550 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



For the New England Farmer. 



POTATO BLIGHT AND SOT IS CAUSED 

 BY INSECTS. 



Mr. Editor : — In your papers of July 14th 

 and September 29th, I find, in each, a communica- 

 tion from Mr. John Goldsbury, of Warwick, an- 

 swering mine published in June, (dated the 5th,) 

 on this subject, I read the one of July 14 the 

 13th inst., being the day which that paper reached 

 me. I now answer both of his communications, 

 and would have done so separately, but from the 

 fact of not duly receiving the first paper. Mr. 

 Goldsbury expresses "profound surprise," because 

 I have "not given a logical answer to his seven 

 reasons," against the depredation of insects, as 

 the cause of potato blight and rot. He thinks his 

 "reasons are impregnable and unanswerable," — 

 that my reply, supported by certificates from sev- 

 enteen members of Congress, the Smithsonian 

 Institute and Secretary Flint, is "no attempt, as 

 yet," at an answer or refutation of his logical as- 

 sertions. He says I "deceived" those "gifted 

 minds" — made them "jump at the conclusion" 

 that insects cause the blight and rot. He does 

 not deny that "they actually saw the insects," but 

 declares that "such assertions prove nothing." 

 He assumes a hypothesis which is jJositivdy tin- 

 true. It is this : that the "insects were on rotten 

 potatoes." This statement by him I positivelli/ 

 deny. What are the facts ? Two hills of potato 

 vines, old tubers and earth connected, and in a 

 growing state, were taken from the field directly 

 to the committee room in the Capitol. The earth 

 was removed from the vines and tubers, by the 

 committee. The old tubers were hard and inidc- 

 cayed, sending forth strong, vigorous vines. These 

 are what Mr. Goldsbury calls "dead or decayed 

 vegetables." Upon the lower imder^ground joints 

 and roots myriads of living larva insects were 

 seen, sucking the sap, leaving, wherever congre- 

 gated, a brown rusty diseased appearance. The 

 committee also examined the same kind of pota- 

 toes, undecayed in glass jars, showing vigorous 

 growing sprouts. These specimens were firm, still 

 the committee, and others, saw innumerable mi- 

 croscopic insects crowded together subsisting on 

 the sap, and leaving the same brown poison ap- 

 pearance on the surface, which connects with the 

 sap or vital element ; thus the disease is infused 

 into the growing tubers. These seventeen mem- 

 bers witnessed these ocular facts, and from them 

 made up their minds deliberately. The conclusion 

 "jumped at" by them, was not from any "fore- 

 stalled assertion" made by me. The committee 

 voluntarily invited such of their colleagues as they 

 thought possessed scientific attainments and agri- 

 cultural knowledge, to aid them in their investi- 

 gation and decision, and they have unitedly given 

 their judgment to the world. More than five 

 hundred other persons, including those of scien- 

 tific skill and agricultural experience, have also, 

 as secondary witnessess, examined these facts, and 

 not one has questioned the decision of the com- 

 mittee, but the correctness of their judgment is 

 frankly admitted by all. Mr. Goldsbury alone 

 questions their decision. He declares these devel- 

 opments oi facts, and certificates of their reality, 

 "no attempt as yet" to refute his "seven reasons." 

 1 ask your readers to form a judgement for them- 

 selves, candidly, whether my facts, thus revealed, 



and attested to by high authority, are not a per- 

 fect and unanswerable refutation of his "seven 

 reasons." He wants what he calls "logical an- 

 swers." His "reasons" are nothing but theories 

 logically supported. I produce facts, the living 

 enemy at their work of destruction, as a reply to 

 his reasons, and ask him to refute these facts. 

 They over-balance and set aside all theory, and 

 all "logic." A few days since cattle were in my 

 corn-field. I saw them. There is no "logic" in 

 the power of man that could then have convinced 

 me that cattle were not there. Their presence 

 was an unanswerable demonstration that my crop 

 would be destroyed, if they remained. 



These visible enemies were cleared from the 

 field, and my crop was saved from destruction. 

 This statement is only such a fact as Mr. Golds- 

 bury or others often experience. I have found 

 also by microscopic research, microscopic insects 

 under ground on my potato vines and their roots. 

 They are very small but very numerous, and by 

 repeated experiments and agricultural tests, year 

 after year, I have proved the fact, that they actu- 

 ally poison and destroy, prematurely, my potato 

 vines and their tubers. In the prosecution of 

 these experiments, I have discovered how to an- 

 nihilate these little enemies, and when cleared 

 from the seed in which their embryo is hibernated, 

 the vines continue to grow vigorously and very 

 healthy, yielding abundantly, while others under 

 ordinary culture prematurely decay and rot. Mr. 

 Goldsbury has in his possession certificates of 

 these facts, and he cannot refute them. Facts 

 based upon agricultural tests showing demonstra- 

 tions that no "logic" can set aside. 



The Smithsonian Institute, and C. L. Flint, 

 Esq., Secretary of Mass. Board of Agriculture, 

 have also given certificates. I will briefly state 

 the facts relative to these examinations. The 

 Smithsonion Institute examined the same un- 

 decayed potatoes examined by the seventeen mem- 

 bers of Congress, and they not only found insects, 

 but the eggs of these microscopic insects imbedded 

 in the perforations and cavities of the epidermis 

 of these undecayed tubers. Mr. Flint, of Boston, 

 states particularly what he examined, and what he 

 saw. He had charge of the potato, and kept it as 

 described. The microscopic examination was in 

 June, then the potato had vigorous sprouts. — 

 Among those present was the late Hon. B. V. 

 French. He declared the "potato sound, suitable 

 to plant, or cook." There were four persons 

 present, to hear this assertion : Mr. Brooks, IMr. 

 Sweeney, Mr. Flint, and my son. Mr. Goldsbury 

 can consult them, if he doubts the assertion of Mr. 

 French. Furthermore, the Patent Office have made 

 a most rigid examination, not only as to the cause 

 of this disease, but relative to the specifications 

 for a remedy. In the first reply the Office made, 

 answering my petition, it was intended to place 

 before me unanswerable objections to granting 

 the patent. The Hon. J. Holt, then Commissioner 

 of Patents, made six objections, declared in the 

 following words, viz : 



1st. "Your specifications contain much irrele- 

 vant matter." 



2d. "The perfect insects, sent by you, are not 

 Aphides." 



3d. "It is proved, beyond all doubt, that neither 

 the Aphis, nor any other insect, is the cause of 

 the potato disease." 



