Observations on the potatoe, and a remedy for the potatoe plague. In two parts. Containing a history of the potatoe, its cultivation, and uses, also a treatise on the potatoe malady, its origin and appearances in different countries, a view of various theories concerning it, with the remedies proposed, and an inquiry into the causes producing the disease, with directions for staying its further progress

Front matter

;,1^% r #

"i umTED STATES OF AMERICA.

OBSERVATIONS

Chapter I

Some Account of the Appearance of the Disease in different parts of the World.

Action of the British Govei-nment — Report of the British Commissioners — Proceedings of the French Academy of Arts and Sciences — Eeport of Professor Morren — H. S. Thompson on the prevention of curl and dry rot in potatoes — experiments with ripe and unripe seed

— Causes of the disease stated — Conclusions of Mr. Thompson — Objections to his theory considered, ...... 57 — 77

Chapter II

A View of the different Theories entertained on the Potatoe Plague,

First symptom of degeneracy of the plant in Scotland — Diseased tubers examined — Seeds from an over-grown crop will always be a diseased crop — Remedy proposed — Raising from the apple — Disease supposed to be cai;sed by rust — European pamphlets on this subject — Result of chemical investigations — ConversioH of diseased potatoes into stai'ch — Evil ascribed to too much moisture — Fungi analogous to smut in barley — Remedies against fungus — Disease ascribed to various causes — Professor Liebig's opinion — Ascribed to fungus in the leaf — Sporules of fungi — Experiments in planting diseased potatoes — Disease supposed to attack the stem primarily — On new high ground the crop less affected — Opinion of J. E. Teschemacher — Salt a remedy — Analysis of sea-weed — A. B. Allen's opinion — Cause of fungi, and i-emedies proposed, . , . 76 — 94

CHAPTER III. Cause of the Disease and Remedies stated

Review of the prevailing theories — The disease exists in the potatoe

— If fungi is the cause a certain remedy is at hand — Causes of the disease — Over Ripening — Over Cultivation — Deterioration OF Seed — Carelessness in selecting Seed — Improper management in taking up potatoes — An improved method of planting — Table — Selecting potatoes for seed, , , . . 95 — 116

CONTENTS.

Chapter I

Page Some account of the early history of the potatoe — Its introduction into Great Britain and other European countries — Extravagant price of potatoes, 3 — 7

CHAPTER II. On the Cultivation of the Potatoe

When first cultivated as a field crop — Thaer's principles of agriculture — Classification of varieties — Skin of the potatoe — Color of the flesh — Nutiitive matter contained in different sorts — Soils — Clearings and marsh lands — Strong land — Setting potatoes — Best sort for seed — Comparative value of whole and cut tubers — Quantity of produce is in proportion to seed — Plowing the land — Manner of setting potatoes — Influence of the weather La planting, 7 — 1-5

CHAPTER III. On Planting Potatoes, Harvesting, Sfc

The marking plow — Harrowing — First cultivation — Tenacious and wet soils — Efl'ect of cutting off the blossoms — Efiect of cutting off the leaves — Digging the crops — Gathering — Potatoes dug in dry

CONTEKTS.

weather — In damp weather — Heaps of potatoes — Management of the heaps m autumn. 16 — ^20

Chapter IV

An Account of Diseases ivhich have previously affected the Crop, and the Remedies that have heen found ejfcacious.

Subject to disease at an early period — The curl — Probable causes of the curl — Observations of Mr. Knight — Discovery by Mr. Crozer — Failiu-e or taint — The drought of 1S26 — Eemarks of Mr. Shirrefif — Deterioratfon of varieties — The potatoe a shortlived plant — Late planting recommended by Mr. Knight — Over ripened and under ripened seed — Effects of comparative wet and dry soils on whole and cut tubers — Scab or ulcerated sm-face — Causes of total or partial failure have existed from a very early date — Planting of entire tubers recommended — Rust, black rust — A description of this disease — Cause assigned — Observations on the disease from various authorities — Dr. Van Martins on the epidemic diseases of potatoes — ViewsofEev. Mr. Allen, 21—34

CHAPTER V. Various Uses to which Potatoes are applied

Comparative value of potatoes and grain — Potatoe flour — Farina in potatoes — Meal of potatoes may be preserved — Tapioca from potatoes — The process described — Potash from potatoe leaves and stalks; Potatoes for cleaning woollens — Making wine and ardent spirits — German method of making potatoe flour — Method of using potatoes in Denmark and Norway, 35 — 42

Part II. The Potatoe Plague

Preliminary Remarks. ■

Importance of the subject — Extent of the crop in the United States — Review of various theories concerning the malady, . . . 43 — 56

Preface

Potatoes, as an article of human food, are, next to wheat, of the greatest importance in the eye of the political economist. From no other crop that can be cultivated, will the public derive so much food as from this valuable esculent ; and it admits of demonstration, that an acre of potatoes will feed double the number of people that can be fed from an acre of wheat ; they are relished by every palate, and, it is believed, there is hardly a dinner served up in any country where they are cultivated, without them.

An article of such vast importance, — that forms a grand staple of our agriculture, — the principal source of national wealth, — that forms a prominent article in the diet of every individual,, — deserves the particular attention of every one; and the object of this treatise is, to collate the most important facts in the history of this esculent, as well as the opinions and practice of the best cultivators, with regard to its management, the cure of diseases affecting it, and every other item of information respecting it that can be turned to profitable account by our own farmers.

But more particularly, and above all, my object has been ii - Preface.

to collect facts, opinions and remedies, on tlie alarming and fatal disease tliat now threatens destruction to this universal FOOD FOR MAN, and to furnish the conclusion which eminent practical men have arrived at, both in this country and Europe, on the causes of the disease, and the appropriate remedy for it. It is believed that a sure remedy has been discovered, and the subsequent pages of this book will detail such facts as will encourage farmers to proceed with the cultivation of the potatoe crop in all confidence.

Independent of the particular object for which this small treatise is especially designed, to wit : — the cure of the Potatoe Plague, farmers will find much valuable information on the general cultivation of this crop, which will be valuable for reference long after the plague, (may its reign be short ! ) has disappeared.

HISTORY, CULTURE, AND DISEASES OE THE POTATOE.

PART I

Chapter I

Some Account of the Early History of the Potatoe ; its Introduction into Great Britain and other European Countries.

The Potatoe now in use, (Solanum tuberosum,) was brought to England by the Colonists sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh, under the authority of his patent, granted by Queen Elizabeth, " for discovering and planting new countries, not possessed by Christians," which passed the great seal in 1584. Some of Sir Walter's ships sailed in the same year; others, on board one of which was Thomas Herriot, afterwards known as a mathematician, in 1585; the whole, however, returned, and probably brought with them the Potatoe, on the 27th of July, 1586.

This Mr. Thomas Herriot, who was probably sent out to examine the country, and report to his employers the nature and produce of the soil, wrote an account of it, which is printed in De Bry's Collection of Voyages, vol. I. In this account, under the article of roots, page 17, he describes a

4 Early History of the Potatoe.

plant called Openawh : " These roots," says he, " are round, some as large as a walnut, others much larger ; they grow in damp soil, many hanging together, as if fixed on ropes ; they are good food, either boiled or roasted."

Gerard, in his Herbal, published 1597, gives a figure of the potatoe, under the name of Potatoe of Virginia, otherwise called Norembaga.

The manuscript minutes of the Royal Society, December 13, 1693, tell us, that Sir Eobert Southwell, then President, informed the fellows, at a meeting, that his grandfather brought potatoes into Ireland, who first had them from Sir Walter Rqjeigh.

This evidence proves, not unsatisfactorily, that the potatoe was first brought into England, either in the year 158G, or very soon after, and sent from thence to Ireland, without delay, by Sir Robert Southwell's ancestor, where it was cherished and cultivated for food before the good people of England knew its value ; for Gerai'd, who had this plant in his garden, in 1597, recommends the root to be eaten as a delicate dish, — not as common food.

It appears, however, that it first came into Europe at an earlier period, and by a different channel ; for Clusius, who at that time resided at Vienna, first received the potatoe in 1598, who had procured it the year before from one of the attendants of the Pope's legate, under the name of Taratoufli ; and learned from him, that in Italy, where it was then in use, no one certainly knew whether it originally came from Spain or from America.

Peter Cieca, in his Chronicle, printed in 1553, tells us, chap, xi., p. 49, that the inhabitants of Quito and its vicinity, have, besides Maize, a tuberous root, which they eat, and call papas ; this, Clusius guesses to be the plant he received from Flanders, and this conjecture has been confirmed by the

Early History of the Potatoe. 5

accounts of travellers, "who have since that period visited the country.

From these details we may fairly infer, that potatoes were first brought into Europe from the mountainous parts of South America, in the neighborhood of Quito ; and, as the Spaniards were the sole possessors of that country, there is little doubt of their having been first carried into Spain ; but as it would take some time to introduce them into use in that country, and afterwards to make the Italians so well acquainted with them as to give them a name,* there is every reason to believe they had been several years in Europe, before they wei*e sent to Clusius.

The name of the root in South America, is Papas, and in Virginia, it was Openawh ; the name of potatoe was evidently applied to it on account of its similarity in appearance to the Battata, or Sweet Potatoe ; and our potatoe appears to have been distinguished from that root, by the apellative of Potatoe of Virginia, till the year 1640, if not longer.f

Several authors have asserted, that potatoes were first dis* covered by Sir Francis Drake, in the South Seas ; and others, that they were introduced into England by Sir John Hawkins ; but in both instances the plant alluded to is clearly the sweet potatoe, which was used in England as a delicacy, long before the introduction of our potatoes ; it was imported in considerable quantities from Spain, and the Canaries, and was supposed to possess the power of restoring decayed vigor. The kissing comfoi'ts of Falstaff,^ and other confections of similar imaginary qualities, with which our ancestors were duped, were principally made of these eringo roots.

J " Let it rain potatoes, and hail kissing comforts." — Merry Wives of Windsor, Act V., Scene V.

1*

6 Early History of the Potatoe.

The potatoes themselves were sold by itinerant dealers, chiefly in the neighborhood of the Royal Exchange, and purchased when scarce, at no inconsiderable cost, by those who had faith in their alleged properties. The allusions to this opinion are very frequent in the plays of that age.

CHAPTER II. Cultivation of the Potatoe

It was not till 1771 and 1772, that the practice of cultivating potatoes as a field crop began to acquire supporters ; but at that time all the grain crops failed, and the famine which ensued led to the discovery that proper and sufficient nourishment might be derived from those very potatoes which had hitherto only been regarded as a luxury, just as well as from bread. Still its cultivation did not exceed the wants of man himself. It was not till a later period that the practice of giving the refuse and surplus to the cattle began to creep in. But it was thus gradually discovered that potatoes might be advantageously cultivated as food for live stock. Bergen, in his " Introduction to the Management of Live Stock," was the first to recommend the practice of this cultivation on a large scale, and the use of a kind of horn hoe to save manual labor. At the present day it appears scarcely credible that the extreme utility of this plant should have so long remained unknown, and tha,t so much difference of opinion should have existed on the propriety of raising it on extensive tracts of land.

"There is no plant," says Thaer, in his "Principles of Agriculture," " to which I have paid greater attention than to the potatoe. Even before I entered upon the practice of agriculture, my attention was excited by the innumerable varieties which were produced by raising it from seed. I treated it in various ways at that time, merely witli a view to vegetable physiology, my object being to discover whether the distinguishing characters of these varieties were due to the nature of the soil, or the mode of fertilizing it. Since that time I have, in raising the potatoe, tried all the methods proposed by others, as well as those which I have myself devised. As far as the quantity of produce is concerned, the results of various modes of planting and cultivation have shown but little difference, unless, indeed, the cultivation were altogether neglected or badly arranged. The quantity of produce was found to depend upon the soil, when the species cultivated was the same. But the manual labor, and, consequently, the net profit, varied considerably. I have done my utmost to reduce this manual labor to the smallest possible amount, without sensibly diminishing the produce, for, in the raising of potatoes the rent of land is much less considerable than the expenses of cultivation.

"I will venture to say, that I have attained this object more nearly than any one else, and that I have found myself nearer and nearer to it at the end of almost every successive year. I therefore beg those persons who have read my former works,* and the observations which I have made on the •culture of the potatoe, to consider such observations as the result of my apprenticeship, and those which I am now about to make, as more complete and matured."

In order to make some sort of classification of the innumerable varieties of the jDOtatoe, we must confine our attention to "the most useful part, — the tuber. It is true that the leaves and the flowers appear to bear some relation to the form of the tuber, but the particular examination of them belongs more properly to the botanical cultivator.

The skin of the potatoe is, in some varieties, of a dark color, approaching almost to blackness ; in others of a red-

* Thaer's English Agriculture, vols. 1 and 2.

dish violet, which varies to pale, brownish, or yellowish red ; in others, again, of a whitish yellow.

The color of the flesh is sometimes yellow, sometimes whitish, or perfectly white, and sometimes slightly tinged -with red.

The several varieties of the potatoe have different times of arriving at maturity ; that is to say, at the state in which the tubers are detached from the maternal plant, and the latter dies.

But the points of difference we have chiefly to consider, relate to the consistence of the potatoe and the quantity of starch contained in it. Some varieties are very spongy, their interstices are filled with water, their specific gravity is small, and they contain but a small quantity of nutriment in a given bulk.

The flavor of some potatoes is very agreeable ; of others, very disagreeable. Some improve by keeping, others are best when fresh gathered.

Some cook speedily and burst, others resist the action of steam and hot water for a long time.

Some varieties require a dry soil, becoming quite watery and hollow in the middle when grown on land which requires much moisture; they also secrete water in their cavities. Others, on the contrary, are very small, and are scarcely worth the expense of cultivation Avhen grown on a dry soil.

Some put out long filaments into the soil ; others press their tubers so closely together, that they show themselves above ground.

Some varieties thrive particularly well on marshy land, others perish on it, and thrive on an argillaceous soil.

All these particulars must be taken into account, when a selection is to be made of varieties for cultivation. The cut tare of a new variety should never be undertaken on a large scale, till a proper trial has been made of it.

The amount of produce of cacli variety must be taken into consideration, but the vakie calculated according to the quantity of nutritive matter contained in it. This may be judged of approximately by the sensation which the fleshy part of the tuber produces when applied to the tongue ; or more accurately by cutting the tubers in pieces, drying them, and comparing their weight in the dry state with what it was before ; but an accurate estimate is only to be made by chemical analysis. Great bulk is by no means, desirable, if it be not attended with increase in the quantity of starch : for the potatoes then take up more room, although their inti'insic value remains the same, and they are more likely to be spoiled. In other respects when potatoes are cultivated for sale, the choice must be directed by the taste of purchasers.

Potatoes will grow on soils of all descriptions, and in favorable weather will yield a good crop, even on moving sand, provided that it has been well manured. On a stony soil, well prepared, and lightened with dung, containing straw, the success of the potatoe is certain ; though a sandy soil is best adapted to it.

On clearings and marsh lands, provided the soil has been well drained, and especially if the turf has been burned upon it, potatoes thrive particularly well, and sometimes yield a very large produce.

It is generally admitted that potatoes grow larger after recent manuring ; they will, however, yield a good crop even when raised as a second or third crop ; but the soil will then be greatly exhausted. I have never even thought of asserting that potatoes do not impoverish the soil ; on the contrary I have stated that they do so ; they do not, however, exhaust the resources, of the establishment in general, but increase those resources to a considerable extent, if they arc given as food to the cattle.

On strong land, fresh dung mixed with straw is most beneficial to potatoes, and the more so in proportion to the closeness of its contact with them ; it should, therefore, not be carted and put into the ground till just before the seed time of ploughing. But for light soils, the dung must either be iii a more advanced stage of decomposition, or it must be mixed with the earth by several ploughings.

Very healthy potatoes are also produced by the use of' other active manures, such as scrapings of horn spread in the furrows at the seed time ploughing, rags of wool, and the refuse of the tan yard. Turning sheep on to the field after the potatoes have been set, is likewise very efficacious in promoting their growth, but it gives the tubers a bad flavor. There is also a limit to the degree of cultivation proper for potatoes ; if it be surpassed the haulm becomes excessively large, and falls upon the ground ; the number of tubers is then much diminished.

In setting potatoes, it is necessary to select the most healthy and vigorous tubers ; not such as have already been deprived of two or three of their buds, because the most vigorous buds are always the first chosen. Especially must those be rejected wliich have been much exposed to the cold, even though they should not have been much injured by frost. Potatoes grown in pits, mounds, or hollows, where frost has penetrated and destroyed a portion of tubers, are very uncertain in plantations ; I am sure of this from my own experience. They either do not shoot up at all, or produce but feeble plants ; great cai-e should therefore be taken to preserve those which are intended for setting.

I am aware that many cultivators have obtained abundant crops of large potatoes by planting none but small tubers j nevertheless I prefer setting those of large and average size, especially for certain varieties. Small tubers have not the same power of germination as large ones, and often do not germinate at all ; whereas, those of large size may without injury be cut in halves.

JL2 Cultivation of the Potatoe.

When circumstances are otherwise favorable, very strong plants are often obtained by setting mere cuttings of potatoes containing a single eye ; or, even the eye by itself. But on heavy land, which has not been well pulverized, as well as on a sandy soil, there is great danger of failar?, if, after setting, or during germination, the weather should be unfavorable for the formation of the plant. To ensure success, this plant must, by means of its feeble roots, immediately seek for nourishment in the soil. It must not encounter a hard piece of ground : for, as it derives no nourishment from the maternal plant, it would then dry up and perish. I therefore abandon this method altogether, although I formerly recommended it ; it succeeds very well in gardens, but is very uncertain for potatoe crops grown in the open field.

There will always be a ditference of opinion touching the expediency of setting potatoes close together, or far apart ; for the decision of this matter depends upon adventitious circumstances ; but repeated trials accurately described, seem to show that the quantity of produce is, to a considerable extent, in proportion to that of the sets. The practical results of these trials are as follows : —

1. The amount of net produce, deduction being made for the quantity of potatoes used for setting, bears a tolerably exact proportion to the latter quantity, — that is to say, that one who sets a larger quantity of tubers, will usually obtain a more abundant crop than one who sets a smaller quantity. .

2. Fine large tubers produce not only larger potatoes, but also a greater number of them.

3. The degeneracy often observed in potatoes, apparently results from the use of unhealthy plants for setting.

4. Small tubers, and those which are destitute of buds, cannot by any means be recommended for setting.

5. When potatoes of medium quality are planted, it is better to set them whole ; but when the tubers are very large* the halves will be found sufficient, provided, however, that they are set rather closely in the rows.

6. It is not advisable to cut a potatoe into more than two pieces.

7. It is better to set the tubers, one by one, and close together, than to put a number of them into the ground together, particularly wdien all the labor is performed with the plough, and no cultivation is given with the hand-hoe.

8. It is not advisable to plant mere buds ; they often fail.* I give these principles as being in accordance with my

own experiments made on the large scale, with the exception, however, of the first. It does appear, from actual experiment, that the quantity of produce is in proportion to that of the potatoes put into the ground. The author deduces a result by dividing his plantation into two parts. In one of these he places the trial in which the quantity set amounted to more than 1,254 ; and in the other, those in which this quantity was less. In the former the net produce of each row w^as 16.81 ; in the latter, only 15.41. These two results are in the proporticai of 1000 to 917. The loss in the latter is, therefore, 8^ per cent., but the diiFerence in the relative quantity of the sets is much greater. Then, again, among the trials included in the latter division, there are several which ought not to be included in the comparison : where, for example, the set consisted of mere eyes, or handfuls of very small scattered shoots, all of which gave but a very insignificant product. If we take into account those trials only in which good potatoes, or cuttings of them, w^ere set at intervals of 1, 2, 3 and 4 decimetres,! it will be found that the diffi^rence is very small, not exceeding two and a half per cent.

* German Agricultural Gazette, t A French measure of about three aad a half inches. 2

I am willing to admit the existence of this diflPerence, and even of one of five per cent., if the potatoes are set in one part of the rows, at eight inches, and in another at twenty-four inches distance ; so that the quantity of sets used for the former shall be three times as great as that used for the lattei\ The quantity obtained from the half in which the potatoes are at the greatest distance apart, will not amount to more than ninety-five bushels beyond that of the sets, while the produce of the other half will amount to one hundred bushels.

On the other hand the practice of setting at greater distances is attended with the following advantages, in field cultivation.

1. Potatoes, especially those fit for setting, bring a much higher price in spring than in autumn, which is the time for gathermg ; the keeping of them occasions both trouble and risk, and there is always a portion spoiled.

2. Setting at greater distances occasions saving of manual labor.

3. When the plantations are laid out iii rows in all directions, and the distances between the rows are wide enough to allow the plough to pass crosswise, almost all the manual labor which would otherwise be required to weed the spaces will be saved.

4. These ploughings are much more efficacious in cleansing, pulverizing and aerating the land, than they would be if performed in one direction only, so that the object of following one of the principaf ends of the culture of weeded crops, is completely attained. We say nothing about the effect produced on the potatoes themselves, by cultivation on all sides, since we have admitted, for argument's sake, that those which are cultivated on one side only, yield the greatest increase.

5. The gathering of potatoes is performed with far greater facility and despatch when they are grown on separate hillocks, than when they are arranged in continuous lines. My farmers are more willing to raise potatoes planted singly, for the fourteenth part of tlie produce, than for the tenth when they are planted in rows, for a man will raise eighteen scheffles of the former in a day, where of the latter he would raise only ten, even though they may have been cultivated with the same care. This saving of time in taking the crop is of great importance.

Such are the reasons which induce me to prefer the method of setting potatoes at moderate distances, and arranging them ill lines in all directions. I admit that when this method is adopted, a somewhat larger extent of surface is required for the production of a given quantity ; but the great saving of labor, and tlie excellent jDreparation of the land which it affords, are of much greater importance.

In setting potatoes regard must be had to the state of the weather. In this country I never plant them till the soil has become heated ; and I have always observed that the potatoes set last were the first to come up. I have planted them with success till tire beginning of June ; but I endeavor to get the setting finished by the middle of May. If the soil contain ever so small a quantity of clay, it is absolutely necessary to defer the planting till it is perfectly dry, and no longer adheres to the implements.

As early as possible in autumn I break up the soil to the depth of two inches lower than before, and then pass the harrow over it. In w^inter the dung is carted and uniformly spread. At the beginning of spring, this dung is buried by a light ploughing. I like to have a portion of the manure brought up to the surface by this operation, because a greater quantity is then collected ai'ound the roots of the potatoe.

Chapter III

On Planting Potatoes. Harvesting. Preserving the Crop.

In the preceding chapter I could not resist the temptation to copy entire Mr. Thaer's article on potatoes ; it seemed to me so characterized by clearness and perspicuity, so eminently practical, that I could not, with propriety, withhold it from a compilation of the kind in hand ; besides the article is new to American readers, and cannot be uninteresting. I continue in the present chapter, the account of Mr. Thaer, embracing some suggestions, the most important to us at the present time, on the subject of keeping and preserving potatoes through the winter. The extract commences with Mr. Thaer's method of planting, which was alluded to in the previous chapter.