114 
THE POTATO CURCULIO—ROADS. 
bud. When the grubs are first hatched, they 
are bright-red, but soon change to a pale straw 
color; they soon penetrate the bud, and eat into 
the stem, where they feed, their path being 
always downward. When fully grown, they 
construct their cocoons of the inside fibre of the 
vine, forming a cavity, from a foot above the 
ground, to the termination of the root. When 
the insects have changed to pupse, the vines de¬ 
cay at the roots, and the tops appear as if 
scalded. 
They remain from 14 to 20 days in the pupa 
state, when they cast their skins, and change to 
a small, dusky, black beetle, a little more than 
an eighth of an inch in length, having the wing 
cases bordered by a narrow black band, and 
three black dots on the upper margin, near the 
thorax. In many of the fields in this neighbor¬ 
hood, every stem was infested by these insects, 
causing the premature decay of the vines, and 
consequently preventing the tubers from grow¬ 
ing to their full size, and on passing a knife 
through the potatoes grown on these sickly 
vines, a watery spot was always found in the 
middle, and a streak from this spot to the root 
on which it grew. 
Specimens of the Baridius vestitus, found in 
this neighborhood, have been sent to Dr. T. W. 
Harris, of Cambridge, and Mr. T. C. Westwood, 
of England, who agree in opinion that they can¬ 
not be the cause of the scourge so well known 
as the potato rot , as this species is strictly Amer¬ 
ican, “ but,” says Westwood, “ that they are 
capable of committing great injury on a crop of 
potatoes, cannot be doubted.” If so, is it not 
the duty of every observer to make known any 
additional facts that may fall under his observa¬ 
tion ? For it is only by such efforts that questions 
of this nature can be relieved from embarrass¬ 
ment. 
That the potato rot is an epidemic, sent, like 
the cholera, by an All-wise Hand, to be with¬ 
drawn at his good pleasure, is, I believe gener¬ 
ally acknowledged; yet, like the cholera, may 
it not be checked and restrained by timely care, 
and the removal of exciting causes, and if these 
insects be not the origin, may they not be the 
exciting cause of the rot in many instances; and 
will not their existence in some fields and not 
in those adjoining, account for many facts that 
have puzzled potato growers throughout the 
broad land ? 
An additional fact may strengthen this opin¬ 
ion. In the summer of 1849, a large field near 
Camden, New Jersey, was planted with both 
early and late potatoes, the interval of time be¬ 
tween the plantings, my informant stated, was 
two weeks, consequently, the early plants were 
above ground some time before the late ones; 
all the early plants were attacked by the bari¬ 
dius, and not one found in the late planting; 
while in a garden, in Germantown, the late plant¬ 
ing alone suffered. 
Does not the question then naturally present 
itself, is not the baridius the cause of that kind 
of rot which many farmers assert is prevented 
by mowing off the tops of the potato vines ? 
Germantown , Pa., Jan., 1850. M. H. Morris. 
ROADS. 
Some people are beginning to find there has 
been a great waste of horse flesh, from the un¬ 
necessary steepness of hills over which they 
are required to climb in many of our long-trav¬ 
elled roads. This is a knowledge that has 
come late to portions of this country; but come 
it has, at last, and thankful are we, both for 
ourselves and the animals, that it is found to be 
a matter of dollars and cents to make roads 
approximating as nearly a level as localities 
and a reasonable expenditure will admit. 
In a drive the past season, of some hundreds 
of miles, mostly through the oldest-settled por¬ 
tions of the Eastern States, we often observed 
in some of the most frequented roads, steep 
ascents that might with little trouble be entirely 
avoided. A little more circuitous route, on a 
nearly level road, would enable the team to 
reach a point at an easy trot, with less fatigue 
and in half the time, he is tugging at his load, 
now dragging it up a steep hill, and anon hold¬ 
ing it back. The entire cost of the land on 
some new route and the expense of grading 
and working a road, would be repaid semi-annu¬ 
ally by the economy in time and horse flesh, on 
portions of many of our thoroughfares. 
We find the comparative draught of a horse 
on level and varying ascents, in Gillespies’ 
work on roads, thus stated: If a horse can draw 
on a level 
in a rise of 1 in 
1000 lbs. 
100 ft. he can draw only 900 
“ 1 in 
50 
“ 
810 
“ 1 in 
44 
u 
750 
“ 1 in 
40 “ 
« 
720 
“ 1 in 
30 “ 
“ 
640 
“ I in 
26 
“ 
540 
“ 1 in 
24 “ 
« 
500 
“ 1 in 
20 “ 
a 
400 
“ 1 in 
10 
250 
“In round numbers, upon a slope of 1 in44, or 
120 feet to the mile, a horse can draw only three 
quarters as much as he can upon a level; on a 
slope of 1 in 24, or 220 feet to the mile, he can 
draw only half as much; and on a slope of 1 
in 10, or 528 feet to the mile, only one quarter 
as much. 
“ Though a horse, on a level is as strong as 
five men, yet on a steep hill it is less strong than 
three; for three men, carrying each 100 lbs., 
will ascend faster than a horse with 300 lbs. 
“ There is a popular theory that a gently undu¬ 
lating road is less fatiguing to horses than one 
which is perfectly level. It is said that the 
alternations of ascent, descent, and levels call 
into play different muscles, allowing some to 
rest while the others are exerted, and thus re¬ 
lieving each in turn. 
“ Plausible as this speculation appears at first 
glance, it will be found on examination, to be 
untrue, both mechanically and physiologically; 
for, considering it in the former point of view, 
it is apparent that new ascents are formed which 
offer resistances not compensated by. the de- - 
scents; and in the latter, we find that it is con¬ 
tradicted by the structure of a horse. 
“ My acquaintance with the muscles by no 
