POTATOE DISEASE AND ITS REPRESSION.

Waikato Times, Volume XXX, Issue 174, 19 June 1873, Page 2

POTATOE DISEASE AND ITS REPRESSION.

Tho p)tnt')o disease and its repression aic ceitainly subjects which have been deservedly 01 eating of late a more tlan ordin;.ry amount of interest among agriculturists, nun of acieicc, .md tLe jjub]n|vt J.irc;c; the fu a fc bec<u,so of | tjua m.Uojial luabus sust.vniLil, tho latter by icnson of ma

pending seal city of this widely used and much relished article of food. I earnestly hope tho prize oflered by Lord Cathcart will bear its well-deserved fruits, but, nevertheless, I fear that, though the essays may clearly demonstrate theories for repressing the disease, piactice may prove them for the most p.irt unavailing, whilst they will not always be allowed after a failure a chance to begin anew and amend their hitherto litetFecttml proceedings. Theories and treatises cannot Ining to a st.wul&till the potatoe disease, but piActiceand experience juiuod with obseivation, must. It was tha sune wvcu ouroeives. Vu.ns ot obseivatioii gave us an idol tluo en.il ashed, ia a crashed condition, mixed up with tuith, do not allow the dibcase to infect the potato planted on it The tiist triils we caused to be mado some years ago w»re all but satisfactory. After a thoi 0113k examination we amended the condition of the Btibstaiice, hit giadually upen tlie necessary precautions, and after years of experience we feel justified in pronouncing coal ashes/carefully crushed and exposed to a sulphuric exhalenient (?) joined to a judicious appliance to the fields, a sure remedy (or rather preventive; against the disease. Its excellent qualities ne\er appear more strongly than by drawing a hue of separation in any field — even one that is known to have fexmedy suffered severely fromthe disease. On one side of the lino the coal ashes are »pphed, then both sides ate ploughed iv the same way and afterwards the potatoes planted on each side under the same circumstances. It will be seen that the disease, though attacking the unprepared p*ut, has no power to pass over the line, but conves to a dead halt at tho junction. We do not care to mention any letters of thanks for our communications and instructions, received from persons in Holland, who had the pleasure of seeing their land' freed from the disease by following this course. Such a proceeding would create in England an excusable distrust of our intentions, and cause, perhaps, the matter to bo regarded as an attempt at imposing on the credulity of .the public. If anybody wants to know more about it, we refer to the International Exhibition of Vienna in May,, where a sample of the m inure will be found. Strange enough that in England, the land of intellect and industry, to my knowledge nobody as }et has assigned to coal ashes its place as a manure, nor hit upon the idea of using them against the potatoe-disease ! Perhaps, ll this has been thecase, they ha\e been discouraged by a first unsuccessful attempt. Stranger still that the abundance of coal ashes is for the most part neglected. But it is not too late to repair this neglect, as we make the communication openly lis to how to convert them into a preventive against the potato disease. E\crj one can prepare them for himself, or have them dressed by his labourers, till, in course of time, some industrial association may cause a manufactory on a larg& scale to be erected, with a view of furnishing them on demand. It must, however, be well understood that we hare nothing to do either with its manufacture or furnishing, but if the undersigned can servo any one with advice about the way to prepare and apply the ashes to the fields, he will gladly communicate with those who write to him. — T.Buytman, Anthem, Holland.