Jannory 22, 1874. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



73 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Jloath 



I Day I 



I of 

 Week. 



JANUAEY 22—28, 1874. 



22 

 23 

 24 

 25 

 26 

 27 



Th 



P 



S 



StJH 



M 



To 



W 



Meeting of Royal Society, 8.30 P.M. 



Length of day 8h. 38m. 



Bocconeborn, 1633. 



S Sunday after Epiphany. [ 7 p.m. 



AnniversarvMeetingof Entomological Society, 



Meeting of' Institute of Ciril Engineers, 8 p.m. 



Meotiiig of Society of Arts, 8 p.m. 



Clock ; Day 

 before of 

 Son. Tear. 



m. B. I „ 



11 54 , 22 



12 10 23 

 12 24 

 12 88 



12 51 



13 8 

 13 15 



From obserrations taken near London during forty-three years, the average day temperature of the week is 44.r ;_ and its night temperature 

 81.9 . Thegreatest heat was 66 , on the 25th, 1848, and 27th, 1801 ; sJid the lowest cold 15 , on the 25th and 27th, 18jd. The greatest fall ol ram 

 was 0.90 inch. 



THE POTATO DISEASE. 



■ PON my mind the impression produced by 

 tlie perusal of the paper on this subject in 

 connection with Earl Cathcart's prize was 

 one of surprise and disappointment. That 

 ninety-four essayists should prove to be a set 

 of mere theorists, and notliing more, upon 

 such a subject, is perfectly astounding. What 

 are those of us about who claim to be prac- 

 tical men ? Suppose we try to bring the 

 total up to a hundred by means of a few 

 papers in the Journal, and see if the plain clear teachings 

 of actual practice do not prove so solid and weighty as to 

 more than counterbalance the light superficial evidence 

 of mere assertion. 



The Potato disease is a stern reality, a decided and an 

 accepted fact, and in seeking for the best means where- 

 with to combat its evils it appears to me that there are 

 only two points upon which to base our calculations, and 

 these are — 1, The disease can be cured ; 2, The disease 

 cannot be cured. To the first I answer without the 

 shghtest hesitation — Wrong ; and to the second — Eight ; 

 for I am convinced that more good would be done, and 

 much waste of time and money avoided, if, instead of 

 seeking for an actual remedy, or trying to get rid alto- 

 gether of the disease, the attention of the investigators 

 were du-ected to superior means of culture ; to the se- 

 lection of sorts of rapid growth, early maturity, and 

 which, besides keeping sound and good till new Potatoes 

 are abundant, shall also continue in excellent condition 

 for culinary pm-poses fi-om the time of lifting in August 

 till the following June, or about ten months. This is no 

 impossible novelty — no crude theory, but is already a 

 reality. We have not even to seek for or to raise varie- 

 ties possessing such desu'able qualities, having more than 

 one of such already in our hands, and the variety which 

 may be taken as a type is that fine Potato Paterson's 

 Victoria. 



Blight-proof Potatoes are a fallacy. It is true enough 

 that certain kinds yield more slowly than others to the 

 attacks of the disease, but it is equally true that all kinds, 

 new and old, succumb, without exception, to it. It is 

 not my purpose to indulge in hostile expressions respect- 

 ing any nursery or seed firm, but I must not refrain from 

 stating that so-called blight-proof sorts have been pro- 

 cured direct from the raisers, and failed in every instance 

 to justify them in offering such kinds to the public as 

 disease-proof. I shall indeed be greatly surpi-ised if any- 

 one be found who wUl venture to submit any of the 

 varieties said to possess this merit to such a crucial test 

 as the Royal Agricultural Society's Judges very wisely 

 recommend, being convinced that the trials will serve 

 only to establish the truth of what is already a recognised 

 fact with most practical men — namely, that no Potato is 

 disease-proof. 



When the Fluke Kidney was first sent out it was sup- 

 posed that, besides the excellent qualities which rendered 

 it superior to all late-keeping sorts of that day, it possessed 



Ko. 669.-VUL. XXVI., New Seeies. 



the extraordinary merit of being blight-proof. I was serv- 

 ing under my father at the Earl of Komney's at that time, 

 and retain a lively remembrance of the excitement which 

 it caused, how eagerly it was watched, and how great the 

 disappointment proved when it failed to answer our ex- 

 pectations. Well, this sort of thing has been going on 

 ever since, and I have had most of the later introductions 

 through my hands with invariably the same results ; and 

 no later than the past season I was tempted to procure 

 a variety not altogether a new one, but which had re- 

 peatedly been brought before the public as a Wight-proof 

 sort. The result was really curious, for it proved to be 

 the only kind that suffered much from bhght, quite a 

 third of its tubers being affected ! 



Upon examination of what are asserted to be the causes 

 of disease, two only appear to me to afford matter for 

 profitable discussion. The first, and perhaps the most 

 important on the list, is "Degeneration of the tuber," 

 and the remedy recommended is the use of new sorts for 

 planting. If one could accept the proposition that dege- 

 neration of the tuber is the cause of disease, would not 

 the question immediately arise, How can so costly a re- 

 medy be appUcable in the case of those who grow Potatoes 

 for the markets '? It would, I think, be found altogether 

 impracticable for commercial purposes. What would the 

 Potato-farmers of Lincolnshire say if they were invited to 

 discard their standard sorts, and to invest capital in the 

 purchase of comparatively untried varieties ? 



Now, degeneration of the tuber whenever it occurs 

 almost always arises from the improper treatment of the 

 seed, and the recm-rence of such an evil may, therefore, 

 easily be avoided. If seed Potatoes are heaped together 

 in large quantities, and suffered to remain so during 

 winter, and to put forth long weakly sprouts, the loss of 

 tissue and stamina must be very considerable, as is clearly 

 evinced in the weakly uncertain growth, and frequent 

 failure to grow at all, so often seen. The remedy for 

 such faulty practice is obvious. As each crop is lifted, 

 select the seed with care, spread it thinly iu the_ store- 

 house, examine it frequently, and before there is any 

 risk of sprouting put the whole of them in single layers 

 on end, side by side, eyes upwards, upon trays or shelves. 

 Do not plant before the soil is in good condition, then 

 carry the seed to the drills, and plant so carefully that the 

 short, thick, sturdy sprouts, with which the tubers wiU 

 then be bristling, sustain no damage. Stir the soil well 

 between the rows, earth-up slightly, and the quick even 

 gi-owth, but more especially the great produce and early 

 maturity of the crop which will certainly follow if the 

 kinds be well selected, will afford such ample remunera- 

 tion for this careful tending as to convince the most 

 sceptical of its value and importance, not only for gardens, 

 but for the most extensive system of field-culture. I 

 have applied this method of preparing the seed in my 

 own practice for several seasons, and am so thoroughly 

 convinced of its importance, as to very safely venture 

 to assert that, combined with skilful timely culture and 

 promptitude in taking up the crop, it enables one not 

 only to escape the attacks of disease, but to obtain a mean 



No. 1321.— Vol. LI., OLD SESrES. 



