THE CULTIVATOR. 
373 
DISEASE IN POTATOES. 
We see by the N. E. Farmer that Mr. Teschemacher 
continues his experiments with a view to ascertain the 
cause of the potatoe-malady. We have before stated that 
he has discovered a fungus attached to the potatoe. He 
is now of the opinion that the fungus is the cause of the 
disease. His reasons for this opinion are, that “ the 
fungus appears on the skin of the potatoe, and can be 
traced by its dark color penetrating from the outside by 
degrees into the sound inside, the outside fungus deve¬ 
loping itself first, and producing slime and rottenness, 
while the inside yet remains firm and sound. If the fun¬ 
gus resulted from the potatoes first becoming rotten and 
thus forming favorable circumstances for its vegetation, 
then the presumption is that we should sometimes, al¬ 
though perhaps rarely, find parts of the potatoe rotten 
without the fungus, which, I, at least, have not seen.” 
Mr. T. observes that he has often seen heaps of rotten 
potatoes, without having noticed this peculiar fungus, 
which cannot be mistaken on account of its peculiar 
smell. He thinks if it was a disease merely affecting the 
rotten potatoe, it would long ago have been observed. 
In regard to the propagation of this fungus, Mr. Tesch- 
macher is induced to think, from the fact that the tops of 
potatoes have generally died down and thus indicated the 
disease, that it has been propagated by the seeds or spores 
floating in the atmosphere and attaching themselves to 
the stalk of the potatoe, on that vegetating, and extending 
downward to the point of junction with the tuber, there 
producing decay and the death of the upper part of the 
vegetable, and afterwards the decomposition of the tu¬ 
ber. 
In regard to the idea that insects have caused the defect 
in potatoes, Mr. Teschmacher observes, first, that the 
worms which have been found in them “ are the same 
which are found in all rotten potatoes from whatever 
cause the decay may arise,” and second that “ the pota¬ 
toe decays previous to the worms appearing, for the 
worms are never found in the sound part of the potatoe 
eating their way in or depositing their eggs, and it is on¬ 
ly in the most rotten part that the worms exist, after the 
fungus has caused this decay.” 
Honey Dew. —We would call attention to the remarks 
of Dr. Jackson and Mr. Boyd, in this number, relative 
to the defect in potatoes having been occasioned by “ ho¬ 
ney dew.” The circumstance mentioned by Mr. Boyd, 
of the potatoes, over which a carpet was spread, remain¬ 
ing green and healthy, while the remainder of the field 
was destroyed or much injured, is worthy of particular 
remark. 
Respecting the nature or cause of “ honey dew,” we 
believe neither philosophers nor agriculturists are entire¬ 
ly agreed. It has been said that this substance is the ex¬ 
udations of insects called Aphides , or plant lice. That 
the sweet substance which is known to exude from these 
insects has been sometimes called “ honey dew,” is no 
doubt a fact; but that the “ honey dew” is always deriv¬ 
ed from the insects, we cannot believe. Fields of rye 
and other grain, are sometimes struck with the <f honey 
dew,” when no signs of insects can be discovered. 
Several theories have formerly prevailed on this sub¬ 
ject, but so far as we are acquainted, the most generally 
received one at the present time is, that a peculiar state 
of the atmosphere occasions the bursting of the sap-ves¬ 
sels of the plant, by which the sap is exuded to the out¬ 
side of the stalk and leaf. The sap there becoming acrid 
together with the derangement in the functions of the 
plant, is supposed to occasion the blight or rust in grain. 
And hence the prevalent idea that a “ honey dew” always 
precedes blight. 
We are not prepared to vouch for the correctness of 
the bursting of sap vessels, &c.—our own opinion is that 
the matter is not yet fully understood, and we would re¬ 
commend continued investigation and observation, and 
have no doubt additional light will be obtained. 
The communication of the Rev. Mr. Abbott, in a late 
number of the N. E. Farmer, seems to support the theo¬ 
ry mentioned by Dr. Jackson and Mr. Boyd. Mr. Ab¬ 
bott thinks that the wet and warm weather produced an 
overflow of sap. He found the stalks and leaves of oats 
were burst open, and a gummy substance had oozed out. 
He thinks a similar effect was produced on the potatoes, 
and that the disease which has affected them is “ similar 
to rust or blight in grain.” 
Since writing the above we have met with the follow¬ 
ing explanation of mildew and honey-dew , in a report of a 
lecture delivered by Mr. Hey wood before a Farmer’3 
Club in England:—“The former he stated to be caused 
by the rapid evaporation of water from the leaves of plants 
after a wet spring, when the salts the water contained 
were left on the surface of such plants as were already 
nearly matured, while others which were in a growing 
state, appropriated them to their uses; hence this effect 
on late sweedes and not on early ones. Honey-dew was 
caused by an excess of carbon in the plant, which could 
only occur in dry weather, when the other ingredients 
could not be furnished for it to combine with.” 
COMPOUND FOR FATTENING CATTLE. 
Flax-seed and oil-cake have long been considered very 
valuable for fattening cattle. The English farmers prize 
these articles highly, and great quantities are imported 
and used in the British Islands. Oil-cake is even carried 
from this country to fatten English beef. One great ad¬ 
vantage which the English farmer thinks he derives from 
the use of it, is the improved quantity of the manure, 
and this is considered of such consequence as to balance 
a large portion of the expense of the cake. Flax-seed 
or linseed oil, has likewise been sometimes used, mixed 
with bran, be., for fattening animals, and the effect has 
been a very rapid gain. We have occasionally used flax¬ 
seed for cattle with good advantage, by boiling it and 
mixing with meal, cut hay, &c. We recollect the prac¬ 
tice of one man in particular, who, more than twenty 
years ago, was considered to have great success in fatten¬ 
ing cattle. He boiled a quantity of ground flax-seed, or 
instead of that, pulverized oil-cake, with potatoes, and 
scalded in meal, (either from barley or corn,) in such 
quantity that when the mixture was cold it could be cut 
out in pieces, and in that shape was given to the cattle 
while they were in their stalls. 
Jn the third volume of the American Farmer, is an ar¬ 
ticle by Nathan Landon, of Litchfield, Conn., on the sub¬ 
ject of feeding cattle with cut straw, oil-cake and flax¬ 
seed. He says he fattened an ox and a three year old 
heifer, with less expense, even, than that of common 
keeping, by the following process. He says—“I boiled 
about two quarts of flax-seed and sprinkled on to cut 
straw, which had been previously scalded and seasoned 
with salt, together with some oil-cake and oat-meal, 
working them together in a tub with a short pitch fork, 
till the whole became an oily mush. I fattened the heifer 
first—she was of ordinary size, and in good order to win¬ 
ter. I gave her about three pecks, [of the mixture] 
which she ate voraciously, and in the course of four days, 
when the seed was gone, she was visibly altered. I fed 
her regularly in that way about two months, in which 
time she had eaten about one bushel of boiled flax-seed, 
with the other ingredients in proportion,—when she was 
butchered, she weigned 584 pounds, 84 pounds of which 
was tallow. She would not have sold before fattening 
for more than $16. I sold two quarters of her beef for 
$18,13. She cost me not more than $10, exclusive of the 
hay and straw she ate, which was chippy scalded as above. 
On the first of February I began with the ox. I fed him 
about three months, but not altogether so well as I did 
the heifer. He digested about one pint of boiled flax¬ 
seed a day, prepared as above, which I suppose formed 
half the fat in these two cattle. The ox was short, mea¬ 
sured [girthed] seven feet two inches, and when killed, 
weighed 1082 pounds, and had 182 pounds of tallow. He 
cost me while fattening, twenty-five cents a day; he had 
previously cost me thirty-five cents. My nett gain in 
fattening these two cattle, was more than all I have cleared 
before in fattening oxen and cows in fifteen years; and 
this is owing, I think, chiefly to the use of flax-seed. 
T never fattened cattle that appeared so calm, so hearty, 
and digested all their food with so much natural ease and 
regularity as these. I kept my cows in the same way in 
