76 



The Potatoe. 



Vol. Xi. 



with whom I have become acquainted, es- 

 tablishes the contrary. At Teddesley, in 

 Staffordshire, where a large stock is soiled, 

 the opinion is, that the cows do not give so 

 much milk as when grazed. At Glasnevin, 

 Ireland, the opinion of the intelligent super- 

 intendent of that establishment is, that their 

 production of milk under the soiling system 

 is much greater than when grazed. In a 

 trial lately reported upon the comparative 

 advantages of feeding cows with malt or 

 barley, and other articles of food, it was 

 found that, upon being taken from the fields 

 to the stalls, the milk of these cows was 

 considerably increased. It is difficult to 

 make a comparison in the case upon which 

 the matter may be confidently determined. 

 The quality of milk must, to a degree, de- 

 pend upon the nature, and its quantity upon 

 the supply, of the food which the animal re- 

 ceives. Some animals naturally and consti- 

 tutionally, from peculiarities orcircumstances 

 which have never yet been explained, secrete 

 milk of a much richer quality than others. 

 The Alderney or Guernsey cows are remark- 

 able examples of this kind, their milk being 

 much richer than that of any other breed of 

 cows known. Yet that the quality of the 

 milk is not wholly constitutional, but depends 

 to a considerable degree upon the nature of 

 the food on wiiich the cow is fed, is well es- 

 tablished. Its quantity, of course, depends 

 upon the supply of food which the animal 

 receives. It seems to be determined by ex- 

 periments which have been made here, that, 

 of all food, grass fed green will produce the 

 largest secretions of milk. It is found, like- 

 wise, by experiment, that in order to the 

 largest secretions of milk, the temperature 

 in which the animal is placed must be com- 

 fortable ; she must be free from external 

 annoyances; and she must be "at ease in 

 her mind." These things being equal, it is 

 not easy to see why, under an ample supply 

 of fresh grass eaten witli a good appetite, 

 there should not be an equal production of 

 milk in the stall, as in the pasture. — Col 

 man's Tour. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 The Potatoe. 



Mr. Editor, — In your last No. I notice 

 an article on the Potatoe, relating to the 

 cause and cure of its disease, from your cor- 

 respondent, D. W. Belisle. 



I am sorry to be obliged to differ from that 

 gentleman on many points laid down in his 

 letter. I regret this the more, from the fact 

 that I am proud to number him among my 

 acquaintances. But his views are so differ- 

 ent from those of our standard agricultural 

 chemists and vegetable physiologists, and so 



little sustained by experience; and withal, 

 so liable to lead to error, that I cannot allow 

 myself to remain silent. 



He says that the vegetable sap contains 

 " charcoal, hydrogen, and oxygen, and they 

 embrace all the alkalies that the vegetable 

 derives from the earth." As the vegetable 

 derives all its alkalies from the earth, Mr. 

 Belisle would have us believe that "char- 

 coal, hydrogen, and oxygen," contain a great 

 deal of alkali, for many vegetables contain 

 much of this material. Now hydrogen and 

 oxygen are pure elements, and so far from 

 being alkaline in their nature, they, in com- 

 bination with other substances, go to form 

 acids, which are directly opposite in their 

 nature to alkalies. 



As to charcoal, it does, when fresh, supply 

 a very small quantity of silicate of potash, 

 but the alkaline principle is very far from 

 being sufficient for most plants, even when 

 they grow in a bed of charcoal ; but to talk 

 of charcoal supplying vegetables with all 

 their alkalies, is to lay aside chemistry and 

 experience. What farmer does not know 

 that most of his land has little or no char- 

 coal in it, and yet his plants grow finely and 

 are productive. 



Again, Dr. Liebig holds forth the idea in 

 his Agricultural Chemistry, that vegetables 

 cannot absorb so coarse a compound as char- 

 coal ; and, indeed, it is difficult to perceive 

 how charcoal could pass through the minute 

 pores of vegetables — it being recollected 

 that the vegetable has no teeth to chew the 

 charcoal fine enough for its purpose. In all 

 our works on this subject that I have exam- 

 ined, I do not see that any of the botanical 

 nor chemical students, before Mr. Belisle, 

 have been able to discover this charcoal in 

 the sap. I am, therefore, induced to believe 

 that he is mistaken in his views in this re- 

 spect, as in that of " hydrogen and oxygen" 

 yielding alkalies to the vegetable. 



Your correspondent says that ammonia 

 rises from the manure, is absorbed by the 

 plant, and immediately after mingling withf 

 the secretions of the plant, poisons it, and 

 then, " and not till then, does the plant un- 

 dergo any decomposition whatever." If that 

 be the case, how is it that the plant grows 

 luxuriantly until the latter part of July or 

 August, apparently in excellent health. The 

 ammonia commences rising from the hill as 

 soon soon as the manure is placed there, and 

 is absorbed by the leaves of the plant as soon 

 as the plant has leaves to absorb it, yet, for 

 months after, the plant is not affected by it. 

 flow is this? There must be something 

 wrong here — experience fails to agree with 

 your correspondent, and the facts of the 

 case do not sustain him. 



