NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



173 



NotwilhstandiiKT the favorable influence of soci- producing cause of the disease | To me it is not 



, , '^ •, ■ 11 II I 1 ♦! ^ evident, for the whole time that the tuners are 



eties and other means, it ,s general y allowed by the evident^ r ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^__ ^^^ ^^. .^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ 



most intelligent tarmers that books and papers on^^^.^^^^^^^ ^^•j'j yg^,^]]y bg sound. 



agriculture have been the most effectual means of, 'p i,^ potato has heretofore been raised without 



enlightening farmers, as by th^n the most reliable; any difficulty of the kind now under consideration 



and valuable information among the best practical in very hot countries. It has also been raised up- 



farmers is collected, and then disseminated widely ^n the islan.ls of the sea, where the atmosphere is 



over the land. The farmer, even of humble means, 

 may sit down in his own retired home and con- 



almost always filled with dampness. 



If the cause is in the atmosphere, does it float in 

 the atmosphere, and thus strike upon the leaves and 



suit the most skilful farmers in different parts of stalks of tlie plant first? Or does it first produce an 

 the country, and learn what thav are doing. If he^ effect upon the soil, and rapidly extend its deadly 

 would have more light on any subject, he can call! P^^wer, through the plant ^ 

 it forth, for farmers, more than any other class, 



are ever ready to communicate, and freely too. 

 The idea that a student of an agricultural school 

 will soon learn to analyze soil, which seems to ex- 

 ist in the minds of many, is a ridiculous one, and 

 shows tliat those who possess it do not understand 

 the subject. As well may a student of a school 

 learn the English grammar in two or three weeks, 



If the former, there are 

 difficulties in my way which perplex me. First, I 

 cannot see why potatoes which grow within a few 

 feet of each other, and tlie same land and quality of 

 seed, should fare so differently. In 1847 I observed 

 a case as follows. An individual planted some po- 

 tatoes in a piece of ground through which was a 

 narrow foot-path. The hills on the opposite sides 

 of the path were not more than five or six feet apart. 

 The potatoes on one side were all sound, the stalks 

 ripening in due time, while on the other side of the 



or gel a good knowledge of Greek or Latin in al pathway a large portion of the tubers were diseased, 

 month or two. No person can analyze soil until I There was this ditference in treatment; on the 

 he becomes a thorough chemist, and "has much ex-j^ide where the tubers were sound during the dry 

 , ■ , • r 1 1 1 I weather in July, soap suds from the washing room 



periencein the manipulations of the laboratory, , ^._^j ^^^^ ^^J^^^ ^,p^,^ the hills; tluis giving the 



and in addition he must have a sound and discrim- aj-ound some properties which the hills on the oth- 



inating judgment. We appeal to those who can 

 analyze soil for the correctness of our statements. 



Those who contend for the immediate establish- 

 ment of splendid and expensive schools as the most 

 effective means to promote agricultural education, 



er side did not possess. My suspicion is that the 

 warm and wet weather, when the rot appeared, pro- 

 duced a fermentation in the soil, producing a gas 

 which is deadly to the potato. 



The second instance which it appears proper to 

 introduce, is of a farmer in 1848, who put ashes np- 



ure less familiar with the practical operations of| on his corn hills, and when he finished his corn, 



started for his house with a bucket or measure near- 

 ly full of ashes, and through the middle of a pota- 

 to field ashed two rows of potato hills freely. At 

 the time of digging his potatoes, the two rows were 

 subject to disease only in a very slight degree, while 

 a large proportion of the potatoes were worthless 

 on both sides of the two rows. My suspicion is 

 that the soil was subject to an acid fermentation 

 during the warm and wet season to which was as- 

 ong many men it is very natural to suppose c"bed the potato blight, and that the alkaline prop- 

 any minds will be found to speculate upon a erties of the wood ashes applied served materially 



to check and destroy its power. 



fanning than our most skilful cultivators, have 

 schemes so Utopian, that something in opposition 

 as a salutary check is necessary to save the public 

 coffers from excessive drainage. 



For the yew Ens-/and Farmer. 

 THOUGHTS ABOUT POTATO ROT. 



Amon 

 that many minds will be tound to speculate upon 

 subject of importance, while it remains true that no 

 one is able to settle the mysterious question to the 

 satisfaction of others. Thousands ask the question, 

 "What is the cause of this fearful evil, the potato 

 rot?" Many attempt to answer, but very few, if 

 any, are entirely satisfied upon the subject. 



A general answer, whicli seems most entitled to 

 credit, in the opinion of thinking men in general, 

 is, "The cause of the disease is atmospheric." 

 To this answer the writer has been inclined to give 

 at least so/ne credit. But it is not satisfactory. 



If the original cause is in the atmospheie, anoth- 

 er question arises. Is it in the temperature of the 

 atmosphere, or in the dryness or dampness of it ? 



All my investigations fail to satisfy me that the 

 temperature of the atmosphere, aside from other 

 circumstances, has anything to do with introduc- 

 ing the disease. If we have a dry time when the 

 tubers are forming, it may be very warm or very 

 cool, it matters not which, the potato is sound and 



In a garden, in 1848, in a low and wet corner, 

 where the soil was evidently very liable to such an 

 effect as I feared from the warm and wet weather 

 that might come on in August and September, I 

 thought it not safe to plant potatoes, and therefore 

 sowed flat turnips and some ruta bagas. Within 

 thirty feet of them I planted some potatoes, but up- 

 on a soil which was judged to be capable of easier 

 protection from the dreaded evil. The potatoes 

 were perfectly sound, but the turnips were nearly 

 all subject to a hard and black rot, when I pulled 

 them, and were worthless. My opinion is that 

 water rot will produce potato rot, in certain circum- 

 stances. I say, my opinion, but I mean only my 

 suspicion, for I dare not yet form an opinion fully 

 upon such a difficult and perplexing subject. By 

 wafer rot, is meant that fermentation or change 

 which water undergoes, producing an oflensive 

 smell, and so forth, which men of science have of- 

 ten proved, seamen have often suffered from, and 



healthy 



The effect of dampness or wet claims an inquir-! practical men have known, 

 ing thought. Is the dampness of the atmosphere a' In a close, rich, and warm soil, water, falling in 



