80C 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Sept. 
The Potato Disease. 
Eds. Cultivator —Disease has once more fallen 
upon the Potato crop. A few words upon its signs 
and progress may not be uninteresting though they 
cannot be new, as they will be mainly, though not en¬ 
tirely, a repetition of the experience of former years. 
The potato crop in Central New-York, came up 
late this season in consequence of a cold and wet 
May. It grew rapidly during the month of June, 
but was not fully in flower until nearly the middle 
of July, in consequence of the general lateness- of 
the season. 
The first intimations of disease upon it were no¬ 
ticed after a pretty heavy rain, on the 23d and 24th 
of June, followed by cool weather on the 25th, on 
which day I noticed that the small and half formed 
rosettes of flowers were paralyzed and falling off 
unopened. 
The next, and much more severe cheek which 
this crop received, was from the heavy rains of the 
2d, 3d and 5th of July, followed by cool nights on 
the 5th and 6th, the thermometer sinking on the fol¬ 
lowing mornings to 50°. There was not, however, 
in. connection with these cool nights, the same cool¬ 
ness and chafing wind during the day, that I have 
noticed, in former years, in connection with the 
origination of the potato disease. Immediately 
after these rains, i. e. on the 6th, I observed a most 
marked pallid look in the potato crop, attended with 
the withering of the top of the leading shoots, 
more especially at first a single leaf, and the falling 
of all the flowers whether expanded or not. Here 
let it be asked what would be the consequence of 
any considerable check in the growth of this or any 
other plant? Would it not probably show itself at the 
tenderest points, i. e. upon the last formed leaves, 
and the flowers? Can there be then a more con¬ 
vincing proof that potato disease, which always 
commences with this pallid aspect of the foliage, 
attended with the withered leaf and falling flowers , 
all in connection with sudden and severe changes of 
the weather, is legitimately the result of such un¬ 
steady weather1 
These heavy rains filled the plant with weak 
juices and saturated and chilled the soil so as to 
shut out the influence of both sun and air, and thus 
prevent all healthful elaboration in the plant. 
Meanwhile chemical tendencies would become more 
powerful than vital energies in the plant; and the 
result would naturally be morbid elaboration, and 
eventual disease, in the foliage in the first instance, 
and remotely in the tubers. Where this withered 
leaf is seen, the end of the shoot, in nearly every 
instance, either dies or hopelessly dwarfs; and its 
place is taken, if the plant should recover its ener¬ 
gies, by the development of the bud in the axil of 
the>next leaf below. After the effect of these rains 
and chills of the first, week of July passed off, the 
verdure of the potato crop gradually recovered. 
Much of the succeeding portions of the month, how¬ 
ever, was wet and hot; the atmosphere was like a 
hot vapor bath, a state of weather undoubtedly un¬ 
favorable to the health of an enfeebled plant, sueh 
as I consider the potato now to be. 
July 16th, two days after a heavy and warm rain, 
I noticed the first blue edgings on the leaves of the 
potato seen this season. This is a fearful indica¬ 
tion, as it almost always spreads rapidly, and is 
always speedily followed by death to all the leaves 
so marked. 
After this there was a slight recovery of the 
healthful verdure of the crop, which continued un¬ 
til the 25th, when a slight shower, followed by a 
chill on the 26th and 27th, reducing the morning 
temperature down to 52° and 4fl°, and once more 
brought pallid looks and increased the withered 
leaves and falling flowers. 
August opened with a continuance of all the pre¬ 
ceding morbid indications, especially with a very 
rapid increase of blue tips upon the upper and outer 
leaves of the plant, and iron-rust spots upon the 
lower and inner leaves. 
Whole fields of early planted potatoes now look 
as though lately invaded by a scorching flame. 
During the present week, I and my neighbors have 
frequently found tubers marked with tender, reddish 
spots on the cuticle, beneath which the flesh begins 
to be a little soft. 
What the result will be, no one can tell. It may 
be hoped that some very late crops will find cooler 
and more even weather, and so mature a fair crop 
of healthful tubers, just as was the case last year j 
although, as a general rule, it is undoubtedly true 
that early planted potatoes do best. 
It is yet too early to know how fatally the tubers 
of early planted crops of potatoes will be diseased,, 
but I anticipate painful results. 
It is a melancholy work to watch the progress of 
disease on this valuable plant from year to year,, 
and to feel how imbecile are the most of our efforts 
to avert it or arrest its progress. 
In harmony with the suggestions of my published 
essays on this topic, I am laboring to renovate the 
potato— first , by successive reproduction from seed* 
balls, gathered from our strongest existing varieties,, 
and secondly, by importations from South America, 
whence I have tubers brought both from Bogota, in 
New Grenada, and also from Chili . These last I 
appreciate not as a race of tubers to be made the 
basis of cultivation, but as a supposed pure and 
hardy source of new seed balls. 
Should it be asked how the morbid indications of 
the present harmonises with those of former years, 
I answer most exactly. There is one difference in 
circumstances however. They are more obviously 
connected with hot and wet weather, and less with 
that which is cold and windy, than in former years. 
The relation of disease to different soils, aspects, 
modes of culture, varieties, &c., I have hardly had 
time to examine, nor is it quite time to fully know. 
An argument, derived from the culture of other 
tropical plants, has been adduced to show that the 
potato, in common with most other tropicals, suffers 
from sudden alternations of weather. It is yet too 
early fully to illustrate this argument from the 
culture of the present year. It may be observed, 
however, that tropical plants have grown less 
vigorously than in some former years, but that, as 
there has been an absence of severe and sudden 
chills, so the foliage of these plants has not been 
diseased as much as in former years. The fruit of 
these plants also has suffered less than in former 
years. I now refer especially to cucumbers, melons 
of all sorts, summer squashes and beans. Tomatoes 
show a strong tendency to the wet rot. The dry 
black induration upon this fruit, noticed in former 
years, in connection with the potato disease, has 
not yet been seen this year. The time has not yet 
come for some tropical plants to show all the morbid 
indications to which they are liable, as their fruits 
are not yet matured. 
It has been advised to mow off potato vines, when 
first struck with disease, in the hope thus of pre¬ 
venting it’s communication to the tubers. The only 
case where this would be applicable is that in which 
the tubers are large enough to be worth saving. In 
such a case, and where the approach of disease was 
