596 



] oiirnal of Agriciiltiin 



[lo Sept.. 1909. 



An Original Account of the Blight. 

 Under the title of " The Potato Murrain " the following account from 

 the Illustrated London Nezvs of 29th August, 1846, is of great interest at 

 this juncture. It often happens that the first onset of a new disease is the 

 most disastrous — another reason why our efforts should not be relaxed : — 



THE POTATO PLANT (l''rom ///. Lon. News). 



" Never was witnessed a more important result, springing from a seemingly 

 insignificant beginning, than has been presented by the disease now ravaging the- 

 potato-fields of all quarters of the earth. No one could have imagined that a 

 rot which appeared in this crop in the island of St. Helena, in the year 1S40, was 

 the ' small s])eck ' on the horizon which would become the forerunner of a 

 calamity as fatal to the potato as Asiatic cholera to man ; and still less that a 

 few blotches on the leaves of this exotic plant were the heralds of political danger 

 so extensive as to affect the whole commercial policy of England Such, however, 

 has been the course of events, and justifies our presenting our readers with some 

 information on this singular subject. 



" The Potato plant is naturally found wild on the mountains of Chili, and 

 ]ierhaps of Peru, whence its cultivation has spread into surrounding countries. . . . 

 It is said that as much as 40,000 lbs. weight of potaoes has been 



