DISPUTE OVER POTATOES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2934, 8 June 1910, Page 22

DISPUTE OVER POTATOES.

A DELAY IN TRANSIT, IRISH BLIGHT ALLEGED. 1 'The case in which Messrs Waters, Ritchie, fcnd Co.. sued. Messrs Skelton and Jones, of {Westport, to recover £9 19s 9d, the value , s>f 23 sacks of Oamaru potatoes, sold by jplaintiffs to defendants, and 2s cost of inifurance and exchange, was continued before -JMTr H. G t Widdoweon, S.M., on the 16th tost. C The facte, as already set forth, are that $h potatoes were sold on November 27, ■aid shipped per collier to Westport. Plaintiffs sought to establish that whatever deterioration the potatoes suffered on the flpyag© was no more than what was to be expected from the time taken in transit jJMId the fact of their being old. The defence contended that when sold the potatoes {were infected with Irish blight, and that Hiost > of the consignment was rotten on Breaching Westport, where some bags were pold at Is each, and the remainder confeigned to the rubbish heap. Defendants had paid 27s into court, being what they considered the value of the potatoes. On Monday morning Air A. S. Adams (for Waters, Ritchie, and Co.) and Mr Hay (Skelton and stated that they had

been unable to communicate with Professor Kirk, whose evidence as to the nature and effect of Irish blight was to have been taken that morning. Alexander Macpherson, field instructor for the South Island for the Agricultural Department, said he had had some 40 years' experience of potatoes. It was part of his duty to go among farmers and advise them. He had had experience of " Irish blight" and "wet rot." In tubers one of the symptoms of Irish blight was a peculiar putrid smell. It could be detected in paddocks from half a mile to a mile away. The smell from other rots was not so pungent. Bad drainage and high temperature were contributing causes to wet rot. The Oamaru district was in parts badly drained and damp in wet seasons. To Mr Adams: Witness knew Mr Cockayne, who was a thoroughly competent authoritv. He would accept any opinion which that gentleman expressed cm this subject in preference to his own. Mr Cockayne was experimenting. His Worship at this stage said he would take the case at 2.15 p.m. on the following day.