184- 



GENESEE FARMER. 



65 



A nm Disease in Grasses. 



Mk. Editor : — I wish to call your attention, 

 and that of your readers and correspondents, to 

 a subject I deem important to the farming inter- 

 est, and which I have not seen discussed in any 

 of the agricultural papers. 1 allude to a disease 

 of the Grasses, whicli has prevailed for several 

 years past in this section of country. It atfecls 

 all varieties, but especially the timothy. As 

 many as five years ago, we began to discover 

 scattering white dead heads among the timothy, 

 just before haying. These greatly multiplied in 

 after years. On taking hold of these white heads 

 the stalk easily separates just above the upper 

 joint, where it has the appearance of. having 

 been eaten or rotted off. Of late years, how- 

 ever, the disease has made its appearance earlier 

 in the soason, so as to prevent the heading out of 

 the grass at all. Consequently the crop is great- 

 ly diminished. 



The evil has fallen most heavily on old mead- 

 ows and rich bottom lands; and where we for- 

 merly had grass waist high, yielding from two to 

 three tons per acre, we now get less than half 

 that quantity of short fine stuff like rowen, but 

 more dead and dry ; easy to pitch to be sure, 

 but requiring much patience. Plowing up old 

 meadows and seeding anew have been resorted 

 to, as a partial remedy; but what is most dis- 

 couraging is, that the new ones and pastures also 

 begin to Teel the effects. Indeed, I consider the 

 evil to be alarming ; and, in this section, not 

 less so than the potatoe disease itself. 



As to the extent of the evil I cannot say defi- 

 nitely ; bul it seems to be spreading far and wide. 

 [ have seen its effects more or less in the coun- 

 ties of Tompkins, Cortland, Madison, and the 

 last two seasons in the south part of Oneida. I 

 have also heard of it in other parts of the State. 



As to the cause of this calamity I am not pre- 

 pared to say much, except negatively. First : 

 it is not the effect of the frost, as was at first gen- 

 erally supposed. Although in some seasons past 

 we have had untimely and severe frosts, which 

 may have injured meadows in some degree, yet 

 I think we cannot ascribe this wide spread, and 

 continued malady, to such a cause. Beside, tlie 

 manner of the effect will not warrant sucli a con- 

 clusion. Neither can I believe the cause to be 

 worms at the root of the grass. It is true we 

 have plenty of the grub and v/ire worm always 

 at work and making mischief, but not more than 

 usual when our meadows were flourishing. 



But the question still recurs, what is it.? I 

 think it may be an insect extremely minute, the 

 egg of which is deposited about the joints of the 

 grass, and may probably be discovered when the 

 top begins to change its color ; but whence it 

 comes or whither it goes is a mystery. What 

 can be done to alleviate or remedy the evil — or 

 how lasting it will probably be, are questions 



which I believe many of your subscribers would 

 like to have discussed in your excellent paper. 



P. S. A subscriber wishes to know how to 

 prevent S7imt in oats. H. H. 



Locke, Cay. Co., Feb. 6, 1847. 



We thank Mr. Hamlin for the above interest- 

 ing communication ; and shall be happy to re- 

 ceive any new light that our readers may be able 

 to throw on the subject. — Ed. 



Potato Rot. 



Some well attested experiments made by Mi-. 

 BiGELOw, of Hartford, Conn., show that potatoes 

 under precisely the same circumstances, as to 

 soil and period of planting, when manured in the 

 hill with barn-yard manure and with house ashes, 

 rotted excessively ; while those treated with 

 mineral coal ashes and plaster were exempt. — • 

 Lime, applied after cutting the seed and wetting, 

 by putting as much dry slacked lime as would 

 adhere, has, in some cases, proved beneficial ; in 

 others of no avail. A better process would be, 

 to scatter a handful over a larger space before 

 covering. 



Ver}^ egrly planting should be tried, as it is 

 pretty conclusively settled that potatoes left in 

 the ground, or self sown, are never affected — if 

 so, deep planting in the fall ought to be tried. — 

 It is said that a potato may be frozen entirely 

 solid and thawed, without contact with air, and 

 not have its vital or nutritious chai'acter changed 

 or affected. 



It does not seem that the rot is injurious to an- 

 imal life, as many persons are feeding them, and 

 a poor family of my acquaintance have been 

 using the sound ends of those affected with per- 

 fect impunity. Neither am I advised that the 

 disease is propagated by using the diseased tubers. 

 Yours, &c., L. Barker. 



Monroe Co., 1847. 



We think our correspondent is mistaken on 

 the subject of freezing. The potato, when fro- 

 zen and thawed in cold water, becomes soft and 

 flaccid, and by tapping it you may squeeze out 

 nearly all of its starch, gum, and farinaceous 

 qualities in a liquid state. Its vitality is entirely 

 destroyed, so that in fall planting it should be 

 laid below the reach of frost, which, in this cli- 

 mate, is not usually more than 6 inches. A po- 

 tato completely frozen is not injured for cooking 

 in any way, if used before thawing, or is thawed 

 in cold water — in fact it improves in sweetness 

 to some tastes. * 



The Cultivation of Yaws. — Yams have 

 been cultivated in JeflTerson county, Ky., with 

 success. They are considered an excellent sub- 

 stitute for the potato. 



Lyell, the geologist, asserts that there is more 

 coal in the single State of Illinois than in all 

 Europe. 



