131 



quently decomposes with a horrible fee tor, and turns whitish 

 inside ; the starch is then all present and not much injured, 

 and a very little indeed can be seen of the fungus. 



10. The season is too far advanced, and the fungus 

 has already caused too much destruction, to think of grap- 

 pling with it this season, but when it is remembered how 

 the Vine and Hollyhock parasites have been restrained, it 

 certainly does not seem impossible that means may be 

 found to mitigate the damage done every year by the 

 Potato murrain. Worthington G. Smith, 



Extract from- the " Gardener's Chronicle" July 1875. 



The doubt we expressed as to the identity of the new 

 phase of the Potato disease with the "curl" is confirmed by 

 the conflicting statements made by those who speak of the- 

 curl from personal recollection. It is quite clear that dif- 

 ferent people have very different notions, not only as to 

 what the curl is, but also as to what the ordinary potato 

 murrain is. We have received samples from various per- 

 sons, and we have lately had the opportunity both in Scot- 

 land and in England of seeing various patches of more or 

 less diseased Potatoes. Some of these have been pointed out 

 to us as affected with " curl," others as- with " the disease,'' 

 others as attacked with wireworm, and so on. In the case 

 of the ordinary potato disease, most people are unfortun- 

 ately so familiar with it that the misapprehensions of the 

 few are of little relative consequence. In the case of the 

 disease principally affecting the varieties of American origin 

 the matter is different, and it is very desirable that people 

 should not jump at conclusions before they really know 

 whether the disease they are talking or writing about is 

 really the same as that which was first observed in the Chis- 

 wick Garden. Fully half of the specimens sent to us, or 

 that we have had pointed out to us in the country, as affect- 

 ed with the "new" disease, were really the subjects of 



