NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



335 



a si/»)paffiizrr — holdinj^ liis wronoli, or hamiuor, or 

 soniothin^ of the kiiul — ro;uly to bo usoii wlion oc- 

 casion roquirod. Now if this is a necessary appon- 

 (laoe to tho work, wo can see no voason wliy tliis 

 attendant may not slinj;- liis wrencii or lianiniiM- on 

 Ills slioiikier, ami take his whip in hand, and help 

 <:uide the team, as well as to stand by, ready to 

 alter the rnnuinir of the ploujish as occasion may 

 demand. 



We were particnlarly pleased, in this contest, to 

 witness boys from 15 to 17 years of ajje handlinp 

 tlie plough witli marked ability, (^ne boy, whose 

 ajje we asked, said ho was only 15, that he had 

 held the plouo;h to do the breakinjr up on tlieir farm 

 for two years. This bov wonld weii^li not much, 

 if any more, than ll'J ponnds. Itso happened that 

 his lot was next adjoinint;- to that assiixned to an 

 experienced plouglmian, who weijihed twice as 

 nuich as the boy. After the work was completed, 

 the old fellow remarked, "Tf that little chap don't 

 understand wliat he is about, I won't guess ai^ain." 

 The committee were g-entlemen of jireat intelli- 

 gence and experience, and will unquestionably 

 coiTie to a rii>-ht conclusion; — we had to leave the 

 ground belbrc any decision was announced; but if 

 we may be allowed the privilege of !^nrssiii<^, we 

 should say, that the performance by that boy was 

 second to no otlu^r; and that a medal exjiri^ssive of 

 this tact, awarded to tht> iioy, under the autiioritv 

 of the Chairman of the Conimittee, wonld be the 

 best certiticate in his favor that could be given. 



Sept. I'J, 1651. ^ * 



For the TVcii' EnsrIiDul Farmrr. 

 THE POTATO DISEASE. 



Ml!. EoiToi!: — Since the potato disease first ap- 

 peared in this country, a vast deal has been written 

 upon the subject, which would make many vol- 

 umes; but with no general satisfactory result as to 

 showing the true cause of llu" disease. 



As far as my experience extends, I liud that the 

 more solid and fine-grained the kind is, the less lia- 

 ble it is to become airecte<l, whih^ tlie softer kinds 

 sulfer the most. For instance, tlieblacli jiolato, — the 

 kind which upon cutting open, are purple inside; 

 they are a heavy, fine-grained, hard potato, and 1 

 have not known them to prove rotten at all, — 

 though planted side by side with a softer kind 

 which rotted badly. 'I'he round red do not rot 

 much, while the Chenango beside them prove 

 hardly worth digging. The Dean, a soft kind of 

 potato, shap(>(i almost like the huigred, rots badly. 



People ar(> at a loss what to do when llun' find 

 disease has commenced; wlictiier to dig them im- 

 me(liat(dy or let tluMii riMiiaiu in the groniid till the 

 usual time of harvesting them. I think, howev- 

 er, that could they be dug as soon as the to|)s be- 

 come atVix'ted, or better just before, a great part of 

 the crop may be saved. 



l?ut 1 have not yet stated the cause of the pota- 

 to rot nor its remedy — that is the most diflicult 

 thing to s(Mtl(>. Hut I am fully convinced that the 

 insect tribe will not be proved guilty of doing tiie 

 mischief. 1 think it is an atmospheric aU'ection, 

 as much so as the cholera. Mnt the how and why 

 the atmosphere is charged with sucdi a baneful in- 

 tluence, lies deeper hid than the wisdom of man 

 has yet ex])l()rcd. Some may ask the (picstion, 

 why some kinds of potatoes escape, while others 

 are alTected? I answer, when the iuipiiier wi" 



tell the reason why in cholera times some are 

 struck down with the disease while others escape. 



1 find it to be a fact, that just previous to the po- 

 tato vines becoming visibly allected the month past, 

 there was idoudv, warm weather, then the sun 

 shone hot, which brought on a fermentation, which 

 produced the disease called the potato rot. Hut 

 the question occurs, why ]H)laloes did not rot in 

 former years? ilad we not such weather in some 

 of the years long past, as we have had in six or 

 eight years just past in succession ? 



1 consider the potato rot an epidemic, as much 

 so as the cholera or the plague, which in a few 

 years will abate and pass away, as epidemics 

 among the human species have done. 1 do not be- 

 lieve that a comi)lelo remedy will bo discovered by 

 man so that any person williin this conmionweallh 

 can receive the ten thousand dollars' lewanl oll'ered 

 by our Legislature. ls.\.\c Sti;.\kns. 



M(insfic/(/, Mass., S(j)t. I, 1851. 



Remarks. — 'I'he subject of potato rot has been 

 so fullv discussed in our columns, that we feel 

 obliged to tuuil some portions of the letter of our 

 corres|)oudeiit. ilis own o[);uions, liowevtM', such 

 as seem to have been established by his experi- 

 ence, wc have preserved. 



For till' New F.ii::laii<t Farmer. 

 CITY VERSUS COUNTRY. 



Ml!. JOditok: — Having noticed in several late 

 numbers of your journal various communications 

 upon the relative advantages of a city and a conn- 

 tiy life, I am temi)te(l also, with your p(-rmission, 

 to express my opinion upon the subject. 



As a resident of a city, T do not wish to say 

 anything to the disiKiragement of those sections 

 more sparsely occuiiied w ith the habitations of ra- 

 tional beings — for happily man is endowed with 

 the f.icnlty of being contented with his position, 

 whether it be among \\\o chill snows (d"the rugged 

 North, the fertile valleys (d" the sunny South, the 

 matured opulence of the East, or the wide-stretch- 

 ing liberty of the West. And hapi^y is the man 

 who possesses in the least degree that greatest of 

 all felicities, contentment; but I wish to present a 

 few truthful observations upon city life, as distin- 

 guished from life in the country. I can readily 

 ajipreciate the hap|Mness of those whose inti'rcourse, 

 out of their inuucdiate family, is confined mostly 

 to the lowing of kine, the bleating of sheep, the 

 cackling of poultry, the harmony of birds, and the 

 inaudible utieraiu-e of unanimated nature; but, sir, 

 is my task to be condemned as low, should T pre- 

 fer a greater and more varied communion with the 

 race possessed of the one attribute superior to. all 

 others — the power of reason? 



1 honor that temperament that finds 



"'riingiios ill trees, Ixuiks in llie riniiiliij: liroolis, 

 Sermons in stones, mul sooil in every tiling;" 



but arc not imoro expressive tongues to Ik^ found in 

 that unfathomable being called n.an, and better 

 stored books on the shelves of some snug library ? 

 I'^ven by this expression of the poet is siiown that 

 tiic greatest praise he could adduce in behalf of the 

 charms of country life was to liken it to the bless- 

 ings of unlimited social inlfM-conrM". 



in the city, tlu^ human mind, worn by constant 

 daily attrition with intellects of all grades, be- 

 comes sharpened, acquires greater tenacity, and 



