1851. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
the summer’s growth, especially in the case of luxuriant 
grafts, frequently nearly all perishing on account of the 
immaturity of the wood when the leaves fell. Turneps 
that mature in the middle of the summer, and winter cab¬ 
bage, that was cut early in the fall, were both extensive¬ 
ly affected by decay. Had this weather occurred a few 
weeks earlier, it would undoubtedly have resulted in the 
rust of the wheat crop. 
II. Other Interesting Facts. 
1. Mowing off the Vines— On the 24th of August, 
soon after the close of my last article, I mowed off the 
vines on about one-half of an acre which had been plant¬ 
ed a little later than my main crop, and where the vines 
had suffered less from the mildew, than some others. 
The result was the saving of the tubers almost entirely 
from the rot. Had I mowed a little earlier, I think they 
would all have been saved. 
2. Effect of shade.—The shade of high fences, trees, 
and hedges, just as in former years, had a very manifest 
influence in moderating the effect of disease. These 
protections were on the east and south-east sides of the 
portions of the crop benefitted. The beneficial results 
were due obviously to the moderation of the morning 
heat, after a season of cold chills. 
3. Early and rapid Disease least Injurious .*—My 
largest plat of potatoes embraced about two acres. The 
soil was a light gravelly loam,—a fair soil for corn, but 
too much wanting in vegetable matter to be well adapted 
to potatoes. Its shape was a parallelogram. Across 
one end, and including about one quarter of the plat, I 
applied leached ashes, (mixed with soda ash,) from the 
soap-makers. One side of this piece was planted with 
Early Pink-eyes, and the other with Carters. Although 
the soil was naturally very light and dry, yet the effect 
of the ashes, in connection with the frequent and heavy 
rains of the season, was to kee'p the soil much more 
moist than that of the remaining portion. On the three 
quarters of the field, where no ashes was applied, the 
potatoes of both sorts, died early and most rapidly; and 
when dug were sound with very few exceptions; although 
they were small and few. The fatal impression of disease 
was here made I think, by the ordinary causes, i. e., sud¬ 
den changes of heat and cold. The suddenness and 
power of disease here seemed to act like the scythe, in 
a preceding case, i. e., it cut off communication with the 
tubers, and so prevented the transmission of morbid 
matter. On the portion where the ashes was applied, 
the crop grew stronger, died a slow and lingering death, 
and in the autumn were scarcely worth digging, so badly 
were they diseased. It may be asked how the slower 
death of this richest portion of this plat is consistent 
with the common, and undoubtedly true doctrine, u that 
the rankest growth is usually most early and rapidly 
diseased.” I answer, that the moister and therefore 
cooler position of this portion saved it somewhat from 
the influence of the ordinary causes of disease that so 
fatally affected the other portion, and at the same time, 
the more fatally exposed it to the later impulse of disease, 
i. e, hot rains. These results of early and rapid disease 
are also parallel with the experience of former years. 
See the essay for 1847. 
4. Reported Exemption from Disease .—In the season 
of digging potatoes I heard of a large cultivator of po¬ 
87 
tatoes, in a neighboring town, whose crop had escaped 
disease. Pleased with so grateful intelligence I hastened 
to the spot. I found about fourteen acres, planted with 
“ western reds,” on a very light sandy soil. The crop 
was indeed sound, with few exceptions, say about one 
diseased potato to ten hills; but then the owner had to 
acknowledge that the crop “ had been early struck with 
the rust,” as he called it. Certainly the yield was small. 
The degree of exemption from disease in this case pro¬ 
bably resulted from two causes—a high degree of com¬ 
parative vitality in the sort planted, and the rapid action 
of disease operating as in my own experience above in 
the case 3. 
III. Hope for the Future. 
Admid all this gloom the farmer should not utterly 
despair. Even with our present feeble varieties for seed 
it is, to me, highly improbable that the next year will 
be as bad as the present has been. 
Those who keep records of the weather will, I think, 
justify me in the assertion that, the extreme wetness of 
the past summer, and the damp and hot state of the 
atmosphere, much of the time, from July 14th to Au¬ 
gust 21st, constitute it the most severe season for the 
potato experienced for many years: at least the most so 
of any that have occurred since the first appearance of 
the disease in 1843. Many fields of new soil, such as 
were well stored with vegetable matter, and were of that 
simply moist character which past experience has proved 
most congenial to the potato, have proved so wet, this 
year, as almost entirely to fail of a crop. The same has 
been true of clay soils generally. 
On the other hand, soils constitutionally very dry have 
proved amply moist. In view of the constitutional re¬ 
quirements of the potato, and of the peculiarities of the 
season, peculiarities affecting not the potato alone, but 
also many other vegetables, I hesitate not to say that 
had the potato been possessed of all the vigor which it 
had fifty years ago, it would nevertheless have been dis¬ 
eased this year. C. E. G. Utica, Dec. 1, 1850. 
Cattle Show of the Smithfield Club. 
The annual shoAv of this association came off at London 
on the 11th, 12th, and 13th of December last. It exceeded 
in numbers that of any previous year. There were 
sixty more entries for cattle, and twenty more pens of 
sheep, than in 1849. The prizes for fat oxen and steers 
were chiefly carried by the Herefords and Devons. A 
Hereford steer two years and ten months old, received 
the gold medal as the best ox or steer in the show, as 
well as a prize of <£25, and a silver medal to the feeder. 
He is spoken of as a most beautiful and symmetrical ani¬ 
mal, and was sold to a butcher for £68, (about $340.) The 
gold medal for the best fat cow was awarded to a short¬ 
horn, five years old. The first premium for pigs was award¬ 
ed to Wm. Fisher Hobbs, for specimens of the Essex 
breed. One of this lot, which, from having received an 
injury on the way to the show, was slaughtered, weighed, 
dressed, 521 pounds. It was seventeen months old. 
Prince Albert received a second prize for pigs. They 
were of the Yorkshire breed. The Duke of WellinGt 
•ton was an exhibitor for the first time. He exhibited a 
curious animal—a fat cow, a cross between the Scotch 
Highland cow and the Bramah bull. The show was 
