1861 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
361 
very good for fire brick. It had been a poor 
wet garden in the hands of a former proprietor. 
The new owner, who had recently come over 
from England, took it in hand, drained it, and 
burnt the stiffest portions of the surface and 
spread the ashes. There was a complete change 
in the character of the garden. Vegetables and 
flowers flourished in the greatest luxuriance, 
and fruits, especially plums, astonished the 
neighborhood. It was known as the best gar¬ 
den in the town. 
It is probable that there are many places 
in the older States where this paring and burn¬ 
ing will be the cheapest method of fertilizing 
the soil. It is particularly desirable upon drain¬ 
ed brush swamps, where there are hummocks 
and inequalities of the surface. These may be 
cut off in the Fall, or in the mild weather in 
Winter, and piled for burning in windrows. 
Sometimes these swamj^ have a thick mat of 
roots and half decayed vegetable matter, six 
inches or more thick, that peals off from the 
peat beneath in large cakes or sods. Though 
there is some loss, it is a good plan to burn these 
as soon as they are sufficiently dried. They are 
in the way of the plow, and will not decay in 
several years. Burning puts them out of the 
way at once, and makes a smooth surface, while 
it adds a large mass of ashes to the soil. Where 
the subsoil is of clay, as often happens in these 
brush swamps, it is a good plan to take clay 
from the bottoms of the ditches, and burn with 
the sods. This improves the peaty surface me¬ 
chanically, as well as by adding a fertilizer. 
Burning is a good remedy for sour soils, and 
for those which are infested with weeds. Some 
times the grass fails in a low spot in the mead¬ 
ow, and the ground becomes covered with mos¬ 
ses, lichens, and a worthless vegetation. If only 
a couple of inches of the surface are pared with 
a plow, or with the hoe, and burned, grass seed 
will take readily and do well for a time. It is 
always desirable to accompany the burning with 
draining, for there is no permanent cure of a 
wet soil, but by getting the water out of it. 
It would pay, in some localities, doubtless, to 
burn the soil of swamps and stiff clays for the 
purpose of spreading the ashes upon uplands. 
If a swamp is so situated that it can not be 
drained, it may still be valuable to furnish peat 
and ashes for the adjacent uplands. It is of lit¬ 
tle use to economize peat where a man has an 
inexhaustible supply on hand, lying worthless. 
If a bushel of peat ashes is worth more than a 
bushel of peat lying idle, better burn and use it. * 
-—-- — ■ --- 
The Potato Disease. 
An elaborate treatise on this subject has lately 
been published in Germany, written by Dr. A. 
de Bary, Professor of Botany atFrieburg, whose 
acquirements and reputation entitle his opin¬ 
ions to attention. From extended observa¬ 
tion and careful experiments, he is convinced 
that the potato rot is caused by a minute para¬ 
sitic fungus, which first makes its appearance 
upon the leaves and stems, and is washed down 
by rains to the tubers. He announces a re¬ 
markable discovery respecting the method of 
propagating of the parasite. As is generally 
known, Fungi are reproduced either from the 
threadlike roots called spawn ( mycelium ) or by 
spores or minute cells which are thrown off from 
the parent plant. According to Dr. D e Bary, the 
potato fungus germinates not only from spawn 
and spores, but under favorable circumstances, 
the spores when well supplied with water, un¬ 
dergo changes by which a number of reproduc¬ 
tive bodies are brought forth closely resembling 
Infusoria or minute living insects. They move 
about in water for a time with great activity, by 
means of two lash-like appendages (cilia) one of 
which appears to be the organ of motion, and the 
other serves as a rudder. These Zoospores rapid¬ 
ly produce perfect spores, which may in their 
turn propagate and spread the infection. It is 
calculated, that 19,620 of the zoospores or repro¬ 
ductive bodies may be developed on T ] T part of 
an inch of the surface of a leaf. Supposing the 
number to be but 10,000, it would give 1,440,000 
to a square inch, which fully accounts for the 
rapidity with which the “disease” is spread 
over a field. Warmth and plenty of moisture 
are indispensable to the germination of these 
fungi, as appears from the fact that the rot pre¬ 
vails most during wet seasons. From these 
facts it seems useless to attempt to get rid of a a 
parasite which enters into and destroys the tis¬ 
sue of the plant, by using any external remedies. 
Prevention alone can be relied on. Early plant¬ 
ing on well drained land, and cultivation calcu¬ 
lated to ensure rapid and healthy growth, will 
do much for the security of the crop. Deep 
hilling, or at least enough to cover all the tubers 
is also advisable. Dr. De Bary recommends to 
plant a separate plot under the most favorable 
circumstances for the growth of seed tubers, at 
a distance from the main crop, and to watch 
carefully and remove every affected leaf upon 
the first appearance of disease. The amount of 
care required to do this, however, would appa¬ 
rently make the plan impracticable. 
Preservation of Buried Potatoes. 
A writer in the Scottish Farmer relates that 
by accident a large quantity of potatoes were 
buried about six feet deep in an old ice well. 
Two years after, in digging to remove the stones 
from the well, the workmen came upon the po¬ 
tatoes, and found almost the whole in an ex¬ 
cellent state of preservation. Another person 
states that he had kept potatoes buried in the 
garden at the depth of three and a half feet, and 
found them perfectly sound at the end of two 
years, and possessing their original freshness, 
firmness, and good taste. [We suppose they 
were buried so deeply in a compact soil, that 
they were as effectually secured from air, as if 
hermetically sealed in a glass bottle. But un¬ 
less in a very dry soil, they must have become 
“ water-soaked.”—E d. Agriculturist.'] 
Treatment of Seed Potatoes in France. 
At the recent Exhibition of the Imperial Hor¬ 
ticultural Society of Paris, M. Gauthier exhibi¬ 
ted specimens illustrating his treatment of seed 
potatoes for the purpose of hastening their ma¬ 
turity the following season, and thus enabling 
them to escape the rot. The tubers are taken 
up as soon as ripe, and healthy ones of large or 
middle size are selected for seed. These are put 
into flat, square crates about 28 inches long, 14 
inches broad, and 5 or 6 inches deep, made of 
narrow strips, with openings left between the 
strips on all sides and at the bottom; the top 
is left open, and the crate rests upon two thick 
cross-bars at the bottom. This permits a free 
circulation of air among the potatoes. They are 
then exposed for at least a month to the open 
air and rain, and kept through the Winter in an 
open shed or garret, where they are protected 
from frost; and not in a dark cellar, but always 
where the circulation of air is as free as possible. 
Under this treatment they soon become quite 
green, and short thick shoots start from the eyes, 
which are carefully left undisturbed. 
In early Spring the crates are taken to the 
field, and the tubers are planted directly from 
them, to protect the sprouts from injury. The 
hardened shoots are said to be found more 
healthy, vigorous, and productive, and much 
more capable of resisting disease, than those 
grown from eyes which have lain dormant 
through the Winter. The crop is also forward* 
ed so that the potatoes may be dug before the 
time when the disease usually makes its appear¬ 
ance. M. Gauthier states that when tubers are 
to be cut for planting, it increases their vigor 
and productiveness to cut them in Autumn, 
three or four weeks after digging, instead of at 
the time of planting.—We give the above for 
what it is worth. 
How to Feed out Roots. 
As root culture is greatly upon the increase 
in this country, and many are trying their first 
experiments with them this Winter, we will 
drop a few hints upon their economical use. 
Nothing is more common than for beginners in 
the business to confine an animal entirely to the 
use of roots. They go upon the principle that 
you can not have too much of a good thing, and 
give one to three bushels of turnips in a day. 
The change in diet probably sets the animal to 
scouring, and turnips are voted a humbug, when 
the humbug lies altogether in the ignorance of 
the feeder. All animals like a variety of food 
in their diet, and hay or straw should al¬ 
ways form a part of the daily fodder, no matter 
what else may be added. This course should 
be followed, whether we are seeking to make 
milk or beef, or merely to keep an animal in 
thrivmg condition. In fattening a bullock, 
a bushel or so a day may be given, accord¬ 
ing to size, making out the rest of the feed 
in hay, with some kind of grain or meal. In 
feeding milch cows, the same quantity may be 
given, mixing the sliced roots with the cut hay 
at three meals daily. The meal will add more 
to the quality than to the quantity of the milk. 
Stock cattle with plenty of hay and roots will 
not need meal to keep them thriving. A good 
root cutter is indispensable in feeding out roots. 
Then, as to the order in which the various 
roots should be used up, we always begin with 
the white, or soft turnips. These grow quickly, 
and remain in their best condition but a few 
weeks. By the first of January they begin to 
sprout, and lose something of their value. The 
ruta bagas and white French turnips keep well 
through the Winter, and may be used at any 
time; carrots and sugar beets may be used as 
soon as they are dug. The mangel wurzel needs 
to undergo a curing process, and should not be 
used before February. They are excellent keep¬ 
ers, and will hold on until June. If fed out the 
first part of the season, they make the bowels 
loose, and lead to a false estimate of their value. 
Analysis shows that the mangel has nearly twic# 
the nutritive matter contained in the Swedish 
turnip, and experiments in feeding confirm the 
results of the laboratory. They will yield from 
fifty to a hundred per cent more in quantity, un 
der ordinary circumstances, and are much the 
more profitable root to raise. We find our root 
crops enlarging from year to year, and that, 
perhaps is the best testimony we can give to 
their value. Our list this year embraces several 
varieties of the white turnips—rock turnips and 
ruta bagas—yellow and white carrots, sugar 
beets and mangel wurzel. * 
