The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1854-04-01

ohlv one exception. Gen. b. G. Howard Of
Baltimore county, in 1910, who raised fine
Mercer potatoes on Cnark his langungc) ..stiT
clay loan; manure in the drill on and un4cy
The potato"
1t gives me pleasure to record such cases |
That 4 siticlay soil is not suitable for pota-
toes, Frederick county, Ohio, and Kentucky
vii! prove. If you weigh one pound of stir
clay when dry, put il in IL collndcr, sprinkle
water upon it until it will hold no more, when
it stops dripping it will weigh about lbs
Put it i'll plate in the sun in July, it will dry
Of! very infcmpcr@tciN the first half inch will
not only become dry, but it will become dusty
md heated before tho next lalf-inch will let
its water go off. Ifyou put plltcfull of this
clay on a bench in the garden ut night and a
platefnl Of the isinglass soil by its side, in the
morning you will find that the latter has be-
come quite moist, although while the clay is
not perhaps moistcncd one half inch. ] think
clay clod by Il growing potato is much worse
than stone Of thc same size. The clal
draws moisture away from the potato, the
stone does not; and it is thought that il may
impart moisture to the potato. know of no
good reason why Il potato may not be grown
as round as an onion or turnip; if it meets
with the same resistance all around, and good
adapted to its growth is equally accessible at
all points. Potatoes grown in rich ncw gyound
without any manure are nearly round.
Iou perc2ivc, gentlemen, that my theory.
roughly sIlctchc! in this paper, is to prcrc.t
dis az. We may weep over our lligltad
sic!lly vines until the lorntain ofour tears rams
hrv--wc may sigh over the $3.50 coo loss on
the kcnncbec river, the s,43 Paid for one
essay Oh The rot, the SO 800 Geo annual loss
n Ireland, England, and Wales, three -lourths
of the w,,olc crop in Holland, the universally
inferior quality Of the Irish potato, from north
t. south, and from ocean to ocean, and the
very high prices the consumers have paid for
these ten years; | tell you, gentlemen, We
mas take our stand at the threshold OF danger;
We mHst strangle The enemy in tha cradle.
l have tried ''cuttings on the vincs,' salt,
line, charcoal, finely ground bone, liquid
malUrc, chemical comp ounds; and found it all
like giving the child medicine TO cure the
mother. When we shall have patiently and
ncr8cvcringly studied Tie Temperature and
humility Of our soils, the anatomical Stluc-
turc, the circulation Of the juices, the inhu-
cncc Of LIGHT, heat, and air, the Kind and
quantity of food that our plants require, then
and not until then, shah We be prepared fully
to appicciatc the benefits Of chemistry.
Between the practical farming and tie sci
eace cf chemistry there will be coatr' lic!ons
III the Intermediate causes ale not well ind err
stood. One example : Chemistry lis Us Ill It
there is very LITTLE nutrincrt in an Irish po-
t.to, not the onc-io@rth as much as in wheat
and very little more than in an apple. EXpc-
r!cuce tells Us that there are now living in
Baltimore aged gentlemen wEo show unn.is-
takeabi1 sisns Of powerful and muscular
frame, men who have stood at the head Of
commerce; their voices have been heard at
the Baltimore Bar, and the State Senate, their
intellectual power is uulu,stioncl and when
these muscular frames were forming, and this
powerful intcll'c; was expanding, their food,
their ordinary food, WIS roasted Irish pota-
toes and solt--somctimcs milk was added.
Now to make out both chemistry and cNpc-
ricncc true, we must know that if the hungry
stomach is distended by healthy vegetable
food, or mixture Of animal and vcgc taLle
food, it is all that nature requires. Six ounces
Of roasted potatoes will do hungry man
more good than six ounces of sugar.
THE GRowING WHEAT CEop.-rhc Western
papers give gloomy accounts of the growing
wheat crop. In Southern Michigan, the com
plant is general, and the wheat looks serc
and faded. Ia many parts of Ohio, the pros
pcct is represented as very uniavorable for
even an average, let alone Il full crop. The
accounts from Southern Ohio and Indiana are
more favorable.