1847 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
49 
no evidence of moisture, down to the bottom of the hill. 
The atmosphere was cloudy, with occasional mists, and 
oppressively warm; wind southerly. The ground was 
also very warm; unnaturally so, for, on thrusting the 
hand into the earth forming the hill, was like putting it 
in hot ashes—a dry, scorching heat. 
The vines which were not mown, dried up in a week 
or two, and the potatoes were dug from the twentieth 
to the twenty-fifth of September. The result was, that 
in the part mown, where no evidence of the disease ex¬ 
isted, there were no rotten ones. Where it gave slight 
appearances of its existence at mowing, very few, 
probably not, one bushel in twenty, were diseased. 
Where they were not mown at all, from one-fourth to 
one-third were rottfen. Such were the results of our 
experience.. That others may bring contradictory state¬ 
ments is very probable; but those will not alter the facts 
that we have seen, and yet, from different circumstan¬ 
ces, their statements may be true. 
Many have objected to mowing the tops, because it 
will stop the growth of the tuber. It does undoubtedly 
retard it, not wholly stop its growth. So does the rot, 
if it remains of long continuance. One farmer told us, 
that he mowed a part of his, but those in the hills not 
mown, grew so much larger, that they more than 
balanced the loss of those that decayed. 
Then again, in the matter of their starting a new 
crop where they are mown; they may or may not; ours 
remained in the ground more than a month, and gave 
no intimation of sending up new vines. Yet in other 
cases they may do so. We are fully convinced that if 
mowing will save them, it must be done before the 
disease strikes them, or very quick after. How benefi¬ 
cial it may be in such cases we can not say. We know 
what it has done for ours. 
Various experiments were tried by different persons, 
and in different locations, to get around the evil, a few 
of which we subjoin. One farmer tried ashes and plas¬ 
ter. mixed in equal quantities, in the hill, and then, in 
adjoining rows, ashes alone,—and in another part of the 
field, plaster alone, and in some he manured with un¬ 
fermented farm-yard manure. When the disease came 
on, he mowed half the piece, mowing two rows and 
leaving two. The result was, as he says, that his crop 
was an entire failure, not getting more than fifteen 
bushels where he ought to have had one hundred. He 
saw no difference in effect in the several causes pro¬ 
posed. 
Another says, he went on to a remote part of his 
farm, and plowed and planted an old piece of pasture 
land, that had never submitted to the plow or received 
any manure, except such as came by accident, and he 
had no rot in his crop. 
In canvassing the general information that has come 
to our reach, we must conclude that crops planted on 
light porous soils, or stimulated by hot, exciting ma¬ 
nures, fared altogether the best. 
That the disease is produced by some atmospheric 
quality, aided by a predisposing influence in the soil, to 
us appears more than ever conclusive. (We carefully 
examined the stems for the worm, but he was not 
there, and gave no evidence of having been there, 
and as for the insect preying on the leaf, so far as we 
examined, the leaves were more perfect than in the pre¬ 
vious year, 1845, when there was but little or no rot.) 
The same may be said with regard to the rust on wheat. 
Every farmer knows, or may, if he will notice the fact, 
that wheat, and indeed, other grains, are often struck 
with blight, while fields near by do not experience any 
of its influence. We once saw this fact illustrated in 
two fields not more than four rods apart, where in one 
the straw was perfectly bright at harvest time, while 
in the other, the rust was so manifest that its effects 
could be seen a great distance. Yet the latter field 
was tilled with as much care as the former, but the soil 
and exposure were different even in that short distance. 
But the wheat crop is not abandoned because exposed to 
rust. Farmers have learned to manage the crop so as in 
a great measure to avoid its influence; and we have but 
little doubt, but by perseverance and close observation, 
(such as the physician must pursue in order to baffle 
new diseases,) the potato plague will eventually be in 
a great measure overcome. At least we fondly hope, 
and are willing to pursue our labors in the hope, that 
such may be the case. 
But the potato has not been the only sufferer by the 
plague the last season. Here, as in other places, its 
influence has been seen on the tomaio, carrot, and, in¬ 
deed, that or something like, on some varieties of fruit. 
Plums gave abundant evidence of its existence, and 
perished of a dry rot on the trees in great numbers. 
Apples, in some locations, had the plague spot indelibly 
marked on them, and their disposition to rot in the fall, 
and so far this winter, is remarked by almost every one. 
And so with other fruits. William Bacon. 
Richmond , Mass., Jan., 1847. 
Editors Cultivator —For the last two seasons I 
have escaped the potato rot, which has beefi quite gene¬ 
ral around me. I am not quite sure that the course of 
treatment which I have pursued, would, on different 
soils and in different seasons, produce the same result;, 
but as no evil can result from the practice which I havo 
adopted, and as I cannot attribute my escape from the rot 
to any other cause, I give you the facts to dispose of ( 
as you may think best. 
fn the fall of 1844, my potatoes were for the first 
time considerably injured by the rot; in consequence of 
which, I read with care every article on the subject 
which came in my way. One writer stated that he 
planted his potatoes quite early in the season, and 
that his crop in the fall was sound and good, while 
those of his neighbors, which were planted later in the 
season, suffered very much from the rot. On reading 
this article. I resolved to pursue a similar course the 
next season. Accordingly, in the spring of 1845. I 
planted my potatoes the first of May, which was about 
two weeks earlier than my usual time of planting. 
They were hoed only once, and were ripe and dug in 
September, when the ground was dry, all sound and 
good, and they continued so. 
In the spring of 1846, the ground being dry, it was 
made ready, and the potatoes planted the 10th and 11th 
days of April. They were hoed only once, and were 
ripe in August, but not dug until September. When 
dug the ground was dry—the potatoes came out clean,, 
and as sound as any I ever raised, and at this time 
there is no appearance of disease among them. 
The soil on which the potatoes grew, both in 1845. 
and 1846, was muck. The potatoes were of three 
kinds, viz: White, Flesh-color, and Neshannock. 
The seasons, both 1845 and 1846, were unusually 
dry. Most of my neighbors have suffered severely from 
the rot for the last three years. 
About the middle of May, last past, I planted a 
small patch of potatoes for the purpose of experiment, 
in contrast with those planted early in the season. The 
soil in which these were planted was gravelly clay. 
They were left in the ground until the 10th of Nov., 
then dug and found to be diseased, but not rotten. 
Purple spots were to be seen on nearly half of them. 
They were laid in a cellar, and in about two weeks 
were found to be rotting badly. 
I Mve these facts hoping that it may induce others 
the next season to try experiments by planting both 
early and late, on the same and on different kinds of 
soil. Yours respectfully, J. Horsford. 
Moscow , N. Y. } 1846. 
