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Northern Star (1837-1852), 8th November 1845, Edition 3 of 4, Page 6

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      Of Timeitof Coursemust Be Prepared For U...

      THE NORTHERN STAR . . _Nqtombeb 8 , 184 s " - ii 1 imii in _imii ii "' " _~*^"" " _^^ " I

      The Potatoe Famineof The Wseafe Ft ™ Rfe...

      THE POTATOE FAMINEOF THE _WSEAfE fT ™ rfe CROP . IV . _™ _mBB THE LlVZHPOOI . _LttER-AKV _^^^ _Shi _^ _Socistt _, 0 _CIOBS _. 20 IH . B * _^ _SiSSdalammg failure of _tte potatoe J _^ _Sn , in so many countries of Europe and _Sg _^ _Sstance _whiehso deeply fectsthe SS ofthe labouring _clasps , anditis also sore-Sable a factin the history of cultivation and of _ve-S _& _eVaatlam _^^ _Serine of thec onsideration of themembers of this society both on account of its connection with the _Mtnj _alHsloiy of cultivated plants , and on account of its influence on agricultural wealth , and on the _aub-dstenceof the labouring classes . Sow that the potatoe has become a principal portion of the food of the oeonle in all the moist and temperate countries

      of Europe and America , and nothing less than the staff oflife to the greater part of the population of Ireland , it is a matter of national and vital importance to ascertain the causes of every disease which interferes with its productiveness , and to suggest every possible means both of checking tiie pre sent evil and of preventing its recurrence in future _seasens . Having always been strongly attached to agricultural pursuits , and having followed them on a large scale for many years , on a farm on which every kind of crop is grown , and , amongst others , from twenty to thirty acres of potatoes _^ yearly , the observations which I am about to lay before the society xnay _^ bs regarded as the result of several years' _experience in the growing of this valuable root . _Burins

      that time we have been singularly fortunate , on the property in which I am interested , in escaping those diseases by which the potatoe has more or less been affected for some years , and never more successful than this year , when disease has been so prevalent both at home and ( abroad . It is in the hope of rendering the cultivation of tiie root more generally successful , and , at the same time , of averting and mitigating some of the worst evils of the present genual failure of the crop , that I take the liberty of laying the following observations before the members ci the society . The present disease of the potatoe first made its appearance in Belgium . It showed itself tliere in the beginning of August , and was , at first , supposed to be a merely local malady . Its early appearance in

      that country probably arose from the richness oi Flemish cultivation . Owing to that cause the green crops of Belgium are generally more advanced than iXiose of -Sonnandy and the northern departments of France , and still more so than those of Great Britain or Ireland . Iu the . spring of last year I saw the rape plant from two to three feet high between Brussels and Antwerp , inEasterweek , havingjustbefore seen tiie same crop scarcely afoot high in French Flanders and Normandy . The rich manuring of the Flemish farmers is ibe cause of this rapid growth , and from that cause the potatoe crop reached the critical joint at which the disease shows itself earlier in _Belgium than anywhere else . In that country it is stated , in a return just published , that not less than

      two-thirds ofthe crops of the early kinds of potatoes , and not less than five-sixths of . late , have been destroyed , so that the crop of the present year in Belgium instead of yielding 1 , 700 , 000 tons , as it did last year , will not yield more than 340 , 000 tons : the destruction of this kind of food , in Belgium alone , has been estimated at not less than 1 , 360 , 000 tons . Alter Belgium , the disease nest began to show Itself in Holland , with scarcely less violence , and there the destruction was estimated , about a month since , at about one-half the crop oi upwards of thirteen millions of razieres . The disease also appeared about tiie same time in the north of France , and it . has since spread through tiie Grand Duchy of the Bbine , _asfar into Germany as Brunswick , in one direction , and to Switzerland in another .

      The first appear ance of the disease in England seems to have _tieen in the county of Cornwall , whence it spread along ihe-whole southern coast , as far as Sent , before it made any progress northwards . As the potatoe crops approached maturity it has continued to advance through the midland to the aorthern counties ,-until it has reached the banks of the Clyde . * Sanguine hopes were long entertained that Ireland "would have escaped the ravages of a disease so dreadfully dangerous to a potaloe-fed population , but nniappily tbey havenot been realised . As the potatoe crops began to ripen in that country the disease _alwmu itself , ami eveiy post now brings us intelligence of its having spread itself in some new district which was before considered quite free from it .

      what is very remarkable is that a disease of an equally fatal character has prevailed this season on the other side of the Atlantic , and has destroyed the ? otatoe crops in Canada , New Brunswick , and Nora cot ia _, to such a degree that the colonists are now looking to this counfay for a supply of seed for next year . J have not yet seen any account ofthe present year ' s disease in America , which is sufficiently dear to enable me to judge whether it is the same as that which has done so much injury in Europe . The season there has been unusually dry and hot ; in those respects a complete contrast to ours ; and I have been informed by a very intelligent farmer who resided and cultivated land near the city of . New York , for some years , that hot seasons are generally iatal to tiie potatoe crops in that part of America .

      In the excessively _liot summer of 1819 my informant lest several acres of potatoes sear . New fork , part of them from the heat and dryness of the spring and summer , and part of them from a deluge of rain , which fell when tiie season was far advanced , and lotted in the ground all that the heat had net Ayi A __ ere &" " ' ' The first and most urgent question arising out of the alarming failure is , how the present crop , _indudmg that part of it which is injured as well as that which is sound , can be turned to tiie greatest _advantage . On this part of the subject , which involves the whole question of how the peasantry of Ireland are to be saved from starvation and disease , as well as that of how healthy seed is to be procured for next year , I beg to make" tie following suggestions . - ' - ¦ .-

      The first step to be taken , wherever the disease has shown itself , is to separate the sound from the unsound potatoes , and tostore the sound ones with more than usual care . The three great points to be looked to in storing them are these : —First , to keep them dry ; second , to keep them cool ; and , . third , ie keep them well covered fiom frost . All of these objects may be gaioed by the following method : — -In the first place , the holes in which they are placed should be extremely shallow , if any holes are eng ; bnt it is still better to store them on the surface of the ground . The bottoms of the heaps should not he more than three feet or threefeet and a half wide . On these the potatoes should be placed in sneh quantities that there will not be more than from eight

      lunched weight to half a ton in a running yard . To ieep the potatoes dry , a small drain should be formed all round the heaps , and the potatoes should be well covered with sods or earth . ' To furnish them with a sufficient supply cf fresh air , which is the om . t way TO prevjsxx theib beaiesg , a tow of tUes should be placed under the potatoes , running from one end of the heap to the other , and open to the air at both ends ; and , to render the ventilation still more complete , tiles should also be placed at right angles to this mam ventilator , at the distance of from one and a half to two yards from each other , and chimnies of tiles , rising from the bottom of the heaps , should be formed at moderate distances , say eveiy two yards . As the season advances the fermentation in the

      potatoe heaps will cease , and then they may be more cjosely covered up to guard themfrom the frost , For some time , however , they cannot be kept too cool in the day , though care should be taken to stop the openings with straw whenever the nights are clear , and threaten to be frosty . By adopting these precautions , _we have succeeded in saving onr potatoes from rotting ever smee we adopted them , and also in checking the disposition to vegetate too soon , which I suspect to have been one of the chief causes of the diseases "which have shown themselves among potatoes for several years . "Where tiles cannot be obtained , a very small drain in the earth , or a row of tmshwood under the potatoes , or , in fact , any other contrivance by which such a supply of air can be

      furnished as will prevent tbe heating of the mass , will answer . In a season like this , when the potatoe is filll of moisture , and when tbe crop has ripened prematurely from the frost , I feel confident that nothing Bnt tke utmost care in supplying the [ potatoe heaps with abundance of fresh air , either by this or some other method , will preserve the potatoes long enough either to serve as wholesome food through the winter months , or as healthy seed in the spring of next year . We see tbat hay , if put together before it is perfectly dry , . heats , and even bursts into flames ; andpotatoes , Avhicb are stored wia ten times as much moisture in them , must heat and rot from the same cause , especially in seasons when they are so full of sap as theyare this , if they are closed np from the air . _ - The potatoes thus stored should be opened from time to time in order that they may be examined . If they remain sound , tbey may of course be used in

      tne usual manner , but wherever they _arennfortunately found to be deceased , not a day should be lost in turning them , into flour ot starch , -which is verj wholesome , andmay easily be made a palatable article of food , or in preparing them for food in some other _TTM . The method of converting potatoes into flour or starch , on a large scale , is well known , as the art is practised in many parts of the countiy , but it is not reneraDy known how easily and cheaply it may be done by anjp cottager . The two samples of potatoe Sour which I sow produce were both manufactured by em . Jann baili _^ at . Barton Grange , from diseased _potatoes . This clean bright sample was made from _" _^ _ayed potatoes , the decayed part having been first P _^ Bj _and the darker sample was made from potatt _»^! w _2 liuid ** thrown away as too bad even for i » i £ _^ to - _Reproduced a sample oi _potawMVCSa' ™!!!! _$ ** years ago , from potatoes _V _> be . _eatei . _w « been *«> wn- away as too bad - •* -bas !« _£ _» iL _£ lu _^ V to * anfortnnately - - ««« tost yathn the lswt two months I

      The Potatoe Famineof The Wseafe Ft ™ Rfe...

      The brighter of the two samples which 1 now produce , and which is equal in colour to good wheaten flour . weighs three quartere ofa pound . It was made from potatoes , of the kind called Cork Reds . The potatoes from which it was made weighed four pounds and a half before they were washed , with the decayed parts upon them , and about a pound less when they had been cleaned . The darker sample was made from potatoes which nothing would have eaten , and though I do not positively assert that it is good food , yet I believe it to be such , and it would certainly make excellent starch . As such it

      might be sold , and thus the means of buying food be extracted from potatoes , which , in their present state , could neither be eaten by manor beast , nor sold at any priee . The only implements used in making these two samples of potatoe flour , were , a rough iron grater , to rasp the potatoes , a coarse towel , to strain the liquid and pulp , and a common tub to receive the liquid . After all the pulp had been well washed and removed , the flour sank at the bottom ofthe tub , as a milky deposit . It was allowed to settle for half an hour ; the water was then poured off gently , and the flour remained at the bottom in the form of a paste .

      The above is the only method which I am acquainted with , by which the deeayed part of potatoes can be made of any value ; but potatoe starch made even from tbe sound parts of partially decayed potatoes ( such as the first sample which I now produce ) may be used in making otlier potatoes into biscuits , according to the following method , described by the French physician Parmentier : — " Mix a little yeast or leven , diluted with hot water , with one pound of the pulp of boiled potatoes , and as much ofthe stasch of potatoes . Ofthe whole form a dough , and knead it a long time ; after which , divide it into pieces , and flatten them and form them into the shape and size of common seabiscuits . The dough should be set upon plates , and

      should remain about an hour before it is put into tbe oven , firstpricking it with an iron skewer ( the regular biscuit-bakers haye an iron instrument furnished with teeth for this purpese ) in order to prevent it from swelling . As tbis dough contains bnt little water , it is more difficult to be baked ; hence it must be left in the oven longer than the bread , two hours longer at least . "When the biscuit is taken out of the oven , it should be set in a warm place , that it may cool gradually , and be deprived of its moisture ; and it should be kept in as dry a place as possible . This potatoe-biscuit , when well prepared , has all the r _* T > ol > _4-i __)(_ f nt r » nmmran rr ? cniiTf _***

      _ _____ _UUdUUCO VI ( . VUJIUVU _VlOVUiVi There is a third method of preparing potatoes which , is generally adopted in South America , and Mexico , and wliich is recommended for adoption in Europe , . by Baron Humboldt , in his Essa _^ on New Spain . He says : — " The Mexicans , like the Peruvians , can preserve potatoes for whole years by exposing them to the frost and drying them in the sun . The root , when hardened and deprived of its water , is called chuno , from a word of the _Qnichua language . It would be undoubtedly very useful to imitate this preparation in Europe , where a commencement of germination frequently destroys the winter ' s provisions . "

      This method is more clearly described in the folio wing passage , which I translate from a communication recently addressed to the Brussels paper L'lndependence , by Don Vicentd Pazzos , formerly Consul-General of Bolivia , in Belgium : — " The potatoes of Peru , which form the ordinary food of the people , are of many kinds , and differ from each ether in colour , form , and " taste , All are capable of being prepared and preserved . The prepared potatoe takes in Pern the name of chuno . The method of preparing this chuno , which is unknown in Europe is very easy . Large p its ( or holes ) are dug and filled with water , in which the potatoes are placed until they have lost the coarser part of their

      fibre . In this state they begin to swell . They are then taken out ofthe pits , and exposed to the open air . This operation is performed in the winter months . The action of tne air and the light purify the potatoe , which becomes a white substance , almost purely fecular , very nourishing , and of a most agreeable taste . " The above would probably be an effectual method of preserving the sound part of the injured potatoes , aa well as perfectly sound ones . As the experiment is easy , and the result may be very important , I shall try it immediately , and shall state the result at the next meeting of the society . It would be well if ethers would do so likewise , taking care not to try it on too large a scale .

      ( To be concluded nsxt _tveelc .

      DISEASE CAUSED BY THE CONSUMPTION OF CORRUPTED POTATOES . In the above article Mr . Baines recommends the turning of the diseased potatoes into starch , which , he asserts , may be used as awholesome and palatable article of food . The question remains , however , if the deceased potatoe is injurious to health , will not the starch made from it be also injurious ? "We invite tiie attention of the reader to the following article on this subject , from the Medical Times of Saturday last : — That corrupted potatoes are capable of acting detrimentally as food , wehave striking evidence in a case published by Mr . Peddie in the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal , vol . xxxix ,, p . 384 , etseq . Tbe

      particulars are worthy of detail . Three children of I the same family , Clappertonby name ; were attacked , the first with gangrene of the cheek , and the two last with anasarca . Excision of the affected parts , and careful subsequent treatment , sufficed to cure the one affected with gangrene , but the other two , in spite of remedies , perished . Mr , Peddie , unable to account for the circumstance , especially in the last case , was inclined to think that imperfect or impure nutrition had some share in it ; yet , says he , " although I could perceive that the family were in a state of extreme destitution , that every member of it had a most unhealthy aspect , my inquiries as to bad food were always met by an assurance tbat they had been living on nothing bnt what was perfectly

      wholesome . A neighbour of the family , to whom I next applied for information , hinted the probability of bad potatoes being the cause of the evil , as she knew for certain that the Clappertons had lately been subsisting almost entirely on such . I now renewed my efforts to ascertain the truth , and having directly charged the parents of the family with the use of this unwholesome diet , I obtained the following confession , apparently at much expense of feeling : — That for some time past the father had been out of employment , in _consequence of which his family were left perfectly destitute ; and having too much pride to beg , and seeing starvation before them , they went to tbe fields and gathered those potatoes which are exposed on the surface of the ground , and which

      aro uniformly rejected by the farmer as utterly unfit for human use . That the potatoes in question were frosted , * were watery in consistence , some of a green , and others of a deep purple colour , and all of them baving an excessively bitter taste ; that in gathering these potatoes from the field , they often met with people similarly employed , but did not think that any of them did so for the purpose of human food , bnt were merely obtaining them for pigs ; indeed , they had never heard of any one eating sueh potatoes ; that this had been their aliment for upwards of six weeks previous to the beginning of December , 1832 , and that they had perhaps only a single meal of another kind once in eight days ; that the potatoes had such a disagreeable taste as to be

      loathed , notwithstanding all the modes of preparation which their ingenuity could devise for rendering them more palatable ; that in a very few days after using them , the whole family were seized with severe griping pains in the bowels , followed by diarrhoea of a green watery kind ; that these bad effects continued with short intervals during the whole time that the potatoes were used , but that the children had not experienced them so severely or so constantly as the parents , which , circumstances was accounted for by their occasionally getting a crust of bread from some of the neighbours . " Mr . Peddie goes on to say , " I may mention that the father had a most unhealthy , feeble appearance , and the mother looked even worse _, had various ailments , and , among the rest , had an

      abortion of a four months' pregnancy ; all of which were not improperly attributable to her late unwholesome mode of living-. " He further states , as the result of many inquiries amongst experienced farmers , that if cattle be fed with potatoes , frosted , or otherwise damaged , tbey become subject to severe colic , diarrhoea , and dropsy , and that these things aie guarded against by allowing the animals a plentiful supply of fodder along with the potatoes ( loc . cit . p . 38 S . ) We have quoted Mr . Peddie ' s observations at some length , both because they ave the most ample and accurate of any extant upon this particular subject , and because of their singular applicability at the present time . Tbe potatoes which this season has afforded , are not only in a great measure innatritive , bnt are also to some extent decidedly and directly

      injurious . The effects which the worst potatoes produce are closely allied to those mentioned by Mr , Peddie as resulting from the use of frosted potatoes , and to those which we quoted last week as the consequence of eating unsound grain . We learn that in sereral parts of Worcestershire and Warwickshire , where pigs have been largely fed with these damaged potatoes , the j have been seized with severe purging , nave lost their flesh , in some instances their tails na ? e become gangrenous and dropped off ,. and not a few bave died . Amongst such as have been killed after tiie accession of the poisonous symptoms , it has frequently been remarke d that , in the process of salting the flesh became extremely dark , sometimes indeed , completely black . Cowsthathave been similarly fed have drooped , and have either ceased to give milk or have furnished only au impure kind , and that

      * These Potatoes, It May Be Necessary To...

      * These potatoes , it may be necessary to explain , lie on fhe surface of the ground , and are exposed to the influence of the 6 Un during the day , and to frost during the night . Some conceiTe that frost effects a chemical change in the constituents ofthe potatoe root , by converting its mucilage into sugar , from which acetic acid is speedily formed , and putrefaction induced .. Others , again consider that the watery part of the potatoe is converted into ice , which , occupying a larger space , separates the solid parts farther from eoch other , and produces , in _consequence , a partial mechanical _disorganisation of structure ,

      * These Potatoes, It May Be Necessary To...

      sparingly . Upon the human subject , also , the effects of these potatoes , taken as food , have been very mischievous . Within our personal Knowledge the following cases have occurred during tbe last few weeks : —An artizan , his wife , and two eldest children , partook one evening of a supper Of potatoes _WhiCD were known not to be sound , but were made some what palatable by being mashed up with a little milk . During the night the children were seized with violent pains in the stomach and bowels , and cramp in the legs , shortly followed by profuse vomiting and purging of frothy matter looking like barm . Before morning the father and mother were similarly affected , but with even greater severity ; fot , on the arrival of the medical attendant they wero nearly

      pulseless and speechless from the exhausting effects of pain and _evacuation They were relieved . bj anodyne and antispasmodic treatment , together with warm diluents , and the application of heat to the abdomen and calves of legs . Prior to this evening the family had been in excellent health , had . no warnings of any such attack , nor had eaten anything , save the potatoes , which could in any wise account for it . A strong healthy man partook one day for dinner cold beef and potatoes . Ot the latter he ate heartily , and though he observed them to be discoloured , he did not reject any portion , for he was very hungry , and their taste was not . unpleasant to him . In about an hour after he had ' returned to his work , be felt a degree of heat and " effervescence , " as he called it , in the

      stomach , shortly followed by pains and cramps in the legs , and afterwards by violent vomiting and purging . .. His dinner waa ejected in an unchanged state , but accompanied with some frothy mucus and bile . The alvine evacuations were frothy andbilious . The attack lasted some hours , with little decrease of severity , and it was not until a week had elapsed tbat he was quite recovered from his disorder . Prior to the occurrence of it be was in bis accustomed good health , had lived with perfect regularity , as was his habit , and on the occasion referred to had eaten nothing but beef , bread , and potatoes . The two former were good , and as the latter were not , there is every reason for supposing they were the source of tbe ailment . A woman , in somewhat indigent circumstances , supped

      one night upon roasted potatoes , of which she ate three tolerably large ones . They were hollow in the middle , and discoloured , but she cut no portion away . Whilst preparing to go to bed , she was seized with ssmptoms precisel y like those of the preceding cases ; they continued with little intermission for several hours , and rendered her , for days afterwards ; extremely weak and emaciated . To these cases we could add many others of less severity , which have occurred in our own practice , and in that of many of our professional acquaintance . In . particular , we may mention that , whilst talking over the subject the other day with an experienced and erudite medical friend , we were informed by Mm , tbat the day previously he had suffered from extreme nervous

      depression , tamtness giddiness , and tremuimg , tne consequence , as he thought of having partaken rather largely of potatoes at dinner . The symptoms , he says , were precisely those under which he once lahoured in consequence of having for . some hours respired an atmosphere strongly impregnated with the effluvium of recent henbane . And he sagaciously observed , as his potatoes were not apparentl y rotten , could the stems have suffered deterioration and the tubers in consequence have imbibed any noxious material ? The idea is perfectly consistent with the notions of some judicious botanists , that decay has commenced in the stem , and afterwards been propagated to the root ; and also with the known fact , that , there are

      certain portions of the potatoe plant which are capable of producing physiological effects _anaolgous to those ofthe more poisonous _solanese . However this may be , certain we are of two things , viz ., that the potatoes of this season are most extensively damaged , and that all so conditioned are unfit for food . Have we any remedy ? Mr . Herapath suggests that the injured tubes be carefully peeled ,: rasped , : ' and elutriated , so as to obtain the starch in a separate form , and ready for future use . We believe that it is the practice in some parts of Scotland thus to treat store potatoes that have been frosted ; and inthe . Isle of Portland the people prepare , in the same way , a kind of arrow-root from the arum rnactdatum ; and experiment has proved that whilst " 121 bs . of starch

      can be obtained from a bushel of sound potatoes , 81 bs . can be procured from such as are useless as an article of food . " In so far tbe suggestion seems , as it really is , a very good one but its applicability is another thing . The care and trouble of ; the preparation will never be undertaken by private Individuals , and especially the poor , for their own use ; nothing Bbort ofa company on a large scale can hope to carry out the plan . Such a company is not very likely to be formed , and even if it were formed , and in operation , the proof would yet be wanting , that the starch of these said potatoes is itself free from injury ., Meanwhile the potatoes are still going to decay , because rottenness propagates itself : and if they are . now bad , what will they be before the winter is over , or before a future crop shall be ready ! And what

      eonsequences may we expect to follow . their consumption ! Independently of the direct mischief which the worst of them will produce at once , we can assign no limits to the injury wbich will be done by the _comtinued use of such as are less corrupt , but still _unhealthy . Scrofula , with all its concomitants , and cachexies in their direst forms ,, will be among the common results , nor are We able to say that it is not likely famine or pestilence will prevail . . We are not fond of anticipating evil ; but we cannot blind ourselves to the fearful prospects which we apprehend to be before us , and especially before _rlour pauper brethren , who have lost one of their chief sources of sustenance , Our duty , however , is done—we have stated facts as we have found them—we have uttered the warning—the poor are in jeopardy—and with the higher powers rests their rescue . . ¦ _' .

      THE POTATOE CROP IN PRUSSIA . " The following communication having been published by the Ministry ofthe Interior at Berlin ; and being ofa nature to meet , and in part to obviate , the awMsufferings to be anticipated from a general failure of the potatoe crop , we give a translation of the document , in the nope that it may alleviate in part the impending calamity . . " The potatoe being more or less diseased in many parts , it has been suggested to raise the p . ' ant from seed ( the potatoe berry ); but a period of some years being , aB it was thought , requisite to produce fullgrown potatoes , and the success doubtful , this plan seemed little adapted for agricultural purposes .

      " But a fact has been established deserving the best consideration . Mr . Zander , gardener to . Count _D'Arnim , at Boitzenburgh , well known at the Berlin fruit and flower exhibition as a scientific horticulturist , hassucceeded in raising from seed in one year roots yielding a crop equal to that obtained by planting the tubercle ; and the potatoes thus raised have remained this year perfectly sound in the midii ' . of infected ones grown in tke usual way , ; i _,. " "According to the communication of Mr . Zander , the proceeding is as follows : — "In the autumn the fruit , or potatoe-apples , are collected before the frost ( a slight frost is said not . to injure the germ ) , and secured from frost in a dry spot until the end of January . Theyare then crushed

      m the hand and thrown into a vessel , where they remain six or eight days to rot . The seed being freed from the slimy particles , it is washed and dried like cucumber seed ,. and preserved from moisture . "About the end of March , or the beginning of April , this seed is sown in a hot-bed , and treated like early vegetables . In a warm protected situation no frame is necessary ; but tbe plant being very tender , it must be carefully covered at night . "In May the plants are removed to a light soil , and put at the distance usual in p lanting potatoes . On the 11 th of April last Mr . Zander sowed in a hotbed seed of early Saxon potatoes , treated as above ; and on the 26 th of May the plants were transplanted . It is necessary to observe that Boitzenburg is a fortnight behind Berlin in vegetation ( a month behind Ireland . The plants yielded from ene to one and a half metze ( the metze is circa six pounds ) a piece ; one the enormous number of 280 tubercles .

      " Among these there were many small , but tbe produce of large ones was , on the whole , equal to what is obtained from root seed . Mr . Zander having instituted these experiments for the last five years , in the spring of this year he gave some of the seed to other members of Count D'Arnim ' s establishment , and to labourers . The potatoes grown from this seed have remained perfectly sound , though the infection has spread all round . This fact is the more significant from the labourers having Bet their plants in thesame E iece with tubercles ; and , whilst the crop ofthe itter has been attacked by the disease , tbat obtained from seed has entirely escaped . . " This result , therefore , deserves of a surety to be Quickly and generally promulgated , in order that , wherever potatoe-berries are still untouched by frost , they may be carefully collected for next year ' s seed . " A bed of about half a square rod yield plants for two-thirds of an acre . "

      The Potatoe Crop In Sweeden. Siockbolme,...

      THE POTATOE CROP IN SWEEDEN . Siockbolme , Oct . 24 . — Deplorable accounts of the remits of the harvest are received here . The Erovince of Upland , Westmanland , part of _Sodermanind , East Gothland and Calmarsleen , all Gothland , and Ocland have suffered a total failure , and these are the very provinces wbich used to export corn , but cannot now , not having sufficient for their own consumption . In consequence of this state of things , the price of barley and potatoes has risen . It is expected that the government will follow up the _prohibit tion to export _potatoen . Norway is indeed Sm from the potatoe disease , nevertheless potatoes are already scarce , because such great quantities have been purchased for foreign countries by speculators .

      Lord Hardwicke On The Potatoe Disease. [...

      LORD HARDWICKE ON THE POTATOE DISEASE . [ From the Cambridge Chronicle . ] The _Lerd-Lieutenant hat thought it his duty to issue an address to the labourers of the county and isle upon the subject of tiie potatoe disease .

      Lord Hardwicke On The Potatoe Disease. [...

      JO THE _iABOUBSBB 0 * CAMBBIDOBSHIBB AND THE I 8 LB OF ELY . Fellow Countrymen , —A sense of duty induces me to address you on the subject of tbe potatoe . It is not necessary on this occasion testate the nature or cause of the decay of that most important article of food . - ¦ ¦ I wish to induce you to look forward to the consenuence of neglecting the endeavour to stop the progress ofthe evil : If you do neglect to do so , all will From all I can learn moisture is the food on which the decay increases , and dryness the medicine to be used for the cure . .. __ T _ ¦ .-. __ , „_ „„_ _. _ _,. „

      • Therefore , do not pit tbe potatoes in tbe usual way but , after most carefully picking tbem , and separating the bad from the good , place the good under a roof ( if you have space ) , placed in layers , and not more than four potatoes deep , so that they may keep effectually dry . Where you have not house-room , expose them to the sun and air during dry weather on the surface of the . ground , and then pile them in small conical heaps , on the surface , thatching thorn over with straw , and cutting a deep trench round about them , with a good drain from the trench to carry off the water .

      Pick the best potatoes for seednext year , and take them into the cottage , keeping them quite dry , and let no price induce you to part with them ; for next year seed will not be procurable 1 I also advise that , at present you do not sell , for I feel sure that at no very distant period the price of the , potatoe will be unprecedented . I further advise all who bave pitted potatoes at once to open the pits ; and pick the potatoes over again . I am , fellow-countrymen , , Ever your faithful servant , Windsor Castle , Oct . 28 , 1846 . Habdwicke .

      THE POTAT OE FAILURE IN THE SOUTH

      OF ENGLAND . [ From the Morning Chronicle , ] A statement which appeared last week in some London papers , I am told it was in the Morning Chronicle , but I did not see it , and which is reprinted in the Salisbury Journal and other local papers of Saturday last , has caused much surprise in this part of Hampshire . The statement was to the effect that no potatoe disease prevails in the south of England , save in a very mild and limited form , in one or two localities , and not in Hampshire . The writer professes to take the country 30 miles round Andover , and quotes the moderate market prices of potatoes in Salisbury , Southampton , Romsey , Winchester , Basingstoke , and other markets , as proofs that potatoes

      are neither diseased nor scarce , nor likely to be scarce . Now the low prices in these markets are attributable to the notorious fact , that the potatoes are diseased , and are every day getting worse . At this season of the year large quantities are always thrown upon the market by the cultivators of small holdings in the New Forest , and the country surrounding it . Also the holders of allotments and large cottage gardens send potatoes to market at this time , to raise a little money to pay their yearly rent now due , which circumstance , together with the fact of speculators and regular buyers , knowing that the potatoes are diseased , and dangerous to put in store to be kept for

      any length ot time , are sumcient to account lor prices remaining low , even in the face nf scaroity . For instance , near Warminster , wherelarge fieldsare planted with potatoes , and where it is a staple product , the failure has been so terrible that the plough in being used to open thc drills before the work people who fork out and gather up the tubers , bas this year opened out , instead ofthe tuberous treasure expected , lines of decomposing rottenness . A gentleman not _Siven to exaggeration , and whose word is not to be oubted for a moment , has assured me that on one hundred acres of his property planted with potatoes in the Warminster district , the sound tubers are not more than one to each plant .

      THE POTATOE FAMINE IN IRELAND Second Report op the'Government Commis

      * - sioners . " To his Excellency Baron Heytesbury , Lord-Lieutenant ofIreland , & e . "Board-room , Royal Dublin Society , Oct . 29 . "My Lord , —Haying submitted to your Excellencyj in a former report , some preliminary instructions intended to prevent improper treatment of the potatoe crop _atill remaining unaffected , we now have the honour to lay before your Excellency our views regarding some processes of treatment for the potatoe which appear to us to be of practical value and importance . : ¦ V We are deeply sensible of the incompleteness of form which this mode of presenting our results to your . Excellency necessarily assumes ; but the exigencies of the case are such that we consider it our highT est duty to bring [ at once under the notice of her Majesty ' s Government such principles or modes of practice as , upon due consideration , y . e feel authorized to recommend .. . '• - ¦

      "We have been _engaged ' in the investigation of various plans for preserving diseased potatoes , as proposed by other persons , or suggested by ourselves , and we have been collecting precise information as to the experience of others in their endeavours to arrest the progress of . the disease . From , all results ; that we nave obtained , we . feel justified in submitting to your Excellency , the following observatio ' ns _.: / - . "Plans of treatment have been proposed by persons possessing more or less of chymieal knowledge , in which , by some , acids are to be employed ; in others _^ _^ kaline _^ _liguors j and , In a third class , gases —such as chlorine . ' These processes we dismiss from further consideration _^ as , even did they , in the laboratory , answer the ' intended purpose , they are totally inapplicable to the circumstances of the produce of an entire country , and to a population such as that for whose welfare your Excellency is so deeply

      anxious . " Other methods , apparently more practical , consist in the treatment ofthe potatoes with chloride of lime ( bleaching powder ) and , salt , either , separate or in mixture . The result . of our own experiments , arid the evidence we have received concerning trials made' by persons in whorii . we have full confidence , authonise us at once to recommend the rejection of these materials . We have found the decomposition of the potatoe to be decidedly accelerated by their application . With respect to lime , the results of our own experiments aire not yet decisive ; nor is the experience _ofothers as yet satisfactory ., We , therefore , reserve this point for further consideration . " Whilst the disease is not yet very far advanced in the potatoe , it is certain , that after being boiled or steamed , it may be employed as food for immediate use , both for man and other animals , without prejudice to health .

      "When the disease is more advanced , so as to have invaded a large part of the potatoe , and when the tubers have acquired a disagreeable smell , their influence on the system is more questionable . We have ' put in operation a series of experiments , in order to determine this point , and will , in due time , report the result to your Excellency . As , however , the potatoe , when once affected , quickly runs into total decomposition , if left to itsolfi it is evident that its consumption merely for the purpose of food cannot be sufficiently vapid ; and it therefore becomes necessary to consider to what other uses it may be applied . " The extraction of starch from potatoes , and its use as food , having strongly attracted publio attention / and conflicting , and , in many cases , inaccurate

      opinions having been entertained on this subject , we consider it of paramount importance at once to direct your Excellency ' s attention to the actual state of knowledge regarding this material . It is recognised tbat the potatoe , in relation either to its weight or bulk , is one of the most inferior articles o £ food . In its ordinary state of sound constitution , every hundred pounds weight of potatoes contain , on an average , 741 b . of water ; of skin and fibrous matter , 81 b . ; and of starch , 161 b . ; whilst of gluten , the most nutritious of vegetable matters , and which predominates in corn , thero is not more than 21 b . in the above quantity . Itis quite certain that starch , or materials corresponding to it , exist to a certain amount in every variety of useful food : but it is eauallv

      certain that in food starch is not the material which serves for the support of the animal frame ; and an animal fed merely on starch dies of starvation nearly , if not quite as soon , as if totally deprived of food . Hence , starch extracted from the potatoe cannot be viewed as a substitute for the potatoe itself ; and we consider it of great importance , that whilst the atten « tion of the people is directed to the real value of starch , and the uses to which it may be advantageously applied , they should not be allowed to rest their hopes of nourishment during the succeeding season upon any store ofit alone , "With this preliminary caution , we have to state to your Excellency , that probably the best use to which diseased potatoes may be applied is the

      extraction of starch . In a commercial point of view , the sterch represents a considerable proportion of the value ofthe potatoe , although it is not present in as large a quantity in the unsound tubers as in those which are free from disease . The extraction is simple , and consists in processes which we need not here describe , as theyare given in the current publications ot the day , and indeed are already practised in mostparts ofthe country . "Tour Excellency is aware that we are directing our attention tothe manner in which starch can be advantageously employed . It can be worked off and with utility , * food , when mixed withnrnnm _*'

      tions of oatmeal , beanmeai , or peasmeal , and such intermixture forms an excellent and economical article of food . Itis also to be remarked , that the pulp remaining after the extraction ofthe starch from the diseased potatoes contains a considerable quantity of nutritive material ; and as the decomposing BUh . stance is , to a . very great extent , washed out durine the preparation , the pulp may , when dried , be applied with _^ onfidence to the nourishment of animals . Further , if the dried . starch , extracted from the potatoe , be mixed up with the dry residual pulp , a material will be produced ( reall y _representing the _pofatoe , equivalent to it as food , and , if kept < £ - capable of being preserved for a considerable length

      Lord Hardwicke On The Potatoe Disease. [...

      of time : it , of course , must be prepared for use by cooking or baking in the ordinary way . " The manufacture ofthe pulp and starch , on an extensive scale , in accordance with these suggestions , we venture to consider worthy of your Excellency ' s attention , It is an operation not suited to the circumstances ofisolated cotters , and just now might not be a proper object for mere commercial speculation . But arrangements might possibly be made for carrying out this recommendation through the agency ofthe Poor Law unions and other _Governmebtostab . lishments , in which mechanical power and intelligent superintendence could be speedily and economically applied . We feel , however , that even these facilities for the conversion of the tubers may not be sufficient . t _« : ma . it nf _nmirsA . must he nrenared for n «_ hv

      to keep pace with the progressive _injury which , it is to be feared , the potatoe crop is sustaining . We , therefore , recommend a mode by which we believe the process of decomposition may be retarded . In our preliminary report we mentioned to your Excellency the important influence exercised upon the disease by moisture and dryness . Our subsequent investigations have confirmed this opinion , and we believe , where means exist for a more complete drying of the tubers , such a method will prove the most efficacious plan for preserving the potatoe from further decay . This more perfect drying cannot , however , be effected in this climate by mere exposure to air : it requires artificial heat , applied in some form of kiln : and . without enterinir into mechanical details ,

      we may name some simple contrivances which seem well adapted to the purpose . : " The corn kilns extensively distributed tlirough the country may at once be applied to the drying of the potatoes , which will , however , demand a temperature rendered gradually higher than that required for corn . But , as in many cases those kilas are at present fully occupied , we would represent that every limekiln maybe adapted to the purpose , without interfering with its ordinary operations , by erecting over it at a suitable height above its mouth a framework of hurdles upon which the potatoes may be spread in a thin layer , fresh potatoes being added as the others become dry and are removed . In localities where the previous means do not exist , or may

      not be on a sufficiently extensive scale , potatoes may be spread on a framework of hurdles supported on a few props of stone , two or three feet nigh ; one or more turf fires burning slowly under the hurdles would effect the same object . There need be no fear of the potatoes becoming slightly browned , as they are not injured thereby lor future use ; and tbe turf smoke would act favourably on the potatoes rather than otherwise . " In all these modes of drying , the potatoes should be cut into two , or if very large into three pieces , so as to allow the water to escape . "Potatoes dried in any of the modes above described are certainly capable of being preserved when kept in a dry place , and stored , with the precautions

      described m our first report , until suitable opportunities arise for converting them into starch or meal , according to the degree in which they were affected by the disease . " It is gratifying to us to find that our own opinion as to the advantage of thoroughly drying the potatoe in the manner we have recommended , and by processes such as those above described , are confirmed by the experienced and highly intelligent persons who have simultaneously directed their attention to the subject . " We shall not hesitate to bring under the notice of your Excellency our further conclusions , and we have the honour to be , your Excellency ' s obedient and faithful servants , " Robert Kane .

      " John _Lhtoley . " Lyon Plavfair . " Proceedings in Din . Li . v .--A public meeting of the citizens of Dublin was held on Friday , Oct . 31 st , at the Music-hall , in Abbey-street , the Lord Mayor presiding . The attendance was respectable and rather numerous . The Duko of Leinster , Lord Cloncurry , and Mr . O'Connell were present . The meeting terminated in the appointing of a deputation to wait on the Lord Lieutenant as the bearers of resolutions calling on his Excellency : — " To open the ports for the importation of food . " To close the ports against the export of oats . " To establish publie granaries , and provide employment for the people . " To raise a loan of £ 1 , 000 , 000 , to be secured on the revenue of the Irish Woods and Forests Department , and to consider the question of stopping distillation . "

      Dublin , Nov . 3 . —This afternoon at three o ' clock a mixed deputation from the corporation and committee appointed at the public meeting held on Friday last waited upon the Lord-Lieutenant by appointment . The deputation consisted , of the Lord Mayor , theDukeof Leinster , Lord Gloncurry , Mi * . O'Connell , Mr . H . Grattan , and several others , and was , with somewhat of discourtesy on the part of Lord Heytes bury , brought to the viceregal lodge in the park , instead of being received at the Castle . The Lord Mayor read a aeries of resolutions which had been previously submitted to the Lord-Lieutenant . His Excellency read his reply from a written paper , as follows;— . " My Lord Mayor and Gentlemen , —It can scarcely be necessaay for me to assure you , that the state of the potatoe crop has for sometimeoccupied , and still occupies , the moat anxious attention ofthe Government

      " Scientific men have been sent over from England to co-operate with those of this countryih endeavouring to investigate the nature of the disease , and , if possible , to devise means to arrest its progress . They have not yet terminated their inquiries ; Jbut two reports _liaro already been received from them , which have been communicated to the public . " The Government is also furnished with constant reports from the stipendiary magistrates , and inspectors of constabulary , who are charged to watch the state of the potatoe disease , and the progress of the harvest . \ These vary from day . to day , and are often contradictory . It will , therefore , be impossible to form an accurate opinion of the whole extent of the evil till the digging ofthe potatoes shall be further advanced . To decide , under such

      circumstances , upon the most proper measures to be adopted , would be premature , particularly as there is reason to hope . that , though the evil exists to a very great extent in some localities , in others it has but partially manifested itself . "There is no immediate pressure on the market . I will , however , lose no time in _submitting your suggestions to the consideration of the Cabinet . The greater part of them can only be enforced by legislative enactment , and all require to be maturely weighed before they can be adopted . It must be clear to you that in a case of such great national importance , no decision can be taken without a previous reference to the responsible advisers of the Crown . " When the deputation waB about to withdraw ,

      Mr . O'Connell , addressing his Excellency , said that , with reference to one of the resolutions passed -by-the committee—that which referred to the stoppage of" distillation—ho was afraid that there was a serious _difficulty to be got over before its adoption , namely , the injury it would be to the trader whe had advanced his capital in the purchase of corn , spirits , & c _. The Lord-Lieutenant briefly replied that the observation of the gentleman who had spoken was one deserving of much consideration , and one which had not been overlooked by the Government when they had the matter under discussion . The deputation then withdrew .

      Dreadful Shipwrecks. Furthek Particulabs...

      DREADFUL SHIPWRECKS . FURTHEK PARTICULABS OP THE WRECK OP THE Hull and Hamburg Archimedean Steamer Maroabet . —The subjoined particulars relating to the melancholy loss of the Hull and Hamburg propeller steam ship , the Margaret , during the late hurricane off the Dutch coast , have been furnished by the owners of the ill fated ship . m The Margaret , we are given to understand , was a iron built vessel , 250 tons burthen , 120 feet in extreme length , 24 feet beam , and depth of hold 12 feet . She was fitted with two engines of 14 horse power each , and was propelled by am Archimedean screw . She had a very rakish appearance , and in form of building was something like a slaver , hum *

      rigged with three masts , and carrying , considering her size , a large proportion of canvas . On several occasions she made remarkably quick passages even when the weather was so tempestuous as to Preclude other vessels proceeding . During the time she was engaged trading between Hull and Hamburg , aperiod ot about twelve months , her trips were exceeuinelv regular , and from her punctuality she was rather a favourite on tbe station _. The loss ofthe ship is described by Captain Rawlmson , the commander , and the survivors , to the owners , Messrs . Price , at Hull , nearly in the following terms-. — " We left _Hamburg for Hull nn « , _ , i _ uv . _ u

      with moderate weather , having on board 16 _nas _sengers , chiefly Jews , and apparently in needy circumstances . We also had a heavy careo _conRistinw _pnncipaUy of wheat , _oate , wool , aid _JBSS disc On arriving above Cuxhaven , one pilot , as usual _saitfi- _aai _Beior-emidnight , however , the wind _spnini iKm the westward , and _ _>«> _»<>«» v : _ . * 9 _ U P _<> m

      Still we kepton ! a _<^ . ' _theTsZe time _= _« as tar northward 88 possible . ffi _» rffi _^ _!«^ and 19 th , the weather continued _tSi S ' _w ' terous . state of the sea _causin _* theu _« h * * n _^ fearfully . In the hope , howefer that « L _* ° r U m < abate , the track was still _W + _w- _^ * T _gaJe . wouId little way . On L 20 h _Se _Si _? SSclM _^ tenfold ; the sails _wereWlv _wl _incremd almost sea dashing over her _witHf *? _W . a » d . the immediate deSo _? _ffife' _tbreatened ber wind , aU _ppasible s _& bf £ g _S _^ re ag _«^ the was made in _thecomXfbW V suggestion Elbe ; and , after _^ SreM _ttl to turn to the _Minsonfctemi _^^^^^ Captain

      Dreadful Shipwrecks. Furthek Particulabs...

      to every soul on board , in consequence of the m » shoals that abound at the entrance , as in ther _? where the'Manchester Hull steamer and all _hani _? were lost about eighteen months since . Even k ever , if such a step should have been attempted it would haye been impracticable to have carried it oni for we had been driven about to sueh an extent K the gale , that we could scarcely take our position . we were blown miles put of the track . As evenin advanced , the wind increased to a hurricane vet _ li vessel worked well head to wind ; and _cousitWhl the frightful pitching , it is somewhat _surprising tlm the engines and screw could have acted in the mannp they did . The foUowing day brought more tempestn _ous weather , the wind blowing still from the samo Quarter . Captain _Rawlinson had just taken sound it to everv soul on board , in _COnseauence nf tt .

      ings , wnen was _mscovereu tnat the steamer was oft a place called Borkrum , eleven miles distant _-uS about sixty to the southward of HeligolVna Shortly afterwards a man who was stationed _aI the masthead gave the alarm of breakers _ahe-d We instantly adopted the necessary precautio ns to keep clear of them when a tre mendous sea struck the ship , and swept the decks fore and aft taking with it the boats , caboose , & c ., as also lite ' rally demolishing the wheel . The only chance left us was to try the anchors , and at nine o ' clock a m they were let go . Every sea now swept over us in ' fact she was perfectly immersed , and for shelter ' we all got into the cabin , and , hours passing away we were in hopes she would outlive the storm .

      Unhappily , however , at three o ' clock in the afternoon the cable of one ofthe anchors snapped asunder and immediately afterwards the other * one parted also In an instant the vessel was borne with great rapidity amongst the __ breakers , and was dashed on tothe Memmett with much force . We still remained in the cabin , being fearful to venture on deck incase of being swept off . There we remained until near nine o ' clock at night , when , finding that the ship was settling on the sand , and began to fill with water , I recommended taking to the rigging as'the only means of saving ourselves . The crew followed me , and although 1 begged the passengers to adopt the samo steps , they did not attempt it , probably not being so well able to go aloft as the seamen , Thej remained on deck , and I regret to state that duringthe night

      the entire sixteen perished ; some no doubt , being carried away by the surf that swept the vessel , and others from sheer exhaustion falling overboard . We lashed ourselves to the rigging , where we remained until nine o ' clock the following morning , the 22 d , having endured the most intense suffering from a severe frost _andithe sea making a breach over us . Fortunately the vessel was built of iron , tor nothing else eould have lasted out the night . . Tho tide kaving receded , and tke wind lessening in its furv , we got all the spars we could muster , and by lashing them together , formed a kind of raft , and there being no other possible means of escape ior us , we ventured on it to gain the shore . Being clear of tlie wreck , we secured ourselves by rope to the raft , every man be «

      mg up to his middle m water . The steward , however , whose name is Turpin , refused to go with us , saying he though the could gain the shore by swimming , and after we had left he jumped overboard , but failed in the attempt and was drowned , we being too far off to save him . We had been six hours on the raft , when Providence pleased to float us upon the sand , opposite the island of Juist , on which we landed . Two poor fellows died from the privation they had endured . Shortly after we had reached the sand , and ere much lime had elapsed , we were observed by a Dutch vessel , wliich promptly bore down to our asssist-, ance . We were taken off by a boat , and being placed on board the vessel , were landed at the town ot Norden near the entrance of the river Emm . Our _conditioa was most pitiable , but thanks to the English Consul , everything was done to soothe our sufferings . As regards the Margaret , I am afraid she is a total wreck . Nothing is to be seen of her but her masts . The

      consul has taken seeps to recover as much of the wreck and cargo as possible . I regret further to inform you that there are no fewer than _twenty-sLv ships ashore between Borkrum and the Weiser . The _nimes ofthe sixteen passengers who were lost I cannot furnish you , or even where they belong . Those saved , including myself , are M . Archibald , first mate : John Hurdman , second mate ; William Maiden , seaman ; G . Smith , seaman ; Robert Couch , seaman ; R . Briggs , engineer ; and W . Swift , seoond engineer . Those of the crew who perished were Nathan Turpin , steward ; James Leafe , seaman ; and Henry Heath , fireman . The spot where the steamer Struck , the Memmet , is a dangerous shoal of a somewhat similar character to the formidable Goodwin . It is off the coast of East Friesland , sixty miles from the entrance of the . Elbe , and adjacent to the small island of Suist , at the mouth of the eastern entrance ofthe river Emms .

      Among other fatal shipwrecks that occurred at the same period , on the ' Dutch coast , were the following : —An English brig was seen to founder with all on board off Spiekeroog . A vessel called the FameJiens _Vel , bound to Christiana , is also supposed to be lost near thesame spot . On the shore near the Osse , a large vessel was on her beam-ends ; her name has not as yet been forwarded . Near Borkrum a brig , laden with railway iron , has been wrecked . At the mouth of the river Jahde a large vessel , with white mast , was sunk in six fathoms and embedded in a red . sand . A large ship with _mizen-masts and yards painted white , is reported to have been lost off

      the w eiser . On the Norderdeich , the United Friends , Captain Ilodey , from London , was totally lost . Near Spiekeroog , the Hesperus , a Dutch vessel , waa wrecked—crew saved . The Portumen , from Stockholme , for Ostena , was lost during the storm , mate and a _seamaa . drowned . The entire range of coast has been strewn with pieces of wreck , merchandise , & c , and some idea may be formed of the awful character of the storm , from the circumstance of several vessels being actually borne by the tremendous sea into corn fields , which were inundated some 300 or 400 yards from the beach , where they will have to be broken up , their removal being impossible . Several thousand head of cattle were drowned . The loss of the Margaret steamer is reported to be considerable , but she is understood to be insured ,

      Extbaoedisartswikdl.Inq.R-At The Central...

      ExTBAOEDiSARtSwiKDl . iNQ . r-At the Central Criminal Court on Saturday last , Arthur Bowan Hamilton wa 6 placed at the bar ori the charge of obtaining under falso pretences , from Captain James Wood , a _' cheek of £ 500 . Mr . oiarkson ana Mr , Boakin appeared for the prosecu . tion ; Ur . Ballantine for the prisoner . Mr . Clarkson stated the case to the jury , and said the prisoner now standing before them was indicted for the offence com . _monly called swindling , having obtained of thc prosecutor , Captain James Wood , a large sum of money by falso pretences . ' The defendant _caUed himself Arthur KoWin Hamilton . The prosecutor , Captain _YTood , was a person of considerable property , who had retired on half-pay from the Royal Regiment of Marines , and resided at

      Woolwich . He was owner of a farm of fifty acres nea * _Reigate _, ana in March last , in consequence of the farm being to let , the defendant was intoduced to him as being likely to be an eligible tenant , under the name of Captain Arthur Rowan Hamilton , of her Majesty ' s Sth regiment of Dragoon Guards . Captain Wood , suspecting nothing , received him very cordially , introduced him to . l _ is family , and negociations went on for the occupation of the farm , A treaty was entered into between him and Captain Wood . The defendant thought that the farm contained a quantity of excellent _brick-earth _, and talked a great deal of what might be made by entering into an undertaking for that purpose ; but , in order to do so , it was necessary that Captain Wood should advance a check for £ 500 .

      Captain Wood made no objection ; but , at the same time , _itt order to be certain of the Identity of Captain HamUton , he proceeded to the offices of Messrs . Cox and Greenwood , and , on making inquiries there , was told that that person was of the greatest respectability , and whose word might be entirely relied upon . In consequence Ot this information he felt . no reluctance to grant the desire of the defendant , and the check for £ 500 was accordingly given , and an agreement for the lease of the farm drawn up . The defendant then became very intimate with the family , stated that he haa seen a great deal of serrice , and that he had been severely wounded at Cabul . Affairs were in this state when a lady , whom it was his ( Mr . Clarkson ' _s ) painful duty to mention to the jury , was introduced to the defendant at the house of Captain Wood . This lady the defendant followed

      to her father ' s residence in Scotland , where she had property to a considerable amount . He introduced himself there as Captain Arthur Rowan Hamilton , ofthe 5 th Dragoon Guards , dressed inthe uniform , and , in fact , completely engaged the sympathy of _theiadies , at least , in his favour , He stated that he had been employed tw times especially to quell the Welsh ? w L If h _!/? a been under _lordKeane iu India ; that he had _revived a severe wound at Cabul , and had lam m the snow for three days by the side of his servants , who had met their death beside him . _n 0 _suspi _™ J _% _X _* _^! v m _^ 0 f _^ hut the cannie Scotchman , _Sfn ? _* w _^ _t in lluestion * *» ° < _- < -ur n _* _d to his y _^ . _* _?* the We ! sh riots and *• _*»**« cabui had occurred at the same period . The dofendant had also stated he . was thirty years of age , and had been present at the close

      of the battle of Waterloo . These suspicions brought on inquiries , i „ the course of which it appeared _o _» t the defendant was in reality no captaia at _wom-i * , omet * meswmt _° y _^ e name of Captain _Hamilton , and sometimes as Dr . Ayton , and lived at No . J , _Duchess-street , _Portland-place ; and , in fact , the wo niBhiy respectable persons near him , the real Captain Arthur Bowan Hamilton , of the 3 d Dragoon Guards , and _Captain Archibald Hamilton , would prove that theydenved very little satisfaction from the assumption of their name by the defendant . The witnesses called My proved the truth of the charge , and the jury found a ver _« ct of guilty . There was another indictment against the prisoner for a like offence , but it was not gone into . The learned Judge then sentenced the defendant to be transported for the term of seven years .

      Sentences . —The same day Bridget Smith , who had previously been found guilty of attempting to administer poison , was sentenced to be imprisoned and kept to hard labourinthe House of Correction for twelve calendsi months . William Aggers found guilty of assaulting Frederick John Stokes , with intent to murder him , was sentenced to Imprisonment with hard labour in the House of Correction for fifteen calendar months . Charlotte MacWe was sentenced to three months of the same punishment for a common assault . "

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 8, 1845, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_08111845/page/6/