238 



Potatoe Rot — James Goiren's Letter. 



Vol. X 



From tlie Farmers' Library. 

 Potatoe Rot— James GoAven's Letter. 



Mount Airy, Dec. 2'Jtli, 1845. 



My Dear Sir, — Your note on the subject 

 of "The Potatoe Rot," dated Saturday, did 

 not reach me at Mount Airy — Sunday inter- 

 vening — till this morning, Monday. It would 

 give me plea.sure to oblige you fully in this 

 matter, did time permit to go more into de- 

 tail ; but the brief space allotted for a reply, 

 will compel me to be as concise as possible. 



I hold that atmospheric influence is the 

 sole cause of the late pervading rot in the 

 potatoe ; that neither manures nor condition 

 of soils could have produced the calamity; 

 that anirnalculse and fungi are as remote 

 from it — the latter may in a partial manner 

 injure a potatoe plant, as they would, under 

 peculiar circumstances, be likely to injure 

 other plants ; that the rot is not epidemic ; 

 and I have reason to believe that sound or 

 partially sound potatoes, taken from a dis- 

 eased crop or heap, will, if planted, produce 

 healthy, sound potatoes, in the absence of 

 the cause which injured them the previous 

 season. 



I would therefore encourage the farmers 

 to cultivate their potatoes as formerly, ciioos- 

 ing the soils and applying the manures which 

 hitherto were found best adapted to their 

 culture; forgetting or overlooking the rot 

 altogether, and disregarding the nostrums 

 recommended for its prevention: the potatoe 

 won't bear doctoring. 



The weather which produces rot is either 

 a severe, continuous drought of some weeks' 

 standing, thereby preventing the natural 

 growth and maturity of the potatoe, for the 

 want of moisture, or very hot weather, 

 bringing the potatoe to a premature ripe- 

 ness, succeeded by wet, sultry weather, un- 

 naturally spring-like, which provokes the 

 tubers to perform the functions of seed, 

 thereby dissolving the connection between 

 them and their vines; the vines die; the 

 roots undergo an incipient fermentation pre- 

 paratory to decomposition: the operation of 

 budding or growing is checked by the natu- 

 ral autumnal temperature that at length pre- 

 vails, which arrests the potatoe in its work 

 of producing, and hence its deterioration. 

 The latter condition of the weather is the 

 prevailing cause of the rot. 



As to a severe and contijnuous drought, my 

 own experience points to tjiat of 1838. That 

 season I had a five-acre piitch in with pota- 

 toes, which did not pay tW the trouble of 

 taking them out of the ground. They were 

 small, ill-shaped, bad-tasted, poisonous, spot- 

 ted and black-hearted, and rotted in cellar. 

 Potatoes that season sold as high as ^l 25 



and $)1 50 per bushel — not a bushel of good 

 potatoes at market, except those imported. 

 Then as to dry, hot veather, succeeded by 

 wet, close, over spring-like temperature, the 

 season of 1843 is in point. I took more than 

 common pains that year to produce a sur- 

 passing yield, equal, at least, to my famous 

 crop of the preceding year, which was over 

 440 bushels to the acre — field culture. My 

 seed was in part from those fine potatoes, 

 and in part from some very large, sound po- 

 tatoes imported from the State of Maine. 

 On taking out the crop in October, the 

 whole was found to be very badly diseased. 

 The weather, from the latter part of June 

 till the beginning of September, was mainly 

 hot, occasionally very hpt and dry. Sep- 

 tember set in with warm rains, thunder- 

 storms and gusts; the moisture and close- 

 ness unprecedented; fruit-trees blossomed, 

 as well as many flowering'-trees and shrubs; 

 1 recollect making a large collection of flow- 

 ers from the magnolias, some of which I sent 

 to the editor of the " Pennsylvania Inquirer." 

 My potatoe vines looked green and healthy, 

 when all of a sudden they changed colour, 

 drooped and died. I think if I had taken 

 out the potatoes at that juncture they would 

 have proved comparatively good ; but they 

 were permitted to remain quite a month 

 after, when they were found badly rotted, 

 tainted, and almost worthless. 



Now then, as to the epidemic. In 1844, 

 I planted some four to five acres of potatoes, 

 the seed of which ivas jnincipalhj culled 

 from the diseased crop of 1843. I planted, 

 also, at the same time, in the same field, 

 other seed of very sound potatoes brought 

 from Maine; they all did equally well; I 

 could discover no difference ; the crop was 

 a very fair one, and the quality unexception- 

 able in every respect. I do not mean by 

 this to encourage the planting of diseased or 

 doubttul potatoes. It is safer to plant sound 

 and perfect ones; but I am strong in the 

 opinion that there is no danger of a diseased 

 or tainted potatoe producing a diseased or 

 tainted potatoe. It may, from its want of 

 vitality, be very unproductive, make feeble 

 shoots, the same as decayed potatoes from 

 on ship-board afler a long voyage, the heat 

 and moisture of the vessel's hold having 

 caused them to send out enormous shoots, 

 impairing their vigor and producing rot. 

 Such potatoes, wlien planted, never produce 

 well as to size and quantity; but I have yet 

 to learn that they ever produced a diseased 

 potatoe. 



Much has been said of potatoes becoming' 

 feeble and sickly from long and constant 

 planting: there may be something in this; 

 time will not permit me to examine it now. 



