NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



261 



For the New England Farmer. 



WHAT SAVES THE POTATOES? 



Mr. Editor : — In your last paper, the New Eng- 

 land Farmer, I notice a communication from Mr. 

 L. Varney, of Sandwich, N. IL, relative to the "po- 

 tato rot," with some remarks and comments upon 

 the theory of Mr. T. D. Morrison, of the same. 

 State, and of his claim for the $10,000 reward of- 

 fered by this State. Also some of his experience 

 testing the theories of Mr. Morrison and some oth- 

 ers who claim to be equally ivise in the matter. 

 Having read Mr. Varney 's article, and coinciding 

 somewhat in his views, the idea occurred to me 

 that I would like to furnish the public with a little 

 experience and observation of mine upon the same 

 subject, providing the editor were willing. The 

 experience and observation which I wish to relate 

 took place about three years ago. That being the 

 case, I may not have the particulars so distinctly 

 in my mind as to relate them with that degree of 

 accuracy which some others have done. Three 

 years ago I planted about two acres of potatoes, 

 quite early, which yielded a tolerable fair crop, and 

 which were generally free from rot, though not 

 quite, although there were some salt, lime and char- 

 coal dust mixed with the manure. There was no 

 corn planted with them, but some grew along side 

 of them. They were manured in the hill, and plant- 

 ed in the usual manner of planting. I also plant- 

 ed the same season, about one-third of an acre of 

 late ones after the same manner, a part of which 

 grew in the shade of some apple trees, which on 

 digging, I found to be very much affected with the 

 rot. As near as I can remember, there was but 

 one hill in the whole piece either in or out of the 

 shade that produced perfectly sound ones, and that 

 one hill yielded about a dozen of large clear white 

 Chenangoes, and as I gathered them into my bas- 

 ket, the idea struck me that there must be some 

 apparent cause for so obvious an exception. I 

 therefore thought I would examine and see if I 

 c^uld discover what it was. So striking my hoe a 

 little deeper into the soil, I dug out a piece of an 

 old boot or a shoe, I don't recollect which, and I 

 don't suppose it would make any difference which. 

 Now whether this old piece of a boot or shoe, 

 which was buried beneath that good hill of potatoes, 

 had anything to do with keeping off the rot, and 

 preserving tbem in a sound state is more than I 

 know. I shall therefore leave it for more learned 

 and scientific in such investigations to determine. 

 But would advise them, that if they should come 

 to the decision, that scraps of old boots and shoes, 

 planted in a potato field is a remedy against the 

 rot that they be careful how they recommend them 

 and do it with Caution. 



JYewton Centre, April 12, 1852. 



MORE SMILING. 



It is noticeable that our agricultural papers, es- 

 pecially the later ones, are discarding the over-did 

 gravity and dulness of old, thought necessary, 

 and manage to say a cheerful word now and then, 

 or to throw in a breath of humor, "or to smile a 

 smile ;" as though the double muscles with which 

 people do their laughing were made for something. 

 We never could see why it was necessary that 

 works on agriculture should be made as dull as 

 poss ble. Why not jump a jump once in a while ; 

 why not cachinnate 1 All that is said will be just 



as true and the boys and girls will like it a good 

 deal better, and be much more likely to begin to 

 think that farming is not of necessity the stupidest 

 of business. This has always been our notion and 

 when a good idea or a little turn of humor come 

 along we did not turn out for it We are glad to 

 see others coming to like conclusion. Here is the 

 new New England Farmer, for instance, which 

 actually perpetrates a joke occasionally — a thing 

 which would have sunk the old ones. We begin 

 to believe the song when it talks about "a good 

 time co ming." — Prairie Farmer. 



For the New England Farmer. 



SLAVERING IN HORSES. 



Dear Sir : — A year or more ago, I answered in 

 the columns of the "Cultivator'" a letter, (the 

 author T do not remember,) setting forth that sla- 

 vering was caused by cobwebs. I stated that I 

 was convinced that lobelia was the principal, if not 

 the sole cause. After so much controversy, and 

 so much diversity of opinion as to its cause, I re- 

 solved to make some further experiments, intend- 

 ing to give the result to the public. I have always 

 been a friend to the horse, and have, to some ex- 

 tent, studied his diseases. It has been contended 

 that slavers was the effect of eating white clover, 

 sorrel, cobwebs, &c, &c. I think my experience 

 will prove that some of the above are not the 

 cause of slavers. 



1. Having a pasture almost entirely covered 

 with white clover, I confined two horses in it for 

 about ten days, when the slavering season com- 

 menced ; neither of which showed any signs of 

 slavering. 



2. One horse was then put into a pasture, in 

 which was considerable lobelia ; the other into a 

 pasture in which I have never been able to find any 

 lobelia; the feed being red clover of first year's 

 growth, but which, like too much of our clover, 

 was weil sprinkled with sorrel. After remaining 

 in these enclosures about two weeks, the horse in 

 the pasture of red clover and sorrel, showed no 

 signs of slavering. The horse in the pasture 

 where was plenty of lobelia, commenced slavering 

 within four days after being turned into the pas- 

 ture, and continued so to do until he was taken 

 from the pasture and put to dry food. The 2d 

 horse was then put into the pasture where the 

 first one slavered, and in 48 hours began to slaver. 

 Although these experiments were satisfactory to 

 me, yet I resolved to experiment further. I 

 gathered a quantity of lobelia about the time 

 both horses were free from the disease, and mixed 

 with good hay, with which I fed one horse, and 

 fed the other with hay from the same mow with- 

 out adding lobelia. They were fed in this way 

 about a week. The one fed with the mixture 

 slavered a good deal, while the other did not sla- 

 ver any. I then collected and dried a quantity of 

 lobelia, with which I have tried the same experi- 

 ment upon different horses, with like results. I 

 have also mixed lobelia with hay, and fed to a 

 cow, the effect of which was, that she druled, and 

 soon refused to eat the hay. I presume, had she 

 continued to eat, it would have caused her to vom- 

 it. I should have stated that when lobelia was 

 fed with hay to the horse, it was cut and mixed 

 with provender. 



From these and other experiments, I am con- 



