STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 195 



In view of the importance of the potato crop; that the loss of 

 it would be felt in every family in the land; I offer for your con- 

 sideration the following suggestion: 



That one principal cause, however combined with other causes, 

 is the exhaustion of the vegetative powers of the plant, from fre- 

 quent propagation from cuttings. 



Let us see if we have any facts to substantiate this. 



The first knowledge we have of any disease was in Germany in 

 1842, when the blight appeared. We have reason to believe that 

 it was the practice to propagate from whole tubers for nearly three 

 hundred years or up to the time of the introduction of the Rohan 

 in 1837, when the practice of cutting to single eyes commenced. 

 When the Rev. Mr. Goodrich introduced his seedlings, he ad- 

 vised cutting to single eyes ; and Mr. Breese's King of the Earlies 

 were sold at $5 a single eye. Seedmen told us to divide the eye, 

 and offered premiums to those who raised the most from a pound 

 of seed. Is not this re-attempted, and is it not the universal prac- 

 tice to-day? It is a fact that in the vegetable as well as the ani- 

 mal kingdom, nature provides the means for its own propagation. 

 In dividing the tuber, using only a portion of the matured food, 

 we necessarily weaken the plant. Weak parents beget weak off- 

 spring ; and disease attacks the weakest. 



If we require further proof, take the history of the Burbank 

 Potato, the latest new variety in the market. When introduced, 

 it seemed as healthy and vigorous as the White Elephant does 

 to-day. Three years ago it showed the first symptoms of disease, 

 weakness ; the next season it failed, and as it was more largely 

 planted than any other variety, I attribute the loss of our crop in 

 this State more to its failure than the dry season. 



If these facts are established, we have only to resort to the prac- 

 tice of planting the whole tuber, cutting out and rejecting unnec- 

 essary eyes. This method, I believe, would soon restore the 

 potato to its normal healthy condition. 



The Secretary. I met the writer of this paper at the Western 

 New York Fair, at Rochester, in September last. He was exhib- 

 ing one hundred and fifty varieties of potatoes in one collection, 

 all, as I understood it, of his own growing. I think his ideas on 

 the cause of disease in the potato are entitled to serious considera- 

 tion. His record on White Elephants for 1882 — twenty-eight tu- 

 bers to the bushel, and one 3^ pound specimen, is respectfully re- 

 ferred to Wyman Elliot. 



