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THE CULTIVATOR. 
Nov, 
Diseases of Plants. 
The Farmer’s Magazine for October, contains an article 
on this subject, from which we condense the following: 
All we really know is this: Plants are, the more we 
grow them, and the greater the produce of them, more 
and more liable to disease. The principle is one some¬ 
what difficult to understand, to those who have narrow 
views of the operations of nature; but to those who look 
at things more as they are, it is a part of a great plan— 
a link in the chain of causation, perfectly explicable. 
An analogy to diseases in plants may be found in a 
crowded city. It is always a conglomeration of disease 
and death. In prisons, hospitals and penitentiaries, a 
disease trifling in an isolated home, may become dange¬ 
rous and run into epidemics; to the croAvding of luxu¬ 
riant plants and high cultivation renders them liable to 
disease . 
The potato is a most striking case in point. It is by 
cultivation carried aAvay from its natural wildness, till 
it becomes almost another kind of plant. In Peru, its 
native country, it is found not more than three inches 
high, with large flo\\ 7 ers, and tubers the size of a hazel 
nut. Now, by cultivation, the floAvers become insignifi¬ 
cant ; the stem increases in size, and the tubers enlarged 
to a weight of sometimes three or four pounds, and instead 
of a straggling plant here and there, thousands of acres 
are covered Avith the plant, to the exclusion of almost 
every other. Nature revolts at this overpeopling with 
rank potatoes. Some weakness of the plants; some at¬ 
mospheric cause dissolves the vital poAver, which holds 
the chemical particles together; and we haA T e dissolu¬ 
tion and decay irremediable. 
Take the vine, carried by man from its native wild¬ 
ness, clustered together in fields, nay in forests, excited 
by manure, protected by glass, pruned by science, so as 
to increase the juicy fruit nearly six times; it sIioavs re¬ 
volt by this forcing, and a vast disease has destroyed the 
fruit, and threatens to be the death of the vines them¬ 
selves. It is the cholera of the croAvded vinery, as much 
as the plague ever visited Hull, or Leeds, or London. 
A disease is now very prevalent in turneps. On the 
best turnep soils, Avith the highest of farming, and Avith 
plants absolutely the most promising, a flag in the leaA^es 
is discoA r ered some sunny day, and by and bye the plants 
wither and die; they are first a mass of thickened and 
carbuncled roots, and then an accumulation of disgust¬ 
ing corruption, while Aveeds, triumphing over this death 
of the race Avhich had displaced them, seem to run riot 
on the death of the turnep. 
What AA r eAvish to urge is, that all im T estigations be car¬ 
ried on in a large spirit, not looking merely at a particu¬ 
lar crop attacked with a peculiar disease, but inquire if 
all our cultivated crops are not more liable to some dis¬ 
ease than they were. Whether it is a cause or effect Ave 
know not, but Ave mean that this spirit should animate 
those who seek for information. 
To transplant evergreens, one point attended to will 
result in success—neglected, in failure—this is, remoA 7 ing 
plenty of earth with the roots. 
Banking round young trees a foot high in autumn is 
an infallible remedy against mice. 
Mr. Vail’s Cattle Sale. 
The public sale of Mr. Vail’s fine herd of Durham 
cattle, took place at his farm near Troy, on the 18th of 
last month. Though the attendance \A r as not large, the 
bidding was more spirited, and the prices averaged much 
higher than at any previous sale ever held in the State, 
as Avill be seen by the annexed list: 
1. Yarm Lass, 3£ years. Messrs. Reber & Co., Ohio, .$(570 
2. Yorkshire Countess, 2£ years, do. do. 580 
3. Yorkshire Countess 2nd, calf, Capt. A. Root, Ohio,. 315 
4. Hilpa 1st, 12 years, Messrs. Reber & Co., Ohio,. 320 
5. Hilpa 2nd, 4 years, Gen. Geo. Cadwallader, Phil... 260 
6. Hilpa 3rd, 2 years, do. do. . 360 
7. Hilpa 5th, calf, Capt. A. Root, Ohio, .. 260 
8. Lady Barrington 5th, 4 years, Gen. Geo. Cadwallader, Phil. 320 
9. Lady Barrington 7th, 1 year, H. & R. M. Watts, M. P., 
Canada. .. ... 240 
10. Butter Cup 2nd, 5 years, Air. O'llarra, Madison co., N Y., 200 
11. Betty, 7 years, Gen. Cadwallader, Phil.,. 150 
12. Betty 2nd, 4 years, Mr. D. A. Baker, Ohio,. 110 
13. Betty 3d, 3 years, calf, Gen. Geo. Cadwallader, Phil. 75 
14. Bellflower, 13 years, T. S. Halton, Vt., . 75 
15. Laura 2nd, 8£ years, Mr. H. Parsons, Canada,. 125 
16. Laura 3d, calf, Richard H. Dulany, Esq., (from the South,) 100 
17. Cherry, 7 years, Wm. K. Gaslon, Esq., New-Jersey,. 100 
18. Estervilie 3d, 6 years, L. Spencer, Esq., Westchester, N. Y. 610 
19. Estervilie 4th, 2 years, Messrs. Reber & Co., Ohio,. 405 
20. Willey 7th, 5 years, O. Slate, Jun. Esq., N. Y.,. 260 
21. Willey 8lh, 2 years, Gen. Geo. Cadwallader, Phil.,. 160 
22. Lady Ann, 2 years, H. Parsons, Esq., Canada,. 130 
23. Weldham, 6th, 2 years, Hon. Adam Ferguson, Canada, ... 275 
24. Eunice 4th, 4 years, Mr. D. A. Baker, Ohio,. 125 
25. Eunice 5th, \ year, Harvey Ingersoll, Esq., Phil.,. 120 
26. Aurora 2d, 9 years, do do. . 90 
27. Aurora 3d, 4 years, Giles Boult.. 65 
28 Aurora 5th, calf, Richard H. Dulany, Esq., (South,) . 80 
29. Cherry 3d, 6 years, Giles Boult, Ohio.. 75 
30. Cherry 4th, 1 year, Capt. A. Root, Ohio,. 75 
31. Cherry, 5th, calf, L. Spencer, Esq . Westchester, N. Y.,.. 110 
32. Snowball. 3 years. Not sold. 
33. Blossom, passed, not sold. 
34. Blossom 2d, calf, Gen. Geo. Cadwallader, Phil. 65 
35. Lilack 3d, 4 years. Or Slate, Jun. Esq., N. Y.,. 80 
36. Ella, 4 years, Mr. Giles Boult, Ohio.. . 120 
37. Bellflower 3d, calf, Linus Birdseye, Conn. 55 
38. Salley, not sold. 
39. Earl Derby, 1 year, Messrs. Reber & Co.. Ohio,. 570 
40. Kirkleavington 2d, 1 year, O. Slate, jun. Esq., N. Y.,. 380 
41. Kirkleavington 3d. calf, Mr. Calkins, Madison co., N. Y.,. 220 
42. American Comet 2nd, 1 year, Capt. A. Root. Ohio,. 130 
43. American Comet 3d, calf, P. Latlirop, Esq., Mass.,. 125 
44. Prince of Wales, 1 year, Harry Ingersoll, Esq., Phil.,. 95 
45. Prince of Wales 2nd, 1 year, Mr. Bullock, Albany co,,.... 50 
46. Mount Hope, 1 year, Linus Birdseye, Esq,, Conn.,........ 90 
47. Sir Arlhur, Not sold. 
48. Earl Piercey. Not sold. 
49. Prince Albert, 3 years, Mr. W. Peck, N. Y.,. 15S 
50. Dairyman, calf, H. Parsons, Esq., Canada,. 150 
51. Red Rover. Not sold,. 
52. Trafalgar, calf, H. Morris Esq., Westchester, N. Y. 110 
53. Blanch Rose, 3 years, H. Morris, Esq., do... 76 
54. Skylark, 6 years, W. R. Gaston, Esq., N. Jersey,. 75 
55. Lauderdale. Not sold...- ... 
56. Venus, 1 year, L. Birdseye, Esq., Connecticut.. 75 
57. May Flower. Not sold...'. 
5S. Butter Cup 3d, calf, Mr. O’Hara, Madison Co. 50 
59. Lilack 4th, calf, Gen. Geo. Cadwallader, Philadelphia,. 50 
60. Enchanter, calf, Peter Keese, Esq., Essex, N. Y. 100 
61. Sir Walter, calf, Harry Ingersoll, Esq., Philadelphia,. 20 
It will be seen by the abtyve, that 32 coavs and heifers, 
averaged $201.62Veach,. $6,430 
Eight heifer caHes averaged $129.37-§ 3 . 1,035 
One tL’ee year old bull,... .. 155 
Six yearling bulls aA~eraged $219.16^,. 1.315 
Six bull eal\ r es averaged $120.83,. 725 
Average of the 53 sold. $182.64 each,.$9,660 
Black Knot on Plum Trees.—C. M. Hovey informs 
ns in his Magazine, that the practice of Joseph Stickney, 
of Watertown, Mass., is to cut off the black knots on his 
plum trees as fast as they grow, and bp constant perse¬ 
verance, the evil has nearly or quite disappeared. We 
are glad at all times to furnish additional proof of the 
success of this mode of treatment, which we have long 
practiced with success. 
