140 



il\)t Savmcv's iilonthlij llisitor. 



VVyoiiiiii;;: comiiies nol iiipoiitiiileralilc. A wil- 

 ier ill :i l;ite iiiiiiiher of llio Ulic-a Gazotte, lliitil-;.* 

 iha! liie ilised.ss is ili'j etfi'il of an insect. Tliis 

 is nut the j.'ciioral ojii'iiuM. This disi-ase lias 

 been on the incri'ase liir .several jeais, iiml has 

 e.ti'iitil jiieat Inlert' st in Scoilanil, Geinianv, Swe- 

 den ami Russia. Tiu! hfilci- o|.inion hi thnse 

 ooiMHries is, that liy hniy [iropa^atiun Ironi ihe 

 tifher. wiilidiii rernninj,' lo the natural seed ol 

 the piaiit, h lia.s lost a ponion oY its vital power, 

 and hi'iM-e is eMi'e.md) pi'one In hli^lit, nist, and 

 ru rot. VVe liave paid eonsiderahle attentinn to 

 this matter liir the last ei;;liteen tnnnlhs, and have 

 (uniid that many plants last sea^iun and this liiive 

 pcrCected no hlo<soms or seed. Whenevei- lialls 

 iii'e pi'oilnred, they should he eareiidly ih led, and 

 planted ne.\t splint:, with only a lew seeds in a 

 hill, and enhivaled in the usual way. PntatOfs 

 thus grown in Germany h.ive heen Imporied into 

 Etlinhnr^, and proved to he holli sound and e\'- 

 cellent roolii, hy several years' expei ienec. The 

 same trials have, heen made in Massaeiiusetts, 

 and on the Hud.-;t)n river, with like success. 'J"he 

 pot;iloe crop is the most valuable of any groun 

 in this state. The los.s last season from rottinii, 

 exceeded several hnndreil Ihoiisaiid dollars, and 

 we lear this year it will liil! hni little helou' one 

 million. — Ba'Jit'.o Commercial •'ijueiiiser. 



We hear lint in many sections of the country, 

 tiie pnlatiK! ciO)i has been considerably injnrtd 

 . with Hie riit, 'I'his is prohalily owing to some 

 liew disease, instead of the drought — the same 

 Cfdamily having last year happened lo that crop 

 ill the east, w!ii:n the .season was directly the re 

 >i:r,se of uhal it is now. it is daiigernns living 

 potatoes thus atfecfd. We have heard recent 

 i:istances of the death of aiumals to which pota- 

 toes (lartially decayed had been (i;d. — liochesUr 

 .V, y. Defi,ociitl. 



We have heen told that in one lo.vn in this 

 cnniily, the effluvia e.xhaled from an nndug pota- 

 toe field was as oftensive ;is u hitelisli, and that 

 tliis is the case ai Horse Neck, &c. 'J'liat at Col- 

 elfsler, men could sc.ucely he hired at twodol- 

 Irirs per day, to remove these piiirif\ ing articles 

 from cellars; and in some places iiu'iners had 

 plouiihed thi'm in deep, lo get rid of them. Jn 

 our own vii'iiiily, many potatoes— more particu- 

 l.'rly those .jog within a week — are afflicted with 

 this malady. A trieud has u crop raised Iroin a 

 ham|iei- ol Irish poiaroes, which haii no rot sif- 

 fei-tion .iiiiiiiig them, luii a row of Mercer.s, cun- 

 !ii;iir)iiM were e\ery one ot the.ii wholly roilen. — 

 [; \ ■■ said so.uc persons have heen atHicitd with 

 iiilis|.iosiiion from eating potatoes this season, 

 .okI ibiiC Olio person lost two liog.s, which died 

 in c,^iiserpi.?!iee of having eaten them. This he- 

 1114 the ca.-.', the peculiar nature of the ofteiisive 

 virus geiK'raled ninst In; ditfijreiit from that which 

 lai;es place in decaying old potatoes, kept late in 

 the spring oc" siiiiiiiier, of which my hogs and 

 cows have always eaten with impuniiy. The ex- 

 traordin.irv .iffensiveness oi' potatoes affecteil in 

 this iii.uiiitr, was brought stroimly to our peicep- 

 liou yesie"d.iy. A bushel of a choice kind, of 

 sif:a!l s!?.e, hi.d hi-^n <\iis from a dry piece ot 

 grniind in (lie npjier p:ut of the city. They had 

 been jilaeed in shed ovi t .'ight, when they were 

 there iiniiced by the conk, (ali I'rish woniaii) who 

 had lie.n-d nothing said, and had noticed no lie- 

 eiiyiiig oiies among iheni. She observed ih.'it 

 lh'i>e j)Olato,';s had belter be r>^moveri, a.s they 

 rendered the place very oflensive. The basket 

 Was emptied under the shade of a tree and ex- 

 iimiiied, .•ind four or five small ones luily were 

 found deca\ed, some 0:1 one side or irt'ono end, 

 from each of which tin ofp'osive effluviimi of 

 U'leat intensity emanated; and one person, used 

 to tarmio:!-, &r.. did not l'hi over the elTect of 

 ilieir influence lor several miiuiles. We are 

 strongly of opiiii(m, that jiolatoes h;,d better be 

 left ill the ground, 10 l)e dug as w.inte<l, or tdl 

 codier weather J aid piin-hasers had netter buy 

 but few at ,1 lime 10 put iulo iho eell.i;-. — .Vi'itf 

 Haren Cumi. Hcirih/. 



WKSTFiEi.n, i\Iass., Nov. 21. The polatoe crop 

 ihranuhout ihi.: region, and very extensively, as 

 you idre.idy know, h.-is siitfered serioii,-! iiijiun 

 fiom some cause not yet fully ascertained, lean 

 add notliiii;; iiccunile 10 the infu'uiatiou already 

 before the pnl.lu-, l.m, suppose that altlioii::h the 

 dis''.-;se affei-ts alike polv.ioes ill a Variety of soil.-.-, 

 y.et i; is worse in tlu' loounljiiuous districts iImh 

 I'.'i llie plains an, I iieai- the Conneciicii! river.— 



Carlers seem to far;,- better than iMercers, ihongli 

 they do not by any means escape. B'>ili .e.,rly 

 and late potatoes are spoken ol as doing better 

 than those planted al the ordinary time. Pota- 

 toes which appeared good when lliey were duL', 

 have rolied soon alter, or turned black <ui being 

 boiled. Siories are told ol' hogs having died (i-oni 

 eating the di.seasi-d roots. But there is ddliciilty 

 ill attaining accurate iuforiiiat'on here, a.s the dis- 

 ease is less severe that in the neighboring towns. 

 .\li insect about the size 0!' a flea, is the only o.s- 

 tensible (-.inse of the damage ; it appears, liow- 

 ever, to confine its attacks 10 the le.-ives. 



The lasl Amherst Htpress coniains an inter- 

 esting article whii-h we attribute to l'i-oli;ssoi- 

 Hili-heock, on the cause of the extraordinary and 

 dis.istrous failure of the putatoe crop at the pres- 

 ent season. 



He expresses the opinion, thai the lailnre of 

 the potame crop this year is the i-esult ofdisease. 

 And, by way of showing how he comes to this 

 coni-lnsinn. he remarks, that the tops fiiilerl first, 

 and appeared as if they had endured hard trusts. 

 And as it is in the leaves and stalks that the 

 jiiii-es and other |M-inci|Jes that iionrish the roots 

 and tubers are prepared, if llit-se I'ail, the jiota- 

 toes must be slopped in tlieir growth. They do 

 not ripen, and, of course, .ne liable to dei-ay. — 

 Like all iimipe fruit, they are nn|)leasant and un- 

 healthy. 



He expresses iloubt ill regard to tlie cause of 

 the diseasi-. He thinks, however, it must be 

 something derived from ihe atmosphere, .■<iiice it 

 is so wiil.'-ly spread. He inclines to the opinion, 

 that Ihe season has been too wet tor this i-rop, 

 though by i-eri-teiice to Professor Siiell's Re;;is- 

 t'or of the amouiil of rain that had talleii in Am- 

 lieisl, during the months ot .June, July, and ,'Vu- 

 gns , he finds the fjiiantity to he less tfi.-ni lea- two 

 years past. Still, thoiiiih he ilonbts not the en- 

 tire accnrai-y of Pi-<ilessor Suell's ac-coimt, he is 

 ceriain that Ids own garden snl^i'red exceedingly 

 iVom drought during ihe last three years, while 

 this ye.u- 11 has been r.itlier too wet. He recon- 

 ciles the apparent discrepancy, by ref(;rence to 

 the fiict. that the rains have more equally spread 

 through the season, than in the two years previ- 

 ous ; and hence, tli':t the amouni of lain iuaseti- 

 soii is a very pom- index by which to judge ofthe 

 moisiuro and drviiess of the soil. He is conti- 

 dt-nt that the ground in this region has been loo 

 wet fiU' potatoes: jiiid he tiiuls that in dry hind 

 they have suffered less than in wet soil. He there- 

 fore iiil'ers, that il w ill lie found, that ill those parts 

 of the eoiiniry that have been dry, the po;atoe 

 crop will not snffijr miu-li in this way. Me thinks 

 it is very possible, ih.it ti.e idectric state of the 

 atuiosphe;e jnay liavf. had something lo do with 

 the uialter. 



With reirard to tlie supposed poisonous <pialiiy 

 of polaloes afiected wilt: this malady, he ri-- 

 inaiks, that .-ill unripe fruit is more or less 1111 

 hcallliy,.and thai mis is about .dl that can l:esai.'l 

 cmiceruing these potatoi'S. "^i'here is no peculiar 

 virus in them that need excite a panic. Though 

 the potatoe belongs to a poisonous tribe of [jlaiiis, 

 cooking renders u liimtless. And as there is no 

 danger tliat man will eat pot.itoes raw, In) needs 

 have no fear of eating th.-^m, proviihil he rejects 

 liioso that are water-soaked. He woidd observe- 

 the same rule in regard to the lower animals,— 

 boii ;hi' potatoes given them, and ihe danger will 

 he small. 



He advises to dig [>otatoes a.s soon as vitality 

 has iie.irly lei'i the lops and roots, aiul to Sjiread 

 tiip so'uiid ones out in ihe sun tcir severaf days, 

 niitil thoroughly liry, belore they are laid in a 

 pile. — JS'ortlunnpton Gazette. 



Pressiu? Hay. 



Rail-roads and canals ui.ke many things port- 

 able lo distant iiiarkels, tliat otherwise would not 

 pay. Large towns, (iir iusiauce, canitot b« sup- 

 plied by masons, with profit to ihe IJirmer, at .1 

 distance beyond 15 or S30 miles— Inn by pack- 

 ing and sending by r.iil-roads and steaui-hoals, 

 ■uid sail-boais, if ni.iy be sent any dist.-iuce.^ 

 .Milk, again, ihat could only be sent by <n(lina|-y 

 i-onvcyance from a. few miles around large cili.s, 

 is noA seiii from one hundred miles aioimd IVew 

 Yoik. 



Th^ folliiwin;; ir.ibrm.iiion alioiii p.-t(!kini hay, 

 was some •iiiu- since kiutlly coiumimic.itetl to me 

 bv Diiclor G. B. Smith, uf IJaliimoic. 



I. S. S. 



I will answer your quesliuiiR accordiug to their 

 purport : 



1. Size and weight of bnmlles of hay, as sold 

 in this mark' t, 4 leei 4 inclies long, 9U iuclies 

 deep, 'HO iiK-hes w iile, avei age weiglil oSO lb.-. — 

 Some weigh 300 lbs., some 400 lbs., and all in- 

 lermeiliaie v\eighls. 



y. Cost ol' iipparatiis for pressing hay, (roiii 

 $\'i5 to .-^.SoO. There is no fixed price, and no 

 one here llial I can find, who make.^ a hiisinrsti 

 of erecting Iheiii. A well biiiil lobacco pi-ess, it 

 is supposeil w oidd answer lor a hay | ress. 



'•i. Pressed hay in bniiilles, comes Irmn the 

 North, (Neiv York, &c.,)and also from this neigh- 

 borhood. Mr. Fenby himself, has a hay press, 

 and puts up a large poition, if not all he sells. 



'•}. The difference in price beiweeu the hay 

 loose and when pressed, is snpposid lo be about 

 $1 per ton ; but 11 must be evident that pressed 

 hay is wmili no more lo the consuiner than loose 

 hay. Pressing is only an advantage 10 liie pio- 

 dni-ei-,jis it enables him to gi-l ii lo market chetip- 

 er ih.in he can loose hay. it certainly a^lds 110- 

 tliiiig lo the qualities of tlie hay to press it iino 

 bales. Ordinary wagon hay is selling in our 

 streets now, (-.JStli of Jannaryj 184;!.) at $9 10 .§1 1 

 per ton. F'enby asks tiir his pres.-etl hay, SIS 

 per ton. But 1 presume that Fenby 's pressed h.ay 

 is better than ordmary hay, or he could nol ex- 

 pect to get so gieal a difference in the |u-ice for 

 il. In esiimating weight, a bundle of ii-iy is 

 equal to live barrels. 



.5. Fiei-ht of hay to New Orleans, depends en- 

 tiiely upon your meeting with vessels going out 

 empty or ue-u-ly so. In such oases fifty renis a 

 b.-ih- will be taken. In other cases the freight 

 would be higher than the hay would be worth.— - 

 T am told that li.iy is cheaper now in New Or- 

 leans, than Ufie.—Miirtborough Gazette. 



01^ A hay press in Concord, by reducing the 

 price of transport to the seaboard to some two 

 dollars a ton, would be of innneuse beuetii to 

 ihe linniers within thirty miles of this place in 

 creating a demand for and raising the price of 

 the snrplns hay. — Ed. Visitor. 



SMmmN mms& 



CO.NCORD, N. H., SEHTE.MBEK 30. I8tj. 

 'J'he Vagaries of an Invalid li^ditor. 



CONCORD — irs MEADOWS A.ND 5TREA.MS AND RU- 

 RAL SCK.NERT. 



In our last essay upon Coiicoril we noticed the 

 stream celh-d 'I'uikey river u hi(-|i iinites with the 

 .Merrimtick iii the northeast corner of' the tow 11 

 of Bow: this river has iis origin in waters rnii- 

 ning from the highlands in Hopkininn, Dimbar- 

 1011 and Bow, fbi tuinii in the first instcuipe exiiui- 

 sive wei meadows of several linudi'cd a<-ies, anil 

 these feeding considerable pond.s. 'i'liese mea- 

 dows, when nol drowned out by extreme wet, 

 are piolific in l.dl and rank gr.iss — iliey are deep 

 in rich vegetable peal ai-d mould. 'I'hey are al- 

 inosl upon a level with the n|q>er or larger pond, 

 which IJdIs in a stream winding 10 tin- lioi thvvest 

 into the lower Turkey ponrl. .W iih iur-onsideia- 

 ble expense the whole ol this upper poml id" 

 some hmub'ed acres in cxtuiu ii.ighi be drained, 

 mat-itng of tliat lidr alluvion and greaily irrqiroi- 

 iiij; the now wet meadovis above. Tlie ponds 

 and river lake tl eir name from the alundaiKe of 

 wihl lurkies wliici: frtqnenled llii- grouuils .-ihout 

 them lin- years afier the liisl setileu.eiil of liie 



low II. 



From rhe lower jiond to the river are severid 

 I'al'.ialde mill si.'es einiiraciilg the pie.^cnt \ill. ge 

 »l .Al ill \ die about two miles oiii o( fue main \ illate, 

 and iui extended I'lain tvm or three iiiih-s over. — 

 This pldii rests gen- rally upon :t clay sub-soil, 

 whii'li has been loui tl excelh-nl for ciihivaliim, 

 producing rich ci op.- of grain Mid L'las.s. enliicly 

 fee of sifuies, ;iiid iiiiich of it a beaiiti iil dead 

 level. Here t.dl and Ihick while pines, two and 

 iliii-e fee! owr. have in some instances grovMi 

 upon Ihe corn lulls which were tin re plaiiii'd 

 wilhin lilt last filly years: on one spot ol h ss 

 tiian iweniy acres ihe while pine trees of a .-< e 

 oud ijrowih st.-iudiug. sold ihe l.isi \vmter iiu- 



