92 



The Potatoe Disease. 



Vol. XI. 



Society; and they feel assured, that with a 

 harmonious combination of the members, 

 and a determination to come out on future 

 occasions with all their force, their ex- 

 hibitions will be rendered highly useful and 

 attractive. 



Algernon S. Roberts, Chairman. 



Aaron Clement, Rec. Sec'y. 



Philadelphia, October 7th, 1846. 



The Potatoe Disease. 



The following very curious article we take from the 

 Berwick Jidvertiser of 8th of Eighth month last, which 

 was kindly handed us by a friend, who is personally 

 acquainted with W. Whitehouse, the writer, and says 

 his statements may certainly be relied on. It behoves 

 every one to throw all the light he can upon the dis- 

 ease, and its remedies, that is so widely and seriously 

 affecting the Irish potatoe. Wherever it can be done, 

 we would advise the farmer to lime his potatoe ground. 

 For many years, while on a farm, the editor never 

 failed to have a good crop of potatoes on ground which 

 he had limed : he uniformly believed that lime was es 

 pecially favourable to that root. This, however, was 

 before the appearance of the potatoe disease. Instead 

 of tracing the cause of this malady to a particularly 

 wet season, or particularly dry season, or hot season, 

 we apprehend — like epidemics among ourselves and 

 our cattle — it must be attributed to circumstances 

 which have hitherto entirely eluded our perceptions. 

 There may, however, be an antidote. Let us seek it 

 industriously, by experiment and observation. Lime 

 your potatoe ground.— Ed. 



To the Editor of the Berwick Advertiser : 



Sir, — Allow me to lay before you a state- 

 ment respecting- an e.xperiment which I made 

 last year, and am following up this summer, 

 as a probable means of renovating and im- 

 proving the qualities of our second necessary 

 of life, potatoes — which have been degene- 

 rating for several years back. 



Aware that many garden shrubs and her- 

 baceous plants have their qualities main- 

 tained and improved, by propagating them 

 by cuttings of the steins, rather than by di- 

 viding the roots or by seed; in the latter 

 end of June, 1845, I planted, in a good light 

 soil, without manure, cuttings of the green 

 stalks of early potatoes. I scarcely cher- 

 ished a hope that they would produce tu- 

 bers; yet in autumn I found a crop — some 

 of them the size of boys' playing marbles, 

 and most of them from two to four times 

 that size. 



These were planted the 23rd of last Feb- 

 ruary ; and now, removing the soil from part 

 of a root, the first and only one that I in- 

 spected is full larger, and of finer appear- 

 ance, than those growing in the same ground 

 and planted with tubers of the same sort. 



The cuttings were the tops of the stalks, 

 four or five joints from the top, and cut close 



under the joint with a very sharp penknife, 

 and with a quick, clean, sloping cut. All 

 tiie long leaves were clipped off, and such 

 of the buds of the stalks as were growing 

 into leaves, shortened a little, except the 

 top buds — taking particular care not to do 

 this so close as to pinch the bud off, or bruise 

 the stalk — as it is out of these buds that the 

 young tubers grow. 



They were planted in a sunny aspect, and 

 shaded, and watered every evening in dry 

 weather, for two or three weeks, until they 

 began to grow. 



This summer I am planting about half, or 

 two-thirds of tlie whole stalks ; laying them 

 nearly horizontally, under two or three 

 inches of soil, with the top buds only above 

 ground. The seed will no doubt be more 

 abundant in this length of stalk and hori- 

 zontal position. I ain planting them in por- 

 tions of ground the size of onion beds, lay- 

 ing a row of plants three inches asunder 

 the whole breadth of the bed, and another 

 row directly opposite, with the top buds of 

 both rows meeting each other. In this way 

 they will need little shade, and will be easily 

 weeded and watered. As it is rather diffi- 

 cult to furnish shade, I plant some behind 

 any large culinary herbs; and even behind, 

 and between, ridges of growing potatoes. 

 The broad leaves of the former, and the 

 luxuriant stalks of the latter, are a sufficient 

 shade. But these growing potatoes, or 

 herbs, are such as will be dug up in the 

 course of three weeks, as this new crop 

 must have sun to mature it. Latterly I find 

 that by bringing the top buds very near to- 

 gether, they need no shade except a few 

 stalks and leaves thrown over them, of those 

 weeds, herbs, or cuttings of leafy shrubs, on 

 which earwigs and reptiles do not lodge, so 

 that there is no expense, and little trouble 

 attending this attempt to improve potatoe 

 seed. 



The cuttings should be taken from healthy 

 plants and planted without manure in ground 

 that has not been recently set with potatoes. 



I now find young sets growing upon stalks 

 of early potatoes which I planted only three 

 weeks ago. It is, therefore, not too late to 

 plant cuttings of second earlies and the 

 later sorts. I also find that the small stalks 

 produce as well as the thick stalks; so that 

 those who would hesitate to cut the main 

 stalks of their growing crops for this pur- 

 pose, might succeed by using the small ones. 

 It may be advisable to cover the crop with 

 an addition of light soil, and leave it in the 

 ground until setting time next spring. 



This method of endeavouring to improve 

 the potatoe will be more expeditious than 

 that of doing it by the seed of the potatoe- 



