The Ottawa free trader., 1850-11-02
From the Boston Atlas.
The Potato BLIGHT,

From the Boston Atlas.
The Potato Blight.
The annual recurrence Of this vegetable mala.
dy on both sides of the Atlantic, and especially
the almost total failure, this year OF the potato
crop thrhnghout Now England has naturally n
wakened profound interest in the cause, pheno-
mcna. and prevention of an evil which has as
sumed the character Of national calamity. This
spirit Of inquiry is becoming the more active from
the threatened total extinction Of an important
article Of food and commerce. for which the veg
etabe kingdom, in our climate affords no toern-
bic substitute or alternative. The potato crop is
prominently the great natural product Of our n.
England soil, and the chief reliance Of our farm.
ers, both for home consumption and the market.
We cannot compete with other portions Of the
country in the production Of breadstulfs, and the
enhanced price Of that article resulting from this
deficiency in the potato crop, is m evil which can
hardly be remeded by any efforts nt improve
ment in corn growing or other branches Of agri-
culture Indeed, il the culture Of the potato is
to be necessarily abandoned agriculture, as a re.
muneraivc pursuit. will, in this section Of the
country at least, he generally abandoned with it,
As 1t will then afford but sorry compensation
for the labor Of the husbandmnn whose liveli.
hood Ia dependent upon the resources of mother
eartl' it must be left to those who are disposed
TO prosecute it as n matter of taste and are con-
tent TO sacrifice their pecuniary interests for rural
pleasures and the philosophical quietude Of coun.
try life.
The New England farmers only hope of re-
tneylng his posterity lies in the possibility Of DIS
covering some means to avert tho dire culamty
which, for years past has devastated hi. welltill.
ed fields in the very height of their promise Of an
abundant harvest Although, mt the present
I,,n q .y.. Il
the crop are being daily confirmed, and large
majority Of our potato patches will not repay the
trouble of ofharvestng) J many Of our farmers are
giving up in despair all idea Of further attempts
at the potato culture | am not without hope that
n careful scientific attention TO the phonomena Of
this hitherto inexplcable malady may result in
the application of means for its efiectual proven.
ton
With nview TO this object, | have lately made
some observations and experiments leading to in.
ierences which think may be useful to the ~.
ricutural community, and, with your permission
will lay n few of the most important Of them
before the readers Of the Atlas-thinking, n. it is
subject Of momentous bearing upon III. general
welfare, that 1t may also be a matter of general
interest
In the first place, the potato rot is, as the
term implies, the natural decomposition of the
roo: and ,nber produced by putrcflctive fcrmen,
tation; and, as the stalk root and bulb Of this
plant are destitute Of that silicous covering bv
which most other vegetables are protected from
outward injury, 1t Is much more subject to the ac-
ton Of those causes which produce vegetable de.
cay. Moreover, the principal bulk Of the potato
IL composed of starch or farina which under Il
certain degree Of heat aud moisture or in contact
i with other fermenting material, is converted into
saccharine matter, and thence, by n series Of fer
menta,ions, dependent upon the same causes, is
rapidly converted into other proximate substan.
ces, which are ultimately decompo,ed by putre.
faction. find upon examination of the "diseas-
ed potatoes IN the hill, profuse exhalaiiun Of
carbonic acid and oteer unmlstakahle indications
Of active fermentation; also. superabundance of
heut and moisture totally inconsistent with heal
thy condi,lnn of the vegetable. A thermometri-
cal observation, in various places, indicated de.
gree of temperature Of the earth relatively higher
than that of the surrounding air; and the conclu-
sion is irresistible. that the excess Of those influ
cnces (heat and moisture) aided by the fcrmeut-
alton Of the partially decomposcd material used
for manGring the crop, is the immediate cause of
tins premature decay Of the potato The accumu.
laton of heat and moisture in the earth is favored
by the prevailing cloudy state Of the atmosphere,
durlus the season when the crop approaches ma.
turity which prevents not only evaporation, but
the radoton Of caluric from the surface. note
another fact Wherever Dry tailop, unp,anured
lands have been planted with patatoes, the crop
has escaped unscathod
From these facts i. may be reasonably inferred
that elevated, loose soil, through which the super
fluous moisture may freely percolate, IL much pre-
ierabc to tOt. cclayev, impermeablc sol, for the
healthy growth Of the potato. And, as the tend
cncy to fermentation seems to be the primary
cause Of potato disease" all vegetable or animal
manurcs "n the hill' should be eschewed except
such as are thoroughly decomposed, and have al
ready passed through all the stages OF iermon,a-
tlon. CalcareOus and alkaline earth,* free from
vegetable admixtlre, are excellent absorhents
ond may be used with advantage in the hill -
while compost manure should be spread upoe tbs
surface ani plouged in at depth below all poe,
slble contact with the tubers, from its fermenling
properties, Excessive moisture, however, is not
so mvch to be feared in the absence Of dccayng
vegetable matter for It to act upon; hence inllow
or virgin soil moy be relied on with much conf
dence for the production of healthy potato crop
Among the mysterious phenomena Of the "pO-
tato rot, that which has most perploqed our far
mers, lie the fact that apparently sound potatoes,
after having, ic many cases, been carefully wash
ed and stored, have ~ a few days without any ap.
cause. however, may be found in the previous
transformation Of the flrinaceous substance of the
potato, (as happens also by ;he action Of frost,
and in the process Of vegetaton,) which does not
necessarily and Immediately affect the appearance
OF the tuber, but having taken place, no ordinary
means will suffice tc arrest the further process Of
fermentation and decomposition, AGRIcoLA
Newington, n. H., Sept 90, 1850.
Since writing the above. the following circum.
stance. confirming this theory has come to my
knowledge. a gentlemanin in West Newbury, Mass
this season planted potato field OF eight acres six
OF which he nanurcd IN the hi with gypsum or sui
phate OF lnie IA calcareous cRtlh) The crop on
;hls portion OF the ield turned out perfectly sound
while on the remaining Two acres II was ennrey
destroyed by The rot"
a SCIENTIFIC HArcinSG MAoHisE--A Matching
Machine has been invented in France by Mr.. Val
lee which is dpscrihed nv tba paris cnrre.nopd