The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-21 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SlR,—Referring to a report which has appeared in the
Liverpool papers, and copied into your impression of the
19th, of the inquest at Wolverton, I am desired by the
Directors to say that they have caused inquiries to be
made relative to the statement that the " bodies of the
deceased had been plundered of moneys in their posses
sion," and that they can find no ground for the asser-
tion. No complaint has been made to them, which un-
doubtedly would have been the ease had so disgraceful
an occurreence taken place, except in one instance, where
it was alleged that one of the deceased had Ti. in his
possession ; and on a careful examination of his person,
the amount was found in his side pocket. The Directors
cannot learn that any " of the officers of the Company"
gave any opinion in relation to the anticipated expense
of the accident. By inserting this note in your next
publication, you will oblige Sir, y, ur oheclent s,r%ant,

MARK HUISH,

THE ENGLISH DRAMA.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Silt,—l presume something will be done next season
to restore the falling fortunes of the British stage; and,
that something must be done by some active, enterprising,
right-judgina manager. We want in L,ndon all the talent
we can get together: otherwise we never shall have any play
perfectly represented: and no one will go to see "a lame
and impotent" performance maimed and halting on the
stage, for want of proper support. I commend to any
manager who intends to conduct an English theatre next
year the following names :
Mr and Mrs. C. Kean ... in America, I believe.
Mr. and Miss Vandenhoff, disengaged in London.
Miss H. Faucit ... ditto.
Mr. Anderson ... in America.
Mr. J. Wallack ... ditto.

88%
'AP

Mr. Geo. Vandenhoff ... ditto, or if at home, dis-
engaged, though the Ame-
rican papers speak most
highly of his talents.
These, with others who might be mentioned, would give
some stamina to a theatre, and ensure its plays being well
cast ; for it is a certain fact that an English audience will
co longer be humbugged with the whole of a tragedy or
comedy lying on the shoulders of one or two persons. It
is not so at the opera-houses, and why should it be so at
the national theatres?—l air, Sir, &c.,

DRAMATICUS.
Lincoln's Inn-fields, June. 15, 1847.

20%
63
60
21,ii
235

15%
10%
371
12%
5%

RE-APPEARANCE OF THE
POTATO DISEASE.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—As your journal has contained a number of
articles upon the potato disease, in which it has
been' attributed to the attacks of aphides, I beg
to request the insertion in your paper of the
following observations relative to its re-appear-
ance, at a moment when the generally healthy
appearance of the crops and the singular absence of
aphides might induce a false security and lead to irre-
mediable evils ; and which are an abstract of a paper
read by me at the Linnean Society on Tuesday, the 15th
inst.; my object being to disprove the assertion which
has been circulated by Mr. Alfred Smee, with so much
activity, that the disease has been entirely produced by
the attacks of a species of aphis.
The arguments I adduce in opposition to this theory
are—

1. That the aphis which has been found upon the
potato, and thence considered as the cause of the disease,
is neither a newly created ncr a newly imported species,
but was well known long before the disease in question
appeared.
2. That the disease itself has not been known until
the last few years.
3. That the disease may occur independent of aphides.
4. That aphides may abound tin a plant without pro-
ducing the real disease.
5. That the results produced by the attacks of aphides
upon a plant are of a widely different character from
those exhibited by the planta attacked by this disease.
6. That the disease in question may appear in the off-
spring of a sound parent tuber ; and
7. That the disease appears in many respects to be
analogous to the cholera, and may thence, for the sake
of distinction, be termed the potato cholera.
The facts already befbre the public fully confirm these
arguments, which are corroborated by other circum-
stances which I have noticed within the last few days in
my own kitchen garden in Hammersmith, and which are
briefly as follow:
On the 4th inst., a few plants were observed sickly in
appearance, with the leaves drooping and yellow in
colour ; the remainder of the crop having a remarkably
healthy appearance and being singularly free from
insects of all kinds.
On taking up these drooping specimens, the haulm or
stem for about two inches below the surface of the
ground was found to be dried and shriveled up in ap-
pearance, and of a dirty brown colour; whilst the tuber
from which it Lad sprung, and which had been set entire
last autumn, was still found perectly sound, thus
proving the absence of disease inherited from the parent
plant. With the exception of these few plants the
entire crop retained its healthy appearance until
Sunday afternoon, the 13th instant, when a great
number of the plants in two of the beds were observed
flagging, just as though they had been trampled over by
dogs, which has since been followed by the same appear-
ance in other parts of the garden. It is proper here to
state that no attempts had been previously made to rid
the plants of insects, nor had the ground received other
than the ordinary treatment ; the last year's crop in
my garden having been singularly tree from disease.
On examining some of these plants on the following
morning the haulm below the surface of the ground
was found to present the same dried, withered, and dis-
coloured appearance as in the specimens examined ten
days previous!) ; the fibres of the roots being likewise
dry and incapable of performing their proper functions,
and which would produce discoloured blotches on the
leaves in a subsequent stage of the disease. The plants
at the same time were free from insects, and the parent
tuber remained in several of them, to all appearance, as
sound as when first planted. A number of the plants
thus attacked were exhibited to the meeting.
This sudden drooping of so many of the plants, which
up to that time had appeared so healthy, led to the
examination of some of those which still remained erect,
when it was found that even some of these presented
precisely the same appearance as those which had
dropped, and which would doubtless in a few days have
shared the same fate as the others. Nothing, there-
fore, can be more fallacious than to depend upon
the present general healthy appearance of the crop
throughout the country or its fri edom from aphides.
The theory of Hr. Alfred Smee is, ai that gentleman is
well aware, rejected by every zoologist ani botanist of
distinction in London, and its reiteration at the present
critical moment is a gross attempt to mislead the public,
and may be productive of the greatest evil by inducing
security (owing to the absence of aphides), until too late
in the season to remedy the eviL—l am, sir, your very
obedient servant,
JOHN 0. WESTWOOD,
Secretary of the Entomological Society.
St. Peter's, Hammersmith, June 16.

THE CROPS.—We have not heard two different
opinions expressed, amongst the farmers we have con.
versed with, as to the prospects of the forthcoming crops ;
all concur in stating them to be most favourable. Ve-
getation of all kinds is springing up with a rapidity sel-
dom surpassed—the mild weather and succession of ge-
nial showers producing everywhere the most beneficial
results. The wheats look strong and healthy, and in
many places are in ear. Turnips are coming forward
rapidly, and so far seem to have escaped the attack of
the fly. With regard to the potatoes, about which so
much anxiety is expressed and so many doubts pro-
claimed, we can answer for our own neighbourhood that
they never wore a more promising or luxurious appear-
ance at this season of the year ; and we are not aware
that the slightest indication of disease has been dis-
covered.—Carlisle Journal.

SURREY ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.—The Siege of
Gibraltar, at the Surrey Zoological Gardens, continues
its attractive career. L is certainly, beyond all com-
parison, the most extraordinary exhibit oil yet produced,
and fully justifies the opinions of two of the most dis-
tinguished artists of this or any other country. that it is
a dramatic picture of extraordinary beauty.
IMMENSE' ARRIVAL OF BREAD STUFFS.—We
announce with pleasure the arrival, on yesterday, into
our harbour of thirty-two vessels of large tonnage, laden
with maize, flour, and wheat. Our advices from Cove
this morning, half-past nine o'clock, announce a further
arrival of thirty-two vessels similarly laden, with a
large number outside the harbour. The quantity of
bread stuffs brought by yesterday's shipping amounts to
10,077 tons, which added to that brought by this morn-
ing's arrival, about 10,100—makes a total of 20.177 tons,
This is cheering news for the country. Our harbour
never before presented so gay a spectacle as at present,
there being over 230 vessels of all tonnage, and bearing
at their mast heads the flags of nearly every country in
the universe.—Cork Examiner, Wednesday.
SCILLY.—The crops of all kinds look well, and ship-
ments of new potatoes are being made almost every day.
They are of excellent quality, and good size, although
not fully come to maturity ; price twenty shillings per
bushel of 1401bs.— West Briton.
PONTYPOOL. SHOCKING OCCURRENCE. --- On the
evening of Wednesday, June 9th, a farmer, named John
Herbert, residing at the Varteg, near Pontypool, went
to a limekiln on his farm, which he had charged in the
morning, to see how it progressed, and finding it not
burn so briskly as he wished, he went down a ladder
which he had placed for the purpose, with an iron bar,
and gave the top vent, when he fell downapnpaarrbennntliyn
lifeless, from the effects, it is supposed, of the
acid gas which issued from t,hwe
hlnim:,asstonste;ndHini;
age,
a servant man, who
Osnont,h:
tl andp aboutee lke 3
iln, c•
aelalresdoofuta,g
was near, ran, and immediately Went down the the ladder
man.toassni satmheids
Lewis,mas er ,wannsdatmhentn
hand,
l similarnst nn fate.
time in
10 ylll.lp
ing the servant to assist the other two, when hAe
unfor-
tunately fell lifeless. Me son then ran off to Blaenavon
to his mother, who was there attending a funeral, and
gave the alarm, when several persons hurried to the kiln,
Accidentalthree
all
Esq.,
dead.An inquest was
heldatie when
nhane rvFee
rrfidod
acnyt
obtfehfe,n,mrn
F.Batt,deputy coroner,
w
each case.—Meninouthehire Merlin ath"
was returned in