The Potatoe Plague. 101 
tubers unwholesome, and that, in proportion to its intensity 
and the length of time the tubers are exposed to its influence. 
The stems, and in fact all parts of the potatoe plant above 
ground, are more or less poisonous. ‘Tubers are occasionally 
formed along the stem, but they are, as we all know, green 
and bad. This is entirely owing to their exposure to light; 
for had the stems been laid in the earth, so as to have covered 
such stem-tubers from the commencement of their growth, 
they would have been just as good as tubers of the under- 
ground formation. Potatoes, even in their dirty state, as 
taken up, will be considerably altered in color, both exter- 
nally and internally, and proportionably impaired in quality, 
by a few days’ exposure to light, m clear weather, although 
they may not be exposed to the sun’s direct 1ays; but the 
effect must be greater when the surface is washed and de- 
prived of the partial shade afforded by the particles of soil. 
The time was when potatoes were in many instances 
spread out in the sun, in order to dry them before storing in 
the earth. No practice could be worse, for the reasons above 
stated; and, moreover, the object in view, that of rendering 
them ultimately drier and better in quality, was not attained. 
On the contrary, although deprived of a portion of their mois- 
ture in the first instance, yet this only left room for the 
absorption of moisture contaminated with gasses, generated in 
the place where they were stored. 
From this I would have it inferred that potatoes should 
never be cleansed or washed before they are stored; they 
should be dried with the dirt remaining upon them, as they 
were taken from the ground, but with the least possible ex- 
posure to light. Potatoes for seed may remain so until it 1s 
time to plant them; those intended for cooking may be taken 
out and dried several days before they are wanted for use. A 
writer in the Revue Hortucole, a French agricultural publi- 
cation, is aware of this fact. He says: “In unfavorable 
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