SSES 
288 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
THE POTATO ROT. 
Mr. Tucker —We regret to say, though the general 
features of the season have almost given us the assu¬ 
rance that such would be the case, that this disease has 
again, thus early in the season, made its appearance. 
When a calamity of such general consequences, falling 
as it does upon every class of citizens, though perhaps 
most severely upon the poor, is spreading its fearful 
ravages abroad, it surely presents a worthy subject for 
the investigation of the curious and observing,—while 
at the same time, caution should be used not to mislead 
the public by offering them mere conjectures and 
vague theories, which cannot stand even the test of 
hasty investigation. We make these remarks, knowing 
that from the very nature of the case, and the general 
predisposition of the mind to originate something new, 
that many opinions in regard to the matter will be 
originated, and that every paper will be filled with 
suppositions often hastily originated, and as vain as 
they may be premature. 
As facts in the case are what we wish for, in order to 
be able to render just and true judgment, and come at con¬ 
clusive causes and remedies, we would suggest that all 
writers on this subject, and there is no doubt but there 
will be a host of them, should be specific in their re¬ 
marks, and so far as circumstances will permit, answer 
the following queries, viz: 
What has been the general state of the weather as it 
respects evenness of temperature, and wet and dry? 
Have there been many showers, followed by immedi¬ 
ate and scorching sunshine? At what time did you no¬ 
tice the first operation of the rot this season? What 
was the soil in which it first discovered itself—the 
location as respects streams, and low, foggy lands, and 
its exposure to atmospheric influences, especially the 
north? What kinds of manures were used, and how 
were they applied? What substances were employed 
at planting, and other times, to prevent the rot, and 
what was the effect? What kinds were earliest, and 
most affected,—and did those early or late planted 
suffer most? What was the progress, as regards soil, 
&c., of the disease from when you first discovered 
it until its ravages ceased? What preventives were 
tried after it made its appearance, and with what suc¬ 
cess? 
It appears to us, that by bringing facts which the 
above suggestions are calculated to draw out, before 
the public, much light may be gained on this sub- 
ect, on which so many contradictory theories are now 
afloat, and we believe, in good faith, that light will 
come, and with such influence that it will enable us to 
counteract this sad disease. The mooted supposition 
that insects are the cause of it, we think may be safely 
abandoned, for we have already examined one or two 
fields where the rot was doing a sad work, and where 
the vines exhibited less of the labors of insects than 
they did at harvest time last year, when we had no rot. 
Richmond , Mass., Aug., 1846. W. Bacon. 
[We have received of Dr. I. Ward, of this city, the 
following detail of facts in reference to the potato 
rot, as exhibited on his farm, situated in the easterly 
part of New-Jersey.] 
Last season I planted the common or Philadelphia 
Mercer, and the Maine Mercer potato, the former on dry, 
the latter on low land; both were planted late; the 
Maine Mercer on the low land suffered severely from 
the rot, while the other escaped. 
This spring, I used for seed the common Mercer} 
which escaped altogether the rot of the last season* 
Contiguous to them, side by side, I planted Hall’s 
Early Junes , a very prolific and early kind. I found, 
upon examining a number of hills in adjoining rows, 
the Mercer so much affected as to diminish the crop at 
least one-third, while the Early Junes had entirel} r es¬ 
caped the blight. On the other side of the same field, 
the land being equally dry and elevated, I planted the 
Sept. 
Pink-eyes, which I found had suffered somewhat; here 
and there a potato gave evidence of the disease. 
I ought to remark, that on the first of August, the time 
of my observations, the vines of the Early Junes were 
dead, the potatoes having ripened many days previous, 
w r hile the vines of the Mercer and Pink-eye were be¬ 
ginning to decay. 
On another field, where the Maine Mercer suffered 
from the blight the previous year, I planted Hall’s 
Early June, the Carter, Pink-eyes, and Scotch Greys; 
but as this crop was later by three weeks than the 
other, I cannot confidently predict their escaping the 
rot; but as yet I could discover no evidence of its ex¬ 
istence; possibly I should also except the Early June, 
as the vines on this field were also drying up, the pota¬ 
toes appearing ripe and sound. 
The late crop, which has not up to this time, the 
8th of August, exhibited any evidence of the disease, I 
manured with muck and lime, in the proportion of 8 
parts of muck to one of lime. A part of the early 
crop, which suffered from the rot, was manured with 
muck and lime, the other part with muck composted 
with yard manure. On the portion where muck 
and lime was used, the blight was not as destruc¬ 
tive as where muck and yard manure was used; so 
marked was the difference, that I am constrained to re¬ 
gard the action of the muck and lime as a preservative, 
if not a preventive of the disease, and have determined 
to use double the quantity of lime in preparing my muck 
for future crops. 
On three farms, similar in the character of the soil, 
and contiguous to mine, and the only ones respecting 
which I obtained definite information as to the extent of] 
the rot, the crops suffered far more than mine, especial¬ 
ly the Mercer. How far the blight in my field was 
controlled by the character of the manures, I have no 
means of determining. 
The Mercer has long been known to be a feeble vari¬ 
ety of the potato, possessing so little strength of charac¬ 
ter, as to require a combination of favorable circum¬ 
stances to ensure a crop. , 
The conclusion to which I have arrived in the re¬ 
view of these facts, is that the Mercer, from the feeble¬ 
ness of constitution, is particularly exposed to the rava¬ 
ges of this disease, and whether it be on account of its 
deterioration from successive propagation, or from its 
inherent constitutional weakness, should no longer en¬ 
joy the confidence of the farmer; and secondly, that 
while this predisposition to the disease was not de¬ 
stroyed, it was strongly resisted by the character of the 
manure used in cultivation. 
DOMESTICATION OF THE BUFFALO. 
Mr. Tucker. —In the Cultivator for July, Mr. Jen- 
nison inquires whether any attempts have been made in 
Missouri, or other parts of the United States, to domes¬ 
ticate the Buffalo, and with what success? 
Attempts have been made in Missouri and on the 
banks of the Arkansas, by several gentlemen, at 
different times. The success u in domesticating” the 
animal was complete. But the next and most im - 
portant question is, are Buffaloes worth domesticating? 
They have been mixed with our common cattle—the 
cows have been milked, and the bulls have been made 
to draw the plow. But neither species was improved 
by intermixture. The cows give rich milk, but very 
little of it. The oxen have great strength in their fore 
parts, but are not to be compared with our common ox¬ 
en in endurance. Their main strength seems to lie in 
their heads, necks and shoulders, but they taper off be¬ 
hind in strength as well as form, and soon break down 
when worked. They are impatient of all vexation, and 
are rather unmanageable when goaded. Owing to the 
strength of their horns and fore parts, they break over 
fences with facility, and in this respect are mischievous. 
Take them when calves, and they are easily domestica¬ 
ted, and may be seen in different parts of the State, as I 
have seen them, herding with the common cattle. The 
hind quarters, ribs, humps and tongues of the cows are 
