88 The Potatoe Plague. 
labor ; for lime can be easily procured in any quarter; for 
dredging, a box with holes is ail that is required. 
It appears to me, remarks another writer, that the disease 
primarily attacks the stem, and I think the view I take of 
the subject holds good in some cases, if not all. I maintain 
that it is a disease of the fluids; the descending sap becomes 
poisoned by the generation of unwholesome gasses in the 
stem; from the excessive moisture prevalent through this sea- 
son, the proper exhalation of the plant has not been carried 
on; thus we find that the stem undergoes decomposition, 
instead of gradual decay, and this deteriorates the descending 
sap, which, passing to the root, poisons, as it were, the tubers. 
My own potatoes, which were planted on new ground, on a 
very steep slope, are not in the least affected. Where they 
were grown on higher ground, the tops died early, and the 
tubers are as healthy as possible. Before the last rain I dug 
about a rood— both from the lower and the higher ground, 
and all were equally sound. A few rows remained, which I 
was prevented by the rain from digging up; these I have 
since gathered, and they have shown symptoms of disease; 
the tops were fine, but after the ram they were all matted 
together. During their growth I never saw tops have a 
more luxuriant appearance, clear and fresh, with nothing like 
specks on the leaves or stems. Another thing which leads 
me to consider the sap as poisoned, is the great rapidity with 
which the tubers decay. They appear healthy to all out- 
ward appearance ; still, in many cases, if they are kept sev- 
eral days before they are stored away, the specks are mani~ 
fest ; first, of a dingy hue, then darker colored, and afterwards 
becoming soft and rotten. If this really is the case, I do not 
see of what use any of the methods as yet proposed can be. 
Had the leaves or stems of my potatoes showed any signs of 
specks, I would have pulled the stems out of the ground, leav- 
ing the tubers a while before J dug them up; this would have 
