No. 12. 



The Potaioe Rot. 



363 



brought from Germany for seed^ to .the 

 United States, Mr. Anderson has tried 

 lime broadcast ; his crop is good." 



la a communication addressed to the 

 Farmers' Club, just mentioned,. Mr. Butler 

 says, "We are informed by Mr. Blakesley, 

 that lime in the hill has been tried upon old 

 land, and the crop proved to be much rotted 

 In this instance, — as I have been personally 

 informed by Mr. B., the lime was put im- 

 mediately upon the seed potatoe. In the 

 presence of caustic lime, plants will to a 

 certain degree, be deprived of one of their 

 main constituents — oxygen. Had perfectly 

 mild lime been used, the result would have 

 been far different. By the president we are 

 informed that lime, together with manure, 

 had been spread upon a garden the previous 

 year; the garden was then tilled, and this 

 last season planted with potatoes. The crop 

 proved good." 



Mr. Walton, of St. Andrews, N. B., 

 says, " I notice complaints made about the 

 rot in potatoes. I was troubled with it for 

 many years, and having found a remedy, 

 give it for the benefit of others. The rot 

 in potatoes in this section, commenced about 

 ten years ago. One-third of a crop was fre- 

 quently lost by it ; and often in the spring, 

 hundreds of bushels have been thrown trom 

 the cellars quite useless. For some years 

 past I have used slaked lime, which I sprin- 

 kle upon the potatoes as soon as they are 

 cut for seed, and shovel them over in it, and 

 plant them immediately. Since I have 

 adopted this plan, I have not lost a potatoe, 

 either in the ground or after they were put 

 in the cellar, and such of my neighbours as 

 follow my example are alike fortunate, and 

 in no way troubled with the rot." 



In a report of a discussion in Glasgow, 

 Scotland, where the rot in the potatoe pre- 

 vails as extensively as it does in this coun- 

 try, the following paragraph occurs : " Mr. 

 Anderson, from the north of Ireland, as ap- 

 pears from his statement, has been raost 

 successful in his efforts to avoid failures; 

 and the means he adopted, viz; liming the 

 ground, planting only in drained land, pul- 

 verizing the soil well, and not leaving either 

 the manure or seed exposed to the effects of 

 the sun and wind — are based on said practi- 

 cal knowledge." 



In a communication from Ulster county. 

 New York, dated December 18th, 1844, by 

 R. L. Pell, and addressed to the Hon. H, L. 

 Ellsworth, Commissioner of Patents, I find 

 the following account of experiments : " In 

 the year 1843, I planted a field of several 

 acres in drills, harrowed the ground level, 

 and top-dressed it with 200 bushels of oyster 



sliell lime- and charcoal dust to the acre. 

 The yield was 432 bushels per acre. At 

 the same time the potatoes throughout the 

 country were more or less decayed; like- 

 wise a parcel of the same seed planted con- 

 tiguous to the above, v\o% limed, were also 

 decayed. 



"This year, 1844, I planted the same 

 seed in the following manner: the ground 

 was thrown into drills, and manured heavily 

 with barn-yard manure. The potatoes were 

 cut into single eyes, fourteen days before re- 

 quired for planting, and covered v^ith plaster. 

 Limed a few for the sake of experiments spe- 

 cified. They were sprinkled with small 

 white and almost impeaceptible insects, and 

 were consequently rejected. Those limed 

 were free. I planted them in the drills on 

 the manure, nine inches F.part, tops, centres 

 and ends separately, to mark the difference 

 in growth, which was i>ot very great. 



"The first three drilIs-^300 feet in length 

 — were covered with dry charcoal dust; the 

 second with oyster-shell lime; the tliird with 

 bone-dust; the fourth with poudrette ; the 

 fifth with unlcaehed ashes; the sixth with 

 new mown grass and plaster; the seventh 

 with fine salt; the eighth with silicate of 

 potash, the ninth with guano. And so on 

 throughout the field, each alternate three 

 drills with a different substance, except six 

 drills, in which the same seed was planted 

 without any other composition, than the 

 barn-yard manure ; and adjoining them, six 

 drills planted with superior French pota- 

 toes, received three weeks before directly 

 from Havre. 



" Culthation.—'WhQxi they were four 

 inches above ground, the earth was plough- 

 ed from them. After an interval of six 

 days,, it was ploughed to them again ; the 

 field being in perfect order, required no 

 other attention during the season. On the 

 3rd of October they were ploughed out, and 

 proved to be perfectly sound, with the ex- 

 ception of the twelve drills of pink-eyed 

 kidneys and French potatoes, without com- 

 position, which were entirely rotten. Si.x 

 hundred bushels were pitted immediately, 

 and not examined before the 5,th of Decem- 

 ber, when they were found to be perfectly 

 sound." 



It is well known that poudrette, bone- 

 dust, silicate of potash and guano, contain 

 one or nwre of the alkalies. I am disposed 

 to think, Mr. Editor, that the above extracts 

 prove conclusively the theory, that the rot 

 in the potatoe is caused by a want of tlie 

 alkalies. At any rate, I should strongly re- 

 commend their use. They can do no harm, 



