The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-26 00:00:00

SOCIETY.

" Brighton, Sept. 17, 1845.
" My Lord,—ln reply to your letter of the 13th inst., I
must say that I do not think it would be either safe or pru-
dent to depend upon the infected potatoes of the present
season as seed for the next year; as, in all instances, I have
found the diseased parts to extend when the potatoes are
kept in a damp situation : I should therefore expect that if
any diseased seed was kept so dry as not to rot before
setting time, yet, upon being planted, and left in the damp
soil, the rotting process would then begin, and the hopes
of the husbandman be disappointed. I have no doubt that
some potatoes, apparently sound, have (as stated by your
Lordship) been found to be affected after stowing away;
but I do not consider this to have been an origination of
it, but merely that that which was noticed when dug
has become apparent after storing. When a potato is first
affected the diseased parts are scarcely visible, but upon
keeping in a dark,place the spots soon become dark, and con-
sequently more apparent, but the spots do not extend ; if,
however, the tuber has been kept in a damp place, the
spots not only extend rapidly over the surface, but penetrate
into the interior, and in a short time it will be completely
rotten. As far as the slaked lime, which you have used in
your potato stores, has a tendency to prevent the tubers
from touching each other, or by its power of absorbing
water, of keeping them dry, it will answer a good end; but
it must not be expected to have any chemical effect upon
the diseased parts of their juices. Anything which, like
dry sawdust or sand, would prevent contact, would prevent
the propagation from one tuber to another, and 'any sub-
stance capable of absorbing the moisture of the air in
which the potato is stored, would prevent the extension
of the disease in each diseased root. Our best micro-
scopists and cryptogamists are divided in opinion as to whe-
ther the cause of the calamity is fungus or not. After all
the examination I have given to the subject, and a careful
review of all the evidence brought before me on the two
sides, I believe that it is . and I am daily confirmed in the
opinion originally expressed, that the only advantageous way
of treating the diseased potatoes is to obtain from them, by
rasping and washing, the starch which they contain—
by which process all their nutriment can be retained ;
and if it is well dried it will keep for any length of
time. The operations can be performed in the cottage
manufactory alike, as no apparatus beyond a tin rasp
(a nutmeg grater), a tub, and clean water, are re-
quired ; and I have ascertained that however far the disease
might have extended, even if the root is rotten, yet the starch
can be separated, and in a state fit to be eaten, if it shall be
well washed, as all the bad parts come away with the water,
while the great weight of the starch carries it to the bottom
of the vessel. If it is required that the fecula should have
all the qualities of the best foreign arrowroot, it is only
necessary to wash it last in water containing a little chlorine,
when it has unrivalled colour and quality, and this I can
speak of practically, having made many tons of the article.
I will add, that an opinion has been circulated that the
disease is owing to the introduction of guano as a manure;
this I feel no hesitation in contradicting, as I have seen it in
situations where no guano has been used, and where every
variety of manure has been resorted to.—l am your Lord-
ship's most obedient servant.
"WILLIAM HERAPATH."

THE WEATHER.-LIVEREOOL, TUESDAY EVEN-
ING.—There has again been a considerable quantity of rain
in this neighbourhood ; but to-day there has been an improve
ment in the weather, the sun having shone brightly and
warmly during the whole day. Still we have a north wind,
and, in the shade, a very cold atmosphere. Last night the
air was quite frosty.

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