110 FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 



Seeing, then, that v;e cannot hope to be "wholly free of the disease, the question 

 arises ■whether the rot is likeh' ever asrain to become as destructive as in the past. 

 The disease is not an insign'ficant affair to be ignored. This frail and almost 

 invisible parasite has, it is estimated, caused in Ireland alone, a little island of 

 rocks and bogs, no larger than the State of Michigan — to say nothing of its 

 ravages in other countries — a greater loss of life tiian all that have been lost 

 by the United States in war since the government has existed — more than ia 

 the long struggle of the revolution, in the war -with Mexico, in all the mas- 

 sacres by Indians, and all that were killed on botli sides in the great rebellion. 

 And yet, about the only record this makes in history is a row of figvires and a. 

 short paragraph in some encyclopaedia. About all that has been done by the 

 British government, which has suffered so much, toward preventing the disease, 

 has been to appoint a commission which failed to discover anything, and ta 

 award a medal to a man whose discoveries are not believed. And as for our 

 government, we never have had a potato famine ; the subject has hardly been 

 thought of. Whatever has been done toward discovering the cause of the 

 disease has been done by scientific men in the pursuit of knowledge; and about 

 all that has been discovered in the way of remedies has been by those who grow 

 potatoes for a living. 



Slill, it is not probable that in this country we shall ever see as great destruc- 

 tion from the potato rot as has occurred in the past. Our climate, on the whole, 

 is less favorable to the disease than that of the countries in which it has been 

 most destructive. The variety of climate in this country renders it unlikely 

 tiiat the rot will ever prevail extensively in all portions of it at any one time. 

 Modern methods of transportation enable a loss in any locality to be quickly 

 supplied, and the days of the world's great famines are probably past. But let 

 it not be forgotten that the great loss of life from the failure of the potato crop 

 wouUl not have occurred had not large bodies of people relied almost entirely 

 ou this one crop for support. Therefore, if we grow a suitable variety of other 

 crops, and remember that the rot never causes extensive disaster suddenly, but 

 shows its presence for a year or two in advance, wlien such remedies as we have- 

 may be applied, we may expect to continue to raise the potato without exces- 

 sive risk. 



Mr. Beaumont : Did Mr. Crozier say raw manure was injurious to the potato- 

 crop ? 



Mr. Crozier: Yes: in inducing scab, and also in retarding maturity. 



Prof. Beal : I have tried potato seed from South America and from Montana 

 and found both subject to rot. 



Mr. Briggs: Mr. Crozier's plan of filling spaces among potatoes \rith dry 

 earth in storing is excellent. It prevents shrivelling and enables us to keep 

 our cellars much cooler without danger of freezing 



Mr. Green: I would like to know as to the red stripe or streak in potatoes a& 

 productive of disease. 



Mr. Crozier: The red streak is not a disease lior caused by fungus. It is 

 simply a coloration often present in enfeebled plants. 



Mr. Alward : Does Mr. C. advise cutting the top to check the rot ? 



Mr Crozier: It might under particular circumstances, but I should prefer 

 digging at once. 



Mr. Beaumont : How much seed should we plant to a hill? 



Mr. Crozier: Two eyes to a hill, hills 3 feet apart. 



Mr. Clark: What part of the potato do you use for seed? 



