The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1847-07-02
AGRICULTURAL.


ceuses which produce rust on straw, and
4 tA6S consequent shrinking Of the grain.
VIZ he's. and a,eis..re in excess. The
excess pf moisture sca;,i, OF downs the
PLAN; the circnla,nn OF the sap is check
ed; the STEM anil leaves beconc spotted;
lhs latser ..ll or. aud HE grain receiving
<Nosunurislunent from the straw and being
!. above ground, dries up and shrinks. The
4 ;paiato being unrlpe, receisipg rn nourisl.
enl Ar9m the top. and being undr,
9f0und ing,he centre OF The vegetable NJ /.
! ief whicl, is in a. stale &c fermentation
ff0fns the combined acton ri hea, and
nsoisturc. becomes decompnsed, or in
other wor,i4. his the "Kn." This is
The whole Of the mys,ery. We are too
fond Of tho marvellous; and in looking
foF the Supernatural causes, we are apt 10
overlook the common sense cause.
can remember Witnessing this "ro,"
5 al least fifteen times in the last thirty
years. and cannot distinctly rcmen, er
one season IN which | did mol witness it.
When i bscame prevalent, on taxing my
memory, | invariably turned j, buck TO
The low mois, and rich portions Of the
fields where had seen il previously. and
subseqnc illy. in the very many instances
which came under my observation,
found that The high. dry, open aud ,,oor
portions OF the same fields, were less at
fecled by the rot than the rich level and
mos! portions. The seasons Of ~ and
'46 were very no, and wet; much more
90 than can remember for twenty yeas
Tint formerly we may have had similar
\ seasons. i will not deny. think | can
= remember soue But the method Of cul.
tvalion has wholly changed. Formerly
: we planted from four TO six inches below
the surface, and abou, three feet apart
In ,illing, every particle Of loose earth
was drawn up around the plant. This
made artificial channels TO carry OF The
surplus water, and left space for the
sun and air TO penetrate; and the crop
being covered so deep, was M, subjec. To
the laws of decomposition. In fact, we
! often used to find the old seed perfectly
sound. They are now planted as near
I the surface aud as near together as posi-.
bic.
The consequence is, that having no
means OF escape, the surplus water stand,
on the surface until absorbed by tho soil
This scaiis or drowns the pllnl-and The
potato being near the surface, in the
midst Of putrefaciion, becomes pulrelied.
ia all instances of my early experience
d ii il, il was 10 spots where. when plant
ing. soJs or manure was put under the
seeds TO keep |, above the wei-and
have hil dozen cases where the seed
has become decomposed in the same
manner, and where ! substituted other
crops in CO sequence. Entertaining this
opinion, have paid bat lille attention to
The experiments IN which you refer, and
would not give a rotten potato for the
whole of them.
n When an effect is shown by Them,
SiIiey mos. Invariably mistake the cause.
One man plants land highly mlnured
\ with lime. ashes and charcoal, and cuts
off Che iops-hs crop is sound. Ofcourse
he is q iiem believer in decapilaiion. An.
other plants ground MANFRED with horse
manure, and cats oil likewise. His crop
I is unsound, he is hereto aud unbeliever.
Another puts sejsc on the top OF the seed,
aud has a souad crnp--oi course with
him there is nothing like sedgc.
= Now the jliljfen, results in the two
frs, cases are caused By the action of
4 the manure: line, ashes and charcoal,
all Having tendency 10 proven, decom.
position. whilst hnr-e manure haslens il.
The sejse and the eirlh necessary 10
cover il, placed the crop below the ac.
ton OF the heat. anl il renlined sound !;
but straw of any kial would have ans.
wered the same purpose. There are so
mlny causes affecting the application Of
general rule. that il is impossible to
form correct opinion unless all the (lcls
arc known. shower. cloudy day,
\ The exposure Of the field, The nature Of
she soil, the m ,nurs which has been pre-.
viously used. and m,ny other ciuses, all
or each Of which my have an in0 fence
on the question. The s,ms causes affect
, more or less, a great many vegetables
beans, melons, cabb,ges, besIs, carrots.
have seen iis effects upon them; aud |
have noticed the leaves on apple tree, be.
CONC spotted. and the fruit stop growing
from the same cause. In all these cases
the action is sudden. from twelve to forty
eight hours being sufficient To make its
effects visible. II always takes place
during The period when the atmosphere
is close aud mugey, and "when all the
smells which nose is heir to-" are appa
rent 10 ,ha, prominent organ. Planting
neat tho surface has improved the quality
\ Of The potato very much. All kinds are
much .jrier or mealler than when ] frs.
A remember. In wet season and on wet
soils they were very apt 10 be "weter.
logged" or heavy, Now you can scarce.
" see them.
Directions for destroying hsscis.--