58 The Potatoe Plague. 



Board Koom, Royal Dublin Society, \ 

 24th October, 1845. J 



MY LORD, "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. 



