324 
CHEMICAL SOLUTIONS FOR SEEDS.—DISEASE IN TOTATOES. 
several gradations to shifting sand, and the differ¬ 
ent state again of these soils—whether in green 
sward or naked fallow, or to turn in a stubble and 
green crop, at least six kinds of plows are requi¬ 
site to perform their work properly. With these 
observations now before them, our readers will 
infer that we are not only heartily tired of hearing 
which is the best plow, but of witnessing and re¬ 
cording the results of plowing matches as at pres¬ 
ent conducted. They prove just nothing at all 
of the slightest benefit to the community, and are 
time and money thrown away. When shall we 
have a reform ? 
CHEMICAL SOLUTIONS FOR SEEDS. 
We have repeatedly noticed of late in our for¬ 
eign journals, accounts of extraordinary yields of 
crops from seeds which had been subjected to 
soaking in some chemical solutions. Although 
not disposed to question the accuracy of the results 
stated, we must still affirm our want of confidence 
in the excessive merit claimed by them. These 
preparations are useful in two ways. First, by 
saturating the seed with substances distastful to 
its enemies, insects, grubs, and worms; and sec¬ 
ondly, by affording to it an element of nutrition 
for the future plant, it is enabled to push forward 
vigorously in the first stages of its growth, and 
send out its roots and leaves rapidly so as to de¬ 
rive an increased amount of nourishment from the 
soil and atmosphere, beyond other plants which 
lack this early development of its organs of nu¬ 
trition ; by which means they are not only ena¬ 
bled to reach farther for their food in the soil, and 
open an additional number of mouths by its leaves 
and stems to drink in nourishment from the air, 
but as a consequence of this early, rapid develop¬ 
ment, plants are frequently enabled to attain a 
growth which secures them against the injurious 
and sometimes fatal effects of droughts and insect 
enemies, and in many cases, to mature their fruits 
before the approach of frosts. These advantages, 
and other food yielded directly to the plant, are 
frequently of great importance to the crop, and 
may in some instances be worth ten or twenty 
times the cost of time and expense in the prepara¬ 
tion, and are at all times worthy the attention of 
the farmer. But to claim that they yield all the 
elements of nutrition to the crop is a perfect ab¬ 
surdity. They afford the same advantage to the 
plant that early attention to the young of animals 
does, by helping it so far forward in strength and 
maturity that it is enabled afterward to gather up 
its own food, if it is to be found within its reach. 
If soil be deficient for the support of the larger 
plant, it must as certainly dwindle or die, as will 
the lamb or calf, if after it is enabled to eat grass, it 
is no.t to be had within its reach. We are justified 
therefore in concluding, that a good soil is, in every 
case , requisite for yielding a large crop, however 
the seeds may be prepared. We shall be obliged 
to our correspondents for the results in this treat¬ 
ment of seeds, under any variety of circumstances, 
of solution, kinds of seeds, description of soil, and 
results, each minutely and accurately stated. 
DISEASE IN POTATOES. 
We observe that this subject is being discussed 
at great length in our own, and European journals. 
We have given the substance of the most plausi¬ 
ble part of these discussions, in the past and pres¬ 
ent No., under the head of Foreign Agricultural 
News and Editor’s Table. We can scarcely find 
any two writers agreeing what this disease is; 
and although in our various rambles in the coun¬ 
try, we have paid considerable attention to it, 
wherever it manifested itself, we are just as much 
at a loss to know what constitutes it in every case 
as our cotemporaries ; in the absence of more ac¬ 
curate knowledge, therefore, we conclude to say 
as little as possible about it. We recommend to 
our farmers and gardeners, one and all, next year, 
to become accurate and close observers of their 
potato crops from week to week till the vines 
flower; and from that time on until harvesting, to 
daily observe them—now and then uncovering the 
tubers, then splitting the vines open from the tubers 
up to the tops, examining the whole attentively; 
when if anything unnatural occurs, and you can 
not account for it, show the same to some botanist 
or scientific man who has a good microscope at 
command. By steadily pursuing this method, you 
will be able in time to detect the disease, whether 
it is owing to one cause or many ; a remedy then 
will easily be found. Hundreds of thousands of 
dollars—yes, we might add millions, will be lost 
in the United States the present year from the dis¬ 
ease in potatoes, it is, therefore, of great impor¬ 
tance to the agricultural interest that some remedy 
be found to stay it. 
ODD ROWS OF CORN. 
It may be recollected by our readers, that, we as¬ 
serted in our last vol ume, in giving an account of the 
“Cereal display” at the American Institute, that we 
saw one ear of corn there with “ twenty-one rows.” 
Whereupon our facetious friends from Alabama 
to Washington city, and thence back to the inte¬ 
rior of Ohio, (to say nothing of various private 
parties over the whole Union,) each commanding 
and leading on a redoubtable cohort of witnesses 
and disproofs , commenced a series of public at¬ 
tacks upon our crib , literally overwhelming and 
devouring us, corn, cob, and all; and then to make 
the matter worse, shouted forth an io triumphe to 
our supposed peccavi, of whether we “ ever saw 
any man that ever saw a dead donkey ?” No; cer¬ 
tainly not, we replied in all meekness; but then, 
what was better for our argument, we knew we 
had seen a pig with seven legs, three tails, and 
one head; all of which anomalies the exhibitor 
of said animal declared, came in consequence of 
eating corn growing on cobs with “ narra kurnel 
nor row alike,” so we held our peace till we could 
see what we should see to substantiate our posi¬ 
tion. Well, on a late visit to the Hon. John G-. 
Floyd, of Long Island, walking into his com crib, 
we picked up three ears of corn, and began incon¬ 
tinently to count the rows, and sure enough, on the 
last one, we found running about two thirds of the 
way down the cob from the end, ELEVEN rows, 
