POTATO DISEASE. 117 



do such extensive mischief a.^ has been effected during the present 

 year (1845), but, on the other hand, we would not have it appear 

 that we consider this as a neiv affection, for we believe that some 

 or all the causes before enumerated operate every season, and 

 that the tubers which rot every year to a greater or less extent 

 are affected in a manner similar to that of this year, and there- 

 fore this attack is but an aggravation of some other seasons 

 arising from a7i universality of causes, and such causes acting to a 

 much greater extent."* 



In as far as we recollect of the season of 1845, it was not un- 

 like the present one, viz., ''constant wet and a great deficiency 

 of solar light," f such has been the case during the period of 

 growth of this tuber this year in the months of June and July, 

 when up to the 15th of July, a period of 45 days, we have only 

 had 15 days without, and these not all sunshiny. 



Mr. Smith, in the article before quoted, says : — 

 " The murrain is by no means confined to the edible potato, 

 for it attacks various members of the potato family. Of late 

 years the tomato has been so badly attacked by onslaughts of 

 the murrain of the potato that in many quarters tomato culture 

 has been rendered impossible. Time after time the entire crop 

 has been swept away by the distemper. ":]: 



In 1879 we lost all our garden tomatoes and many of our 

 potatoes by the disease, and the same last year (1881). AVe 

 have, however, succeeded in growing tomatoes in the green- 

 house free from disease until last year, when we had a single 

 plant attacked. This year again the attack promises to be 

 universal on our wall tomatoes, and we fear several of the potted 

 ones will succumb. 



As before stated, we lost all of our out-of-door crop, but in 

 1880 the crop was tolerably good, but last year (1881) we did 

 not ripen a single fruit in the garden, and on a visit the Club 



* " The Potato Blight, its Causes, and Kemedies," by James Buck- 

 man, F.G.S., p. 11. 

 t Ibid. 

 X " Science for All," p. 213. 



