108 The Potatoe Plague. 



they will find it in practice a most effectual remedy for the 

 disease in question. The chief cause of this disease I conceive 

 to be the prevalent error in planting the potatoe, of placing 

 the seed in a quantity of dung laid in the middle of the drill. 

 Any one who knows any thing of the qualities of dung, 

 knows that it is of itself incapable of promoting vegetation, 

 or sustaining vegetable life, until decomposed, and incorpo- 

 rated with a portion of earthy soil, and it is not therefore to 

 be wondered at that disease and failures in the potatoe crop 

 are so prevalent. The wonder is, that while such a system 

 of planting is persevered in, any of these crops should suc- 

 ceed at all under such treatment ; and, indeed, this is only 

 to be accounted for by the small quantity and inferior quality 

 of the dung applied, which is generally found mixed with 

 great quantities of half-rotten straw and other extraneous 

 substances, and were it not that the fresh earth is laid imme- 

 diately on the -top of the dung after the seed is planted, the 

 failure of crops would be to a much greater extent ; of this I 

 have no doubt. The ground too, if in a very impoverished 

 state, may, by speedily digesting and drying up the dung, 

 prevent, to a great extent, a total failure of the crop, although 

 the seed were planted thus injudiciously in the midst of the 

 dung ; for it will be observed that in such ground the rot is 

 not so destructive as in rich deep soils. The first and great 

 point, therefore, in setting the potatoe, is to have the manure 

 properly commingled with the soil before introducing the 

 seed, the plan I adopt in planting, briefly as follows : In pre- 

 paring a parcel of ground for the reception of the pota- 

 toe seed, I proceed to have the manure spread regularly over 

 the surface, and evenly dug in. I then either drill the ground, 

 after the manner of gardeners in sowing peas, and plant the 

 potatoes in the drill, or plant them with a dibble, without 

 drilling, about two or three inches below the surface, the dib- 

 ble being formed with a broad point, so as to insure the 



