultivators. ' In the plantations of the spring of 1846, it is essential to plant potatoes in fields as far as possible removed from those actually infected this year, to avoid the danger from the retention in the soil of the spawn of the fungus. The use of lime and manure salt, with a slight mixture of sulphate of copper, is, as I have already said, of acknowl- edged efficacy in the destruction of parasite germs. Conse- o «64 The Potatoe Plague. quently, to powder over with such a mixture, a soil in which diseased potatoes have grown, is a good operation for destroy- ing in that land the germs of the scourge. The operation ought to be recommended everywhere. The storing of potatoes from fields that have this year been attacked by the scourge, in cellars, caves, &c., will certainly be to deposit the spawn of the mushroom in those very places. They should, therefore, before receiving the potatoes, be thoroughly cleansed, and scoured with lime, or ground char- coal scattered over the bottom, (and on the potatoes as they are stored,) which will conclude the series of operations, the most rational and the most certain for destroying, if possible, the evil at its root. C. H. Morren, Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences. Liege, August 14, 1845.” The Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, sixth vol- ume, contains an article on “ The prevention of curl and dry rot in potatoes,” by H. S. Thompson, which is valuable and interesting as it contains the result of extensive observation and experiments on the subject, for the, last five years. The editor of the New England Farmer thinks that “the disease therein described is analogous, if not ideatical with the one so prevalent in many sections of our own country,” and, he adds, “it may vary in its effects in different soils, seasons, or climates.” Mr. Thompson commences his article by first mentioning the results to which he has been led, which are: “That curl and dry rot are caused by leaving the pota- toes intended for seed in the ground until ripe, and that, on the other hand, these diseases may be prevented by taking up the seed potatoes whilst the tubers are unripe and the tops still green.” 1840. “Having had my attention strongly drawn to the The Potatoe Plague. 65 failure in the potatoe crop,’ says Mr. Thompson, “I paid more than ordinary attention to the selection of seed, and in 1840 planted sixteen acres with potatoes, making choice of two kinds of round red varieties, both of them new to my land. The gentleman from whom I obtained them, having two farms, one of stiff, the other of light land,—had changed his sets regularly from one to the other. I planted them on a sandy loam, which was in a high state of cultivation, and my reason for planting it with potatoes was solely because I was aware if sown with corn it would be so lodged as to be nearly worthless. They were planted in the last week in April. I naturally expected a heavy crop, but was much disappointed, -as symptoms of curl soon appeared. This increased, and though few of the plants perished, nearly the whole were unhealthy. Iwas so much surprised at the appearance of curl that I watched and examined the plants at several periods of their growth, taking up roots here and there wherever I observed one either better or worse than its neighbors. The appearance of all those affected was nearly the same. The set, as long as the weather was dry, crum- bled and perished, —the disease seeming to proceed from certain spots or pits as centres, and gradually destroying the whole set. The cut sets were the worst, and the decay always commenced from the cut side of the set, but the whole ones also suffered. As soon as the weather became wet, these appearances changed, and the diseased portion of the set resembled a sponge, which after a short time became black and offensive. The effect on the plant was well marked. Wherever the disease had made a decided impression on the set, the stalks of the plant were marked with brown streaks and patches, and evidently showed that the juices which they were con- ducting from the set were vitiated and noxious. The part of the stalk to which I directed my attention was that under- 6* 66 The Potatoe Plague. ground, in which it was easy to trace the progress of the disease, from their being white and nearly transparent. “Wherever the stalk was curled, I found the sets diseased. In 10 APPENDIX. TABLE Of the number of sets of potatoes, and total weight of the same, required for planting an acre at the following dis- tances; each set containing a single eye and weighing half an ounce ; the distance between the sets in the rows being nine inches. No. of sets per acre. |Weight of sets per acre. cwt. Ibs. Rows 18 in. apart 38.720 10 90° eT puke eae 36.682 10 26 a i he ad 34.848 9 81 SOB Seeah ves 33.188 9. 29 GUS a: ae 31.680 8 94 Crs Oe 30.302 8 50 ea 29.040 ef one eee 27.874 Tou pita ea a 26.806 Tae er ee ee 25.813 7 22 as es 24.891 6 105 AR ire ea 24.033 6. 7 pi | Dama: 23.232 6 54 On poor soil, eighteen inches between the rows may be considered a proper distance, as may likewise be the case On Planting Potatoes. 111 with early weak-stemmed varieties on any soil. And according to the vigor of the stems, richness and depth of soil, the dis- tance may be increased to thirty inches, which is wide enough for the strongest growers, even on rich soil. It is to be remarked that in some varieties the eyes are not abundant. With regard to such the above number of sets will not be obtained from the corresponding weights; but in general it will be practicable, provided sound eyed tubers can be employed.—Robert Thompson. ON PLANTING CUT AND UNCUT POTATOES FOR SEED. AN important point which potatoe growers have taken for experiment is the difference in produce where whole tubers and cut sets are employed. There is a great difference of opinion on this subject. A good many farmers are in favor of using whole tubers. One cultivator says: “I always use whole potatoes, which insures a tolerable crop in all seasons, preventing dry rot in hot weather, and rottenness in wet weather, which cut pota- toes are so liable to.” A Leicestershire farmer says, that after many years experience he has discontinued planting cut sets, and substitutes whole tubers, selecting small ones, but not the smallest; he adds, that adopting this rule, he has had an excellent crop this year, and the tubers are extraordinarily . large. A farmer near Birmingham finds his cut sets a total failure, and another gives a decided preference for whole potatoes, the poor people having lost almost all their cut sets, while their whole potatoes stood the long drought. [From the Genessee Farmer. ] Mr. Tucker, —I planted last spring, three acres of pota- toes. One half of the ground was ploughed in the fall of Potatoes for Seed. 113 1837, and the other in the spring of 1838—the whole a clover pasture in 1837. ‘The part ploughed in the spring had sixty large wagon loads of straw from the barn yard put on and turned well under the sod — that part ploughed in the fall was well harrowed and cultivated and then furrowed shallow, and the seed dropped in drills, and fifteen loads of straw and sheep manure, taken from the sheep sheds, put in the hills over the potatoes. This piece was decidedly better than the first mentioned. The ground was naturally moist, and the excessive rains of the springs washed and drowned the seed very bad, so as to destroy more than a half acre, on part of which I planted on the 4th of July early white beans, from which I harvested three bushels of sound beans. Yet notwithstanding the bad season and rains,.I harvested seven hundred and fifty-five bushels of potatoes, mostly pink eyes, the remainder a flesh colored (not the Sardinia,) which I call long keepers, from their being a better potatoe for sum- mer’s use than the pink eye. But the object of this commu- nication is to give you the result of my experiment in 1838, on the quantity of seed required. Row. In each hill. Yield. Qual. 1 planted 1 whole large pink eye 413 Ibs. 8 2 2 middle size 42 10 3 1 do. 411 5 4 2 halves 321 9 5 t*"de! 393 3 6 2 quarters 253 4 7 1. “do. 373 1 8 1 very small 405 2 9 2 do. 41 6 10 large potatoes cut in § and drilled 39 7 10* 114 Potatoes for Seed. The above yield was obtained from rows 14 rods long and ‘3 feet between the hills each way (measured, not guessed at.) ‘The quality numbered according to size, No. 7, decidedly the ‘best, and No. 2 had but few large enough to cook. I ‘have for seven years assorted my potatoes at the time of digging, and fed the small ones to my hogs, and then in the spring I again select a few bushels of the largest, and ‘best-shaped ones, and plant by themselves and save my seed for the next year from the product of those selected, and tn ‘no event planting a potatoe that the women had left as too small to cook. The above, I think, will sufficiently account for the good yield and quality of No. 8. I do not believe, with Solon Robinson, that whole potatoes are better than cut ones. If any person would give me the seed if I would plant whole pink eye potatoes, I would not take it, preferring to use a half one of my own raising. I- have just received an order for 40 bushels of pink eye potatoes for seed, from a gen- tleman in this county, to whom I sold the same quantity last spring, in which he says, “the potatoes I had of you last spring, were planted according to your direction on four acres of ground, and I have harvested over 1200 bushels the finest I ever saw, and I prefer purchasing seed of. you to planting those raised on my own ground.” By persevering in the above practice of saving seed we have increased the size of our pink eye potatoes one third, and the yield has nearly doubled. I remain, yours, &c., S. Porter RHODEs. Skaneateles, Feb. 18, 1839. [From the Maine Farmer.] Mr. Hormrs, — Sir, I propose giving the result of experi- ments which I made the past season on seeding the potatoes. Potatoes for Seed. 115 Perhaps your readers remember I last spring promised to make such experiments and communicate the results to the Farmer. I carefully selected a piece of ground of even soil, consist- ing of 16 rows of 20 hills each. I manured it in the hill as evenly as possible. I then weighed the seed and planted eight rows, commencing on one side, each row with different seed, in the order observed in the tables below. I then planted the eight remaining rows, commencing on the other side in the same grder, so that if my experiment ground were better on one side than it were on the other I should be likely, from a combined experiment, to obtain a fair result. I shall give the results of the experiments separately, that your readers may see there exists a similarity in them. I dug, counted, and weighed separately, the product of each row, and after deducting the weight of the seed, as was very important in order to arrive at a correct conclusion, as the weight of the seed varied from 7} to 19} lbs. I found the result exactly as follows. . First EXpPErrRIMeEnt. Weight. No. per 60 lbs. Seed ends, _ 54 74 Middles, 493 316 Buts, 58 317 Large whole, 674 286 Small whole, 623 241 Cut longintudinally 57 234 Double seed, 56 329 Drills, 614 310 116 Potatoes for Seed. Sreconp ExprrriIMENT. Weight. No. per 60 Ibs: Seed ends, 55 282 Middles, 512 318 Buts, 55 339 Large whole, 552 275 Small whole, 49} 287 Cut longitudinally, 61 274 Double seed, 51 Y 340 Drills, 913 324 ComBINED RESULTS. Seed ends, 109 278 Middles, 1013 317 Buts, 113 328 Large whole, 122} 280 Small whole, i ae 264 Cut longitudinally, 118 254 Double seed, 107 334 Drills, 124° 317 If your readers feel the interest in following out these experiments and reducing them to practice which I felt in making them they will do it. [From the Albany Cultivator. ] There is hardly any crop about the management ef which a greater diversity of opinions exisis than this —— whether we regard soil, seed, or mode of planting and culture. The Brit- ish Board of Agriculture, with a view to ascertain the best mode of managing the potatoe crop, addressed a number of "thie a teeta 4 Potatoes for Seed. 117 queries to the principal farmers in the kingdom, calculated to elicit the facts necessary to determine this point. The circu- lar and the answers were published ina large quarto volume, together with the report of the committee charged with the arrangement and publication of the facts. The statements are so variant, that the committee were unable to recommend any particular practice, as that which was most successful in one case, proved defective in other cases. The only impor- tant fact settled by the inquiry was, that potatoes differ very materially, in some cases fifty per cent., in their nutritive properties, a consideration as material for the stall as for the table. Since the date of that publication, however, very nice experiments have been made in Great Britain, particularly in Scotland, and by Mr. Knight, and also in the United States. From these we draw the following conclusions : > 1. That in this latitude the potatoe is better, both as to pro- duce and flavor, when grown on a moist and cool, than when grown on a warm and dry soil— better on a moderately loose and friable, than on a hard and compact soil. 2. That they do better on a grass lay than on stubble — and better with a long or unfermented manure, than with short muck. 3. That medium sized whole tubers give a better crop than sets of very large tubers. 4. That drills or rows should be adapted to the growth of the tops, and the condition of the soil—the small growing tops nearer, and those having larger tops farther apart — so that the sun may not be excluded from the intervals; and where the soil is stiff, or the sod tough, hills are considered preferable to driils. 5. That if the ground be well prepared, and the seed well covered, they are not benefited by heavy earthing ; and that plowing among them, or earthing them, after they come in bloom, is prejudicial. 118 Potatoes for Seed. 6. That the kinds best for the table, are also best for farm stock, containing a larger portion of nutriment than inferior kinds. While upon this subject, we will mention that our friend, Capt. Joab Centre, who some tome ago left plowing of the deep for plowing of the glebe, has invented a potatoe plow, which is said greatly to facilitate the gathering of the crop. As soon as we become satisfied of its utility from our personal knowledge, we intend to give a cut and description of it. a> i oS 8) qi y