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Northern Star (1837-1852), 11th October 1845, Edition 1 of 4, Page 7, teuulture anilv lartmtiture.

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    • FLOODS IN THE NORTH.
    • teuulture anilv lartmtiture.
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      THE LAND ! Within that land was aanj a malcontent , yiho curs' * the tyranny t « winch lie bent ; The soil fall many a wringing desptt saw , " Who work'd Ins wantonness in f « rm of law . Egron , "A people among whom equality reigned , would p « ssess everything tuey -waRtcd where they possessed the means of subsistence . "Wh y should they pursue additional wealth or territory ! "No mau cau cultivate more than a certain portion of land . " — Godisin . " 5 o one is able to produce a charter frora heaven , or has any better title to a particular possession than his neighbour . "—Palcg . " There eonJd be no such thing as landed property righially . Man did not make the earth , and , though he lia J a natural right to ocaipy it , lie had no right to locale as Jiis proi-erlg hi perpetuity any part of it ; neither did the Creator of the earth open a laud office , from whence the first title deeds should issue . " — Tltowas Paine . The land shall not be sold forccer . —Jfoses .

      « There is no foundation in nature or in natural law » -hv a set of words upon parchment should convey the dominion of land . "—Blackstone . » Thelandfctbepeo ] i ! e ' smherItanee ; andldngs , princes , peers , nobles , priests , and commoners , who have stolen it from them , hold it upon the title of popular ignorance , rather than upon any rig ht , human « r divine . "—Jt ' eargits {/ Cowio ? . " Jiv reason teaches ine that land cannot le sold . The Great Spirit gave it to his children to live upon , and cultivate , as far as is necessary for their subsistence ; and so Ion" as they occujnr and cultivate it , they have the right to tWsuil—but 5 f they voluntarily leave it , then any other i . eoplehavea rig ht to settle upon it . Nothing can be sold , but such things as can be carried away . "—Black liaick . " Ever / individual possesses , legitimately , the thing which las labour , his intelligence ( or more generally ] , which his actidty has created .

      « This principle is mcontestible , and it is well to remark that H contains expressly an t > ckw » v ! edgment of the right of all to the soil . For as the soil has not been created by man , it follows from the fundamental principle of property , that it cannot belong to any small portion of the huiiian race , who have created it by their activity . Let us tlieu conclude that the true theory of property is founded on the creation of the tiling pjfsesf CuV " —Fonfhr . " If man has a right to light , 3 ir , and -water , which no one will attempt to question , lie has a right also to the land , which is just as necessary for the maintenance of his subsistence . If every person had an equal share of the soil , poverty would be unknown in the world , and crime would disappear with want . "—ilike WaWt . " As the nature and wants of all men arc alike , the wants of all must be equal ; and as human existence is dependent on the same contingencies , it follows that the great field for all exertion , and the raw material of all wealth , OieearOi , is the common property of all its inhabitants . "—John Francis Bran .

      " What monopoly inflicts ctiIs of such magnitude as that of laudI It istfic sofc terrier io national pmpeAty . The people , the only creators of wealth , possess knowledge ; they possess industry ; and if they possessed land , they could set all other monopolies at defiance ; they would theu be ambled to employ machinery for their own benefit , and the world would behold nidi dclijjht and astonishment the beneficial effects of this mighty engine , when properly directed . "—Autlior of the " 1 'cj'rOOf of JSrulits . " "We take tlie following articles from tlie organ of ilie New York -National Reformers , Young America . The articles arc frora the pen of the aWe and truly patriotic Editor of that excellent paper .

      LAXD MONOPOLY . I have said , aud now repeat , that should we resolve ourselves back into a state of nature , for the formation of a new constitution of government , as we no doubt shall do at the next election , there is no reason , that I can see , why that constitution should sot secure , inalienably , to every human being in this State , everj' natural right . At the foundation of the Republic , a great inequality of condition existed , as the inevitable consequence of an inequality of rights . The distinctions of rica and poor were brcadly defined ; there were masters and slaves under the names of employers and employed , the rich being the employers and the poor the employed .

      When the government was formed , a great mistrust of the poor existed among the rich , aud a great ignorance of rights among the poor , that caused the poor still to be subjected to many disqualifications , which , in process of time , were found unnecessary , and in part removed . Hut a fundamental error , adopted fromtbcmonarcliicals ; steta , auerror based on usurpation and plunder , has remained untouched in our constitution to this day . This great error is the monopoly of the soil , which , although not so seriously felt iu the infancy of the Government , is now more effestually debarring the poor from the right of suffrage and cliijibility to oilicc than any constitutional restrictions could do .

      The mor . opolv of the soil havins " zvomi with our growth , " was not looked upon as an evil ; consequently the numerous bad elFcets flowing frora it we attributed to other causes ; and our legislation belnjj thus based upon error , has become complicated and cumbrous . Let any man capable of tiihikiiig , follow out , in his own mind , the consequences that would result from securing to every family of the State an inalienable ^ freehold , and he -will at once Sec plain !; the source from which nearly all the errors of legislation and the ills of society hare sprung . ltiches and porerty ; debt and interest ; speculatieu and privileged monopoly ; complicated and expensive laws aud Isgal machinery ; la-. v-o ! Hcevs , as locusts numerous and ravenous ; poor-houses for men who have produced far move than they have

      consumed , while men who never performed useful labour inhabit princely mansions and princely incomes ; saals and gibbets for necessitous thieves , while wholesale swindlers are among the honored and respected of the land ; oftlic upauperised and unimprisoned poer , oue portion doing treble duty while another is beggipg for work ; the , rich getting richer and the poor poorer : these are some of the links in the chain of cause and effect ; sonic of the results inevitably flowing from tuc monopoly of the soil . These are some of ihe evils which have rapidly grown upon us in ihis infant Republican State , till the only difference between us and the rotton-ripe English tyranny is , that there one in ten are paupers , * while here it is only one iu twenty-six ! Now as no one in his senses who will take upon himself the trouble to become acquainted with the

      facts , will deny that the cause of this downward tendency of our condition ought to be removed , if possible , let us sec if this cannot be done . That cause , we sec , island monopoly : one man holding In his possession land on which two or more might subsist , while others are without any , or the means of acquiring any , and therefore dependent on those who hold it or t ' hemeans which command it-How came this Land monopoly ? ( To be able to apply a remedy , it is first necessary to ascertain the exact nature of the disease . ) When the people on the other side of the Atlantic ocean had discovered that there was a continent here , not so thickly inhabited as their own , and that the people here did not know as much about the arts and sciences as

      they' did , and nothing at all about pauperism , rum , gunpowder , land-stealing , and other refinements of civilization , their chief robbers issued mandates to their captains and favourites , commanding them to go and " discover and take possession of" any lauds in Sie new world , " not in the possession of any Christian prince . " For variety , in some cases the mandates ran " to discover and conquer" these lands , though the meaning was , in all cases , to take possession , not of as much land as the settlers needed for their subsistence , which was all that they had any right to , and that only when they found it unoccupied , but of entire tracts of tbc country * extending from ocean to ocean , even if it became necessary to slaughter the Aborigines to effect it !

      That was the origin of Patrooncry and all sorts of land monopoly in this and other states , as any one will find who will take the trouble to examine history . 3 t has been a system of plunder and misery from bcinnin ^ to end . Every citizen of this state who Las gnne ° to the grave landless and in poverty , has gone there a plundered man ; plundered by society of his ri « ht to a home , and his life , m all probability greatl ? shortened by the robbery . Every citizen of the state who has now no right to a freehold , is a plundered man ; plundered of an inestimable right which belonga to liira by virtue of Ins existence . Every man has an indisputable fight and title to land enough to live upon ; and no one has a just title to a foot more than is necessary for the subsist "" - * of his family , while anotW ?< = ~* uuutland . L . and is an inaKo—iMeriglit .

      Thus stands the case at present . The disease is land monopoly . There is , of course , but one remedy , and that is to abolish it . The entire right would be , to put every man in possession of his land , and to compensate him , as far as possible , by a tax on the property of the State , for the time he has been deprived of it , and for the disqualifications he labours under from the vicious circumstances under which he las been educated or reared . But there is no example in history in whieh the mass of the people , on a refo . mation of government , lave asserted more than half the rights they were entitled to : and , therefore , It is not wisdom in a reformer to propose measures that there is no reasonable hope of accomplishing . Besides , there is this consideration , that the wrong las been the work of ages , and those who are at present profiting by it are only guilty in proportion to their enlightenment on the subject , and their opposition to the necessary reform .

      Whtt , then , is the true measure of practical reform ? It mav be a compromise , but it must be of sueh a nature as to afford immediate relief to the injured , and nltimate and not distant radical restoration of the right . This , under sueha view of the subject is what X propose : — PLAN FOE BBSTOREfG THE LAXD OF NEWTOBK

      TO THE TEOPLE . I That no one hereafter , shall , under any circumstances , ' become possessed of more than 160 acres of land in this State . ( 1 ) 2 . Eoonehereafter , snail , under any circumstances , become possessed of more than one lot in a city or village , ( the size of which may be regulated by the city or town authorities . ) 1- )

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      3 . There shall be a special court or commission , composed of landholders and ( poor ) lacklanders , proportioned to the numbers of their respective classes in the State , ¦ who shall , in all cases where land is field by a twenty years' or more , a life , or a perpetual lease , determine , on principles of equity , ( witlioutregard to legal wrongs , ) what ( or whether anj ) compensation shall be paid to the claimant in full extinguishment of his claim . ( 3 ) i . The homestead lot or farm shall he inalienable , except at tlic will of the occupant , aud then only transferable to a landless pi-rson . 5 . Every corporation of whatever name or nature , now holding land , shall be allowed five years to dispose of the same , to landless ' persons , under the above restrictions , excepting the lotsand buildings occupied fur their business .

      C Associations of persons may hold their freeholds in common . 1 . This proposition , let it be noted , would leave in the possession of every man who now holds land all that he holds , no matter how large the quantity or how acquired , that is not used as a means of exacting tribute in the form of rent , from landless men ; aud at the death of the possessor , Jiis landless heirs , however numerous , could each inherit the possession , ol a lot or a farm , and the possession ol the remainder niust be sold to landless purchasers , and the proceeds disposed of according to the will of the deceased , or divided among his heirs ; and thus the lieirs , instead of a lai-ge quantity of land , of which they might become dispossessed , or which they might use as a means of oppression , would have enough inalienably . On the other hand , freeholds would gradually cheapen , as they came into the market from the death of the monopolists , till , as none could purchase but landless men or women , every one in the State would become

      a freeholder . 2 . The second proposition would leave to a man who might own 161 ) 0 houses in New York , for instance , the full possession of them till his death , though the inilux aud increase of population , and not any addition of labour , skill , or even capital , might give him the power of exacting more and more every year from an oppressed tenantry . But , on the other hand , the tenants would have some prospect of relict as the numbur of landlords gradually decreased , and in a generation all would be freeholders and the landlord breed extinct , except , perhaps , a stuffed specimen or two iu the museums . 3 . This is the only possible way I can sec of sett' ing the Anti-Rent dilKculties , and , at the same time , oi making a man of that mischievous species of the laudlord uenus , the Patroon .

      Graxd Result . —The result of the adoption of this mostjust and reasonable compromise on the part of the landless would be a gradual emigration from , instead of an influx to , the cities , till something like that state of decency and comfort would prevail that would befit a Christian community ; a *^ radual diminution , instead of a rapid increase , of ' folly , misery ^ aud crime ; a great and progressive improvement of agriculture ; a much better system of internal improvements for the benefit of the people instead of the capitalists ; and , finally , a raiiid settlement of the State and lightening of State taxes till thu adjacent states ( in which land speculation would be at an end ) would be forced , in sell-defence , into the adoption of the same measure .

      TEXAS AND LAND-STEALING . The Tribune lias an article on this subject , in which the view is taken , and I think with good grounds , that " Land-Jobbing and Slavery were the two corner-stones of the Texian revolt from Mexico . " When the revolution was effected , the Tcxhiiis ( contrary to the precedent of the United Stated ) , disregarded the Monopoly Grants of the previous government ; but instead of establishing an equal right to the soil , they merely substituted Texian for Mexican Patroonery , and added ne » ro slavery by way of progress . The laud-jobbers and slaveholders who profited by this revolution have undoubtedly been the main instigators of annexation ^ which , according to the Tribune , will cost ten millions , ami

      may coat twenty or forty . There will be nothing strange . in this ; almost every state and city debt projected for the benefit of speculators has ended in two or three times the original estimate . "We- have an example at our own doors in the Croton Water , that gUsj . 'i < m& Etlicmc to wake the people pay vent for a second clement , and all the while imagine that-a'great blessing was conferred on them ! The Croton Water was to cost only live millions ; but , till the people so regulate matters that they can go where land aud water arc free , the inhabitants of this City will have io pay ihu iuU ; rc 3 i > <>» I we ' ve millions to the water p&troons . So , most likely , it will be with Texas , and who " pockets the stakes ?" On this point , the Tribune takes die words out of one s mouth as follows : —

      1 'liis isnpoiutof view which lias been studiously avoided by . the Anuexatiouist 3 . They tell us enough of the fertility , the beauty , the magnitude of Texas , but how thoroughly this fertility , beauty , and lna ^ ninceucc are monopolised by a feiv shrewd and schmnin ^ land-jobbers , they do uot say . Our own conviction is that tliu title of more than half the good land actually within the dominion of Texas is now held by less than a hundred persons , many of whom have been tlie most zealous , untiring , unscrupulous champions of Annexation . These will be enriched beyond calculation by transferring their flubt , defences , &a ., to our shoulders , but it is every way

      unjust . The laud-j'jbbcrs of Texas should be taxed to pay the debt , iight out the quarrels , and pay and pension uft ' the army and navy of Texas . It is not right that the owi \ vr 3 t by legerdemain of millions of fertile acres , should put their burthens oft" upon our people , of Whom tWOtiun ' . s at least have not an ai-re . The way this land has heen acquired , and is certain to be used if not broken up into small parcels by stringent taxation , will lead to Feudalism * and Auti-Kciitism . within half a century , let it be covered atan early day by an ignorant European peasantry , ready to sigu any leases wliieU Jo not exact present payment , and their children will bs raising Heidelberg wars and Indian obstruction to legal process before the century runs out .

      This , our constant readers will recollect , is the view lhave several times taken ' of this Texian business . The annexation of the Texian band to our own army of foreign and native land-jobbers , affords a | powerful additional reason for the freedom ot the public lands , which , with the " stringent taxation " proposed by the Tribune , or some more direct measure , can alone avert Heidelberg wars , not otiy in Texas , but all over the United States ; aye , even in our populous cities . A people entirely ignorant of their rights , like the tenants of the S ( c ) ottish Duko of Sutherland , might be gradually reduced , as he is now gradually reducing the tenants on his 100 by 70 mile principality , to a skeleton , race , or banished , kut with a people among whom rights are known and taught there is a point beyond which oppression cannot go ! A ote this , all tenants , whose right is to be freeholders . Again the Tribune saves me the trouble of writing :

      read—The more we reflect ou the socialhistory and condition of the human family , the stronger grows our conviction that there should be some limit to the right of any one human being to monopolize the soil which God has made for the sustenance of the race . The unequalled miseries of the labouring classes of Great Britain sx ' S primarily from the confiscation of the soil by the Xorman conqueror , and its division among his seven hundred frcebooting chieftains , with the similar conquest , and confiscation of Ireland , and . the laws of primogeniture and entail by which estates accumulate rather than fall in pieces . At present , a Rothschild or "Marquis of Westminster might easily dispossess a hundred thousand human beings of any chance to earn a meal or shelter their heads . We have lately seen a "Marquis of Londonderry and a Duke , of Sutherland deliberately depopulating , or threatening to depopulate , whole neighbourhoods , if not counties , on

      consideration of individual advantage . That the tenants have any rights in the premises , except the right to starve when they can get nothing to eat , does not seem to enter into the brain of a hereditary lordling . "Nor is he , in a large view , worse than his neighbours , lie is " doing what he likes with his own , " and has never been taught to do otherwise . The wrong is not in the men but in the system ; and so long as this prevails—so long as tlie few ovm everything , and the many are not secured even a chance to produce anything , save at the tonsure of thn mm " ™ : hm > u 5—so long as one may rightfully devote miles square of the best soil to his park and pleasuregrounds , while thousands around him cannot obtain a bare acre on which to grow the potatoes which would ward off starvation—so long as primogeniture and similar institutions are constantly perpetuating and aggravating these monstrous inequalities—we have no f ; iitli that any mere administrative "Itefonn , such as free corn , free sugar , or anything else of the kind , can essentially mend the matter .

      True enough . Free trade ( though in itself a right principle ) is not exactly a remedy for the mass of the people whoarc robbed of their right to the soil for the benefit of a few free traders . Nor will abolishing the law of primogeniture effect the object till the principle is extended to all the children of the State . To the mass of our citizens who cow , from birth till death , are deprived of their equal right to the earth , it matters little that a few large estates are , in certain contingencies , divided among the children of the fortunate luilders . Besides , under our present system , the land is fast passing again into the hands of a few , by means of the profits wrungfiroin landless labour by legislative privileges . "There should be some limit to the right of one human being to monopolize the soil , " savsthe Tribune .

      Gajimos . —The English Free-traders attribute the degradation and misery of the English poor entirely to the restrictions on trade , and some democratic editors of this country are stupid enough to copy and applaud their lucubrations on this subject . The poor of England now understand very well that it is the robbery of the land on which they might raise their own corn , and not merely the duty on foreign corn , that ails them , now long will men here , pretending to be democrats , have the face to saddle the " Protective" system with the eviis of land-stealing ?

      p £ AX Swift ox Women . —Dean Swift says , a woman may knit her stockings , but not her brow ; she may darn her hose , but not her eyes ; curl her hair , but not Jjcr lips : thread her needle , but not the public streets .

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      FIELB-GAHDEN OPERATIONS . For tltc Week commencing Monday , Oct . lCr /» , 1843 . [ Extracted from a Diart of Actual Operations on five small farms on the estates of the late Mrs . D . Gilbert , near Eastbourne , in Sussex ; and on several model farms on the estates ot the Earl of . . Dartmouth at Slaithwaite , in Yorkshire , published by Mr . Nowell , of Farnley Tyas , nuar Huddcrsueld , in order to guide other possessors of field gardens , by showing then what labours ought to be undertaken on their own lands . The farms selected as models are—First . Two school farms at Wiliingdon and Eastdean , <¦!

      hvo acres each , conducted by G . Cruttenden and John Harris . Second . Two private farms , of live or six acres : one worked by Jesse Piper , the other by John Dumbivll—the former at Easti ' . ean , the latter at Jevington—all of them within a few miles of Ltistbournc . Third . An industrial school i'arm at Slalthwaite . Fourth . Several private model farms near the same place . The consecutive operations in these reports will enable the curious reader to compare the climate and agricultural value of the south with the north of England . The Diary is aided by " Notes and Observations" from the pen of Mr . JNowell , calculated ior the time and season , which we subjoin .

      " The joys ot these little ones shall be continually in the Imped for success of their labour ; their thoughts shall be turned away from what is uvil to thut which is good . " Note . —The school farms are cultivated by boys , whs in return for three hours' teaching in the morning , give three hours of their labour in the afternoon for the master ' s benefit , which renders the schools SU 1 . FSUPl'OMlsa . We lelieve that at l ' arnly Tyas sixsevenths of the produce of the schaol farm will be assigned ta the boys , ynd one-seventh to the master ivho will receive the usual school-fees , help the boys to culiivute their land , and teach them , in addition to reading , ivritiny , d ; c ., to convert their produce uUO bacon , by aucnithig to pig-keeping , which at Christians may be divided , after , jiuyiny rent and levy amongst them in proportion to their services , and be nv . ule thus indirectly to reach their parents in a -way the most grateful to their fceiinysj ]

      SUSSES . Monday— Wiliingdon School . Boys digging for wheat , carrying manure . Eastdcati School . Seventeen boys digging up potatoes , gathering stones , and gathering hnulin for the pigsty . es . 1 'iper . Mowing tares aud rye , digging up potatoes , turning over and mixing tank liquid with the uuug . * j ^«» i brell . Digging . Tuesday—Wiliingdon School . Boys digging , master and one boy drilling wiieat . Eastdcau School . Boys sowing tares , digging up potatoes , und storing them . 1 'iper . Digging up and storing carrots , sowing rye as wo remove them . Dumbrell . Pigging . WjiiutEsiMY— Willivgdon School . Boys digging for wheat , andsowing . Eastdean School . Boys emptying pigstye tank , and applying its contents to tho wheat . 1 'iper . Sowing ryu , till showery weather prevented us . Dumbrell . Digging , and . carrying

      dung with heifer . TuuiisuAY— Wiliingdon School . Boys digging for wheat , and sowing . Eastdean School . JJoys digging for tares , picking mangel wurzt'l leaves fi / l" thu cows . 1 'iper . Sowing wheat , liumbrdl . Digging and drillin" tares , carrying dung and liquid manure to the rye grass—SI gallons to 2 * rods , or 75 J square yards . Fxuday—IViliingdoii School . Boys digging , and sowing wheat . Eastdean School , Boys emptying privy pails , cleaning school room and cow sliud . I'ip&y . Sowing wheat , carrying manure with the cow . Dumbrell . Digging , drilling tares , &c . Saturday— Wiliingdon School . Boys digging for wheat , andsowing . Eastdean School . Boys digging for wheat , and picking stones aud haulm , mid drawing manure . Viper . The SiUllC as YUJjtCl'lUiy . Dumbrell . Digging .

      COW-FEEDING . Wiliingdon School . Uows feeding on white turnips , clover , and chart " . DurabrcU ' s . One cow fed part of the week in the stall with mangel wurzel leaves , carrots , aud oafc clmii with turnips , occasionally with a few potatoes , and staked out in the wheat stubbie one day . One cow and heifer staked out on wheat stubble four days , and fed morn and even with carrots and oat chaff , entirely stall ied two davs , on the samo materials .

      NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS . Lime . —In all soils there ought io be ; i proper quantity of lime . There may be so much more than will do good ; there may be far too little ; ami io is a nice point in husbandly exactly to adjust the quantity of it to the wants of the several crops . It appears to act as a kind of flux to certain earth y substances , and to tit them to become , along whh itself , a part of the structure of plants . A proper supply « i it , therefore , ought to be kept up in tho suil ; thu best method of doing which , perhaps , is by using it , in small quantitica , and frequently , as a compost . iVo rubbish about tlie i ' arm can conic amiss to form

      with it such compost . Peat earth , poor mould , scouring of ditcher , will alt be found of value . Such a . dressing may be requisite for your wheat crop , to increase the strength of its straw , and to keep tho plants erect . It is usual to apply it previous to the sowing , and to work it well into the ground ; but if used in the caustic or quick state , never let it come near to manure , particularly the fluid manure of tllC i ' arm yard . Small Farms . —It appears from the experience of the Eastbourne tenants , that a farm of four acres is as profitable- to an industrious tenant , cultivated on the Belgian plan , as one of seven farmed under the

      old system . Ten acres sipuoai 1 to be more than one man can well cultivate with the spade ; and lately ten acre farms there have been reduced , to five , in order that by concentrating the labaurs of the tenant he might tlo bettor ; and the change has been found advantageous to him . It has been said , by an excellent person , and well may it be said , " that he wJio leaves his land uncultivated , so that it does not produce one half of what it ought to do , may not unaptly be compared to tlve dog in the manger , who will neither profit by bis situation himself , nor Jet another do so . " Such persons , with perfect justice , may be addressed like the unprofitable tree in the parable , and asked , " why cumber ye the ground ?"

      AnOUMKSTS IX FAVOUR OP SPADE lluSBAKDRV . — Spade husbandry is not a system of expense or risk . Less capital is necessary ten . it than ovdinavy husbandry . jS o gardener would think of planting potatoes , carrots , or cabbages in ploughed land , if he could get it dug ; for the difference of produce far more than compensates for the difference of expense . By turning up or loosening the ground five or six inches deeper than the plough , which docs not ordinarily act on more than three or four inches of soil , there is an opportunity afforded for the descent and diffusion of the roots of plan's . If tkis plan were carried into eftect to a moderate extent only , tile dc < mand for labour would be augmented at places where

      it is exuberant ; while , m case of an insufficiency of hands , the plough would still be used , and the necessity would thus be avoided of sending workpeople abroad . —Dr . Ycllowly . Every small farmer ought to usQ the spade , for * many reasons . It costs but little more , even if he had to hire assistance , and does the business better . In all drill crops , also , by using the spade , he may put in a quicker succession of crops , and have one coming forwards as the other is ripening . In wet seasons he can dig when lie cannot plough ; and its value , in turning up . stiff clay land in autumn , and exposing the soil to the frost and snow , is scarcely to be imagined ; and in all such lands this plan should be pursued where no winter crop is put in .

      juxED System of Spade and Plough . — In this respect I am quite decided in opinion , that the entire use of manual labour is in small farms much more beneficial than the entire cultivation by horse-work ; but a mixed system , where a horsecan be got in due season , I should prefer to either ; but in this lies tho difficulty ; for it should be remembered that very often tho smnll occupiers who are obliged to hire horses , are forced to wait , in order to get tiieir labour performed in that way , until the proper period for doing the work has passed over , to the evident injury e £ their crops . Whereas , if they had relied upon the spade , which they had at their own command , however slow the work might have appeared to them , it would have been performed in due season , so that they might have reaped tlie fruit of their industry . It possesses the additional advantage of employing the poor man , at a season , when it is difficult to get employment elsewhere . —Blaehtr ' s Prize Misav .

      HOW TO KEEP A COW AT THE MAST EXPENSE . To the Editor of the Preston Guardian . Sir , —On reading Cobbett ' s Cottage Economy some time ago , I was quite " taken up" with his plan of stallfeeding for cows . After reading it several times over , a thought struck me— " How easy many of our hardworking artisans , with large families , might supply themselves with milk and butter at a trifling expense , especially now that there are so many patches ot potato land OH all sides of the town , more particularly

      on the Moor-park . i&Cobbett proves ( and satisfactorily so I think ) that a cow may be kept the year round on a rood of land ( a quarter of an acre ); the rent of this , I suppose , will not exceed £ 2 . The labour to cultivate this will not amount to more than 200 hours in the year , which may be easily spared , as it would only be needed at intervals . The manure required in cultivating tlie land will ( after the first year ) be supplied without expense from tlie cow itself and the cost of the seed required will be very trifling .

      JNow , Mr . Editor , with your leave I will lay before your readers "how a cow can be kept on a rood of land . " First procure a rood of fond which is in good order and tree from weeds ; measure offfourplots , a rod each . About the 26 th of August , manure one rod and sow one-half of it with Early York Cabbage seed ,

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      and the otlier luxlf wi ^ Sugar-loaf Cabbage , in little drills , eight inches apart ; if they come up thicket than two inches asunder , thin them to that standard ; hoc them up as soon as they have grown a little ; and when they have got six leaves , make ready another rod or two , into which you must prick out the plants in drills eight inches apart , and three inches between each plant , taking care to hoe them up often . The remaining 36 rods of land we suppose are lying in ridges , 2 feet apart . * Early in November lay your manure between the ridges ; you will then turn over the suil on the lop of it , then transplant your plants 15 inches apart , putting in a roiv of Early Forks and a row of Sugar-loaves alternately . These must now be kept free from weeds and slugs : the best way of destroying bath is by dragging then } out by the hand . If the around is dry nt the top in winter , hoc it

      up ; and m March , when the ground istfry , hoe it up dacp and well close to the lower leaves of the plants " . Ill March Ol April BOW mow * Early Yorksas before , which must be planted hi the place of the Early 1 ' or / cs you cut out , which you will commence doing in June . Almiys mind to dig up tlie ground and manure it previous to planting . ' You should finish your transplanting about tlie miiklle of August . You need not purchase your cow till next June , by which time the first crop of Early Yorks will be ready for cutting . When you have finished your first crop of Early Yorks . commence with tl : e " Sugar-loaves , then follow on with tlie second crop of Early Yorks , allowing your cow SOib weight per day . these will last you from June to lVovember . Now wo have to provide for food from December to May following , which is done in the following mauncr : —

      About tho last week in May sow Swedish turnips or mangel wurzel ( I should say half of each ); sow it in the same way as the cabbage—a quarter of a rod every three days , till you have sov . cd two rods—thin them Io four inches apart in the row : from these two rods you must d raw your plants to transplant where you have cut out Sugar-loaves ; this should bedone from the mitluiu of JulyIo the middle of August , to be transplanted in the same way as tlie cabbages . These turnips and mangel wurzcl will be sullicient for thespace of time we name , allowing the same weight—ei g hty pounds per day . 'I he leaves will be cut off a short time before you get them up , and can be given to the cow , which will save something else . When you { bed your cow on mangel wurzel , she should have about

      half a stone of hay per day , which is not necessary if vou give her turnips . . Mangel wurzcl requires more immure , but tho leaves arc more- valuable , and the lower onus can bu pulled very early . The benefit to A woi'kii ' ig mau by this plan is very groat , added Io which there is the pleasure ho must fuel in having his milk pure from his otvn con : The labour in cultivating the cabbages will scarcely bo felt , and his wife or daughter will take no small du'ight iu attending upon the cow , which is a very healthy employment , its breath being fragrance itself . I should , however , say t ' . ; at I would not advise a very large ( anil consequently high-priced ) cor . to be bought ; a tight small animal , at a moderate price , will answer best . It would also be as well for sonic of the family at dinner hour to drive tho cow to the nearest pond of water , being better than watering in the stall . The cow should bo fed three times a day , taking care th . it she is fed at sun-rise and sun-sot . The greatest difficulty

      at the 2 > resent time would be to get suitable sbippous , convenient to the dwelling house but this would soon be overcome , aa owners and builders of cottage property would erect them , if they found a demand , so as to yield profit . Most parties are aware that a cow needs only to bo kept perfectly dry , without bsing warm ; so that a shippen might be bviilt for the cow , or ( what would answer equally as well ) avow ofshippons would bo erected at a less expense than whore the building required to be warm and substantial . 1 . this plan of cow-keeping should meet with general adoption ( which i hope ic will ) , I would suggest the formation of a "Cow Club , " which is formed on exactly the same principle us a burial society , each party contributing something weekly , and receiving , when he has tho misfortune to lose his boast , as much as will purchase another . —Yours , < fcc , A Small Farmer . ThcFyhlo , August 20 , 1815 .

      WIIEllE IS TUB MOKEY TO COME FROM FOR AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT * " Landlords have it not , and tenants cannot afford it . " This reply generally accompanies- a tardy admission , that , asvicultural . pei-feciion is desirable . As theory and nrjictice arc always best in combination , I will stale how tho means arc to be found , and illustrate it by my own case , leaving it to ihe option of others to follow my example or not . At all events the objection of want of means is thereby removed . Having * some spai'o capifcjil , I invested it iu hind , purchasing 2 ( 50 acres . Subsequently I rulleuted on the imperfect condition of one of the farms , and considered 1 should be . doing no more than a public and private duty by improving it . Well , having already

      invested , where was the cash to come from ? Why , I resolved on selling the other farms , and invested the proceeds'in improving-the remaining one . This is a read y way of conferring a great national bandit , without itij uring ourselves . It takes away the excuse ( the last prop ) of the non-ivnpvovers , ami proves it is a true say ing , that , " where there-is a will there is a » vay ; " and where there is not a will , there is an excuse , good , bad , and indifferent . The struggles for tenures arc surprising . A tenant will frequently purchase a farm at a high rate , and mortgage it forthwith for less than the puvchase-monoy , in order to secure a holding , abstracting thereby a portion of his much required means , and sometimes do so when his capital is barely adequate to his present tenure .

      If fanners , who plead as an excuse for not farming high , that their means arc inadequate , would dimmish their holdings one-half , they would lessen the competition , fin * farms , and benefit themselves and the community . Their capital would thus be doubled in its relative proportion to their acres ; and they would be at liberty to bestow deep and frequent tillage , with abundant stock and manure , where now the land , the landlord , the labourer , and themselves , are in an unsatisfactory and unprofitable condition . ' Drainage I consider the landlord ' s affair ; but now that an acre of land can be perfectly , . deeply , and permanently pipe-drained , ior from 403 . to 70 s . per acre ( sou Mr . Parke ' sand Mr . Pusey ' s statement , Royal Agricultural Society ' s meeting , JSth of April ) , the neglectiii "

      to do so by either landlord or tenant amounts to a positive national and ind ividual disgrace . It is giving to the League the opportunity of saying , ' Oh 1 you can if you choose produce for US abundantly and profitably all the food we require , but you ivillnot do so . " I maintain , and am prepared to prove , that there is no difficulty whatever in raising profitably and forthwith more food than we can require for ouv own consumption ; but then wo must " try and grow beans , SUVOft i ' oet high , instead oi' fences seven feet high : the one exhausts the soil quite as much as the other . Cora and cabbages must displace those ugly old pollards that mar the landscape , and are worth on an average 2 s . each , to pay for a century's growth and cultivation ( for their roots arc regularly ploughed , harrowed , manured , and sown

      over ) . I will venture to assert as truth , that every villanous stump of this description has been a loss to the nation oi" sixpence annually ; or in the wliole period of its growth from 20 s . to 50 s , —multiply this by forty millions , and calculate tho Joss . As to hedge-row trees , the loss they _ occasion to tho nation is certainly equivalent to five millions annuallyassuming that there are but two on every aero , and that they cause an annual loss of one shilling each . It must be in the remembrance of many that the protected silk manufacturers , some years since , cither could or would not supply our own market with silks , so the smuggler made up the deficiency . Mr . Iluskisson , not liking the loss of revenue thus occasioned , told them , they must stud j ; and apply better methods , and not be boat by foreigners , but produce silks cheaper and more abundantly at home . Loud and

      bitter were their outcries and protests—their pleas of ruin , destruction , and _ non-employment—wailing they bemoaned the anticipated glut of foreign goods . But the stern President of tlie Board of Trade said , "Gentlemen , relying on protection , you have stood still whilst the world has advanced . You are a century in avrcav with your means and appliances . Come , look round you and amend your deficiencies and put your shoulders to the wheel ; avail yourselves of all recent improvements , either scientific , ehcnncal , or mechanical , and you will have nothing to tear . Well , the terrible day came , prohibition was exchanged for a moderate duty—they improved their slovenly and clumsy methods , and now not only can they supply our own people abundantly , but thev are large exporters , Let us do the same in . agriculture , and bo in advance ot Sir Robert Peel , and so render his new tariff nugatory , doing . away with the terrible anticipations of free trade . l

      ihe question of what may be profitably produced from an acre of land , is a very importantone . Professor 1 ayiair ( a first-rate authority ) has , I believe stated , that £ 250 can be and has been produced from one acre of market-garden in one year , and we all know luU well that in all gardens the produce is abundant , compared with field culture . Why it is so needs no reply . At blithsome morn and dewy eve the crowds of men , women , and children issuing from market-gardens , are Jiving solutions of the problem and stand in charming relief to the solitary farm labourer alone in a twenty-acre field , or scattered here and thereover an extensive district , like plums in a school-pudding . The average annual return of the arable land of this country being about five pounds ten shillings per acre , stands m miserable comparison with Dr . Playfair ' s £ 250 . ¦ J We all know that Lincolnshire is the best cultivated

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      county in the United Kingdom . The secret of this may be found in the extract from an able paper in the North British lieviciu , on " The Improvement of Land as an investment for Capita 1 , " and proves that even leases are secondary to " a valuation of tenants * improvements , " which will attract ca } - > iud and intelligence . " There aro many tenants who , in the present slate of the money market , would bo able to borrow suiiici .-ncy of capital to effect those improvements which pertain ' both to landlord and tenant , if they had the security of a lease , or an agreement , that on quitting the farm , they should be repaid their outlay , subject to deductions , increasing for every year " that had elapsed since the expenditure was incurred . Under

      such a system , a large portion of the wastes of Lincolnshire have been reclaimed by tenaiils-at-will ; and few changes have taken place in occupancy , which not uufrcqucntly descends from lather to sou without a lease . A Lincolnshire fanner on quitting , receives from his landlord , or the incoming tenant , half the amount of his bill for oil-eakc consumed that year by his sheep and beasts which tread his straw into manure , lie receives also the amount of his expenditure for buildings , subject to a deduction of l-21 st for every year he has enjoyed the benefit of it ; for draining , subject to a deduction of 1-Mth ; for claying and chalking of l-ftli ; and for b ; niesof l-oth , for each year . Such a system , though not so good as ji leasehold tenure , is the best substitute lor . t .

      I am perfectly convinced from facts every day brought to my notice , that unless this system oi valuation is made tlie uniform law of the L ' . titcd Kingdom ,, there is but little hope of improvements progressing as they should do . Improvements should bo encouraged , but they arc now discouraged , for 1 constantly meet with zealous and praiseworthy improvers , whoso feelings are embittered , and operations cramped by the uncertainty of tenure occasioned by their own improvements , A nim-injin'OYcr , or bad farmer , has no such fears ; he is quite safe in possession ,

      for who is anxious to dispossess him ? Lot us hope our legislators will see to this , for there is already too much indisposition to improve , la a recent instance , in . Essex , a noble lord has abolished his tilery and sheds , established three years since , because hi-s tenants would not accept of the tiles " gratis , " they finding the labour ; aud another lauded proprietor iiv the aiuuc county , is precisely iu the sainu position . This is not creditable , but it is a common occurrence in this aiul other counties , and shows the objection to amendment .

      Capital is a most sensitive commodity ; like ourselves , it seeks for security and remuneration ,-aud you cannot have either under tlie present system of nou-valuation ; capital and intelligence are frequently in co-partnership , so that by cxuludiiig tho one you lose tilt : other , and arc obliged to put up with an inferior tenantry ; uneducated , and consequently bigoted and prejudiced , mere practical men , unguided by tho light of science , whose aid they ridicule . It is humiliating to the ( inemauiy spirit of teuantsat-will ( without a valuation ) to feel that they hold their farm tremblingly on the balance , at the me . cy of a capricious or imperious steward , to whom they must bow with humble submission , or risk the loss of their holdings .

      It is a fact not generally known , that at Ic-iist threc-iburths of all tho land in this country is cither entailed or settled ; so that the tenant for life must sink any capital he may invest in permanent improvements . This acts as ji complete barrier to solid amendment . In Scotland , sundry Acts of Parliament have remedied much of tin ' s eviji by permitting the life-tenant to charge the estate with a large poition of the cost of improvements . Tho Duke of Itichmond has introduced a similar measure for England , and it is to be hoped will succeed in getting it passed into a law . Ko doubt others for Ireland and Wales must soon follow . These , with the enclosure of waste lands , and t ! : c better cultivation of those now imperfectly farmed , would open up a vast and profitable field for the employment of our labour and our capital . I . J . Meciu .

      Floods In The North.

      FLOODS IN THE NORTH .

      On Thursday evening week moss trcinondousiy heavy rain began to fall in tho two northern counties of Cumberland and Wcwtmi .-rolaud , aud from midnight it poured diiv .-n in jx-rfeot torrents , and continued alUiwt night , all Uay ou Friday , ar . d the gruiltorpni ' t of Saturday , and tho consequence was tluvt sill tlic rivers ami streams were swollen and oveiHowed . More tcrrilic iioous km- , uot been known in these counties for many jcars , and never at this period of" tho season . The rivers Eden , Lowlhcr , Euiuozit , Lune , aud i ' ctlerU , all overflowed . tUcir banks , causing great devastation and an inuneusp Joss of property . On the J uliau Uower estate ( through , wiiicli tho river Eilisa flows ) , near the village ok ' Templesowcrbv , Wi .- , ti ! n . ri ; i : u : ti , boi ' . mging l' > itjclssrd *

      Tinkler , Ksq ., of Jideu Grove , upwards oi ' : ; J 0 stocks of excellent corn wore all swept ; down tiie stream with the greatest impetuosity , Jili attempts losavo any yartof it beiag extremely danucrous and of no avail " . OntUo suuio river , tiro hays centres ami st : ; ti ' old , wiiiuii vtro erected for tiw purpose of rcjjairii : " - the laivo hriii-jo which s-tianfs thut river . iS 'Al'l-lcbvi WcsUsotoiiiii . ! , v . eraUikcudown the strcnui early on rYkisy niemijig ; and rJtiiyiiijii iilliiito'S ot wwiiiucn wurc sonn ac ike river ' s siiic / Ciidcavouriiig toliind the iarj ., e lugi ai ' tiuibci ' , yet by ! i ; r ike greater portion of them couul a .. s ! w caught , ¦ ;* * i ' -vere rapidly taken down by the ibuJ , aud luivu i ., ' . boon seen or heard of sinci ? . This aa-iilciit ' . viii a-un-d tlio \ vorJ :-ings ^ oing oa lit this bruise tor a eonsidurabla time . On thu river Lime , iv :: iv Uoiiv . v Uridj ;' . , ti-i : massive

      centres on which wcru erected a siri ^ y ,. for tho purposo of building a , bridge ou the Lancaster ami Carlisle Railway , v . avo entirely » v .-ej : fc away , causing a . great ivicunvcniciiteiiiid lotis tu the sub-contractors of the works at that bridge , iicikis , Bird and Ralph had about one hundred stcoks of com washed away by the oveiiiuwing of tho Poitoiil , in ii ; u viainity of 1 / cnrith , tins "riaicr inirt tl' which , they siteMoiK-d in . procuring iiir liownt-Uo stream in a .--ad cciiidition . Large qiiansitita of scailiilding and other material : ! were swojit away , on the vivovs &i ; aunt and Lowthcr , from tho workhig of the monster bridges at l ' ew ' a Cragg and Yainvath JIall , on tho Lancaster and Carlisle llaihvav .

      JO is to 00 icared that numerous other ao ^ 'lents and loss of property , in vwiosis districts of Cumberlaud and Wcstmoreijuid , nave taken plr . ee . The corn trojis , a great portion of which in many districts in these counties Uiil remain uacut , are at present in a . must deplorable condition , being alt laid flat oa tliO ground , and btin ^ j likely io grow , will rcju ' cr the com til' bad quality . The sioolw in tiu nekta are all cntiieiy susiked through , av . d great isusnba's of them lying scattered en ihe ground , and amongst tho wiiter . The prospects of tho farnici * are imything butciictrinjr , iwul unless the wc .-itiicr shortly becomes more iavounibk , tho worst ot' consequences i ' o-r them will ensue .

      On Friday and Satin-day lust , all tho workings on the Lanciisti'r a ;; d Oariisie Railway wevo put si stop to , the workmen uot being able to stand cut , ho heavy and continued were the torrents of rain . . Nearly all the eora-imlls on ihe above rivers were slopped by the flood . ' i'he ruin did not cease till Saturday tiiftW ^ but to-day ( Sunday ) the weather is iini , but . tho llooil lias not abated so much as might have boon espettcd . ' Nkwcastle-ox-Tvsb , Saturday . —A great quantity of rain has iiiifcn in this district within the last fc \ 7 days , which lias swollen tho rivers , and done much damage to property on their marshis . On Thursday

      the rain fell in torrents all day , and yesterday the 'fync , at high water in the afternoon , overflowed its bank : ? ibr several jnile , - ' , covering ail tlic low grounds near ifexlir . maiul Newburn , carrying away tho corn proi ' ucc of several fields . in stock " , ami limu S SCrioUS injury to the potato and turnip crops . Tho quay afc iN ' owcjistlo was covered with water , and tlic cellars hi tho neighbourhood completely inundated . During the ebb tide the current was so strong as to carry away several vessels from their moorings , and the ( hnnngc done runony" die shipping in tha harbour was very extensive . The Ocean brhj was driven on tho Herd Sands , and tlic ;; ea is breaking over her h \ svitli ft manner that it is feared she will become : i

      total wreck . The l ) avid , of Yarmouth , had her mainmast carried away , and the Dove steamer lost llor foremast . The mate of tho -Atlantis , of Shields , was killed by tlic breaking of a warp , and tlie Blossom steamer was driven against the brig John with sueh violence as to stave iu her quarter , and she was only kept from sinking with the greatest difficulty , her funnel Iwing also cavriwl away , it is impossible at present to enumerate the cas « a . : ics that have occurred , as the extent of damage is not yet fully ascertained . Tho harbour was a complete scene of contusion from the vessels adrift ; several wherries were sunk , and , indeed , it was impossible fora small boat "to Jive , " Tnc police boat Jiwl a narrow escape , having just got out batween two vessels , when

      they were driven together with great violence . A gvcat mimbcr of bowsprits have been broken , av . d an immense pile of broken warps lias been collected in Young ' s dockyard by tho police , who uro . pvotcding it till claimed by the owners . The ebb tide today has brought down large quantities of hay and com , a cow , several sheep , ami a horse , anil from these indications , it is apprehended the damage done in tlie west , of which only very partial accounts have been received here , is very great . The Dlaydon station of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway was knec-dcop ia water , and the line for several miles was covered . The garden grounds about Ifexliam arc still under water , and it is feared that tho entire potatoe crops iu these places will be destroyed .

      Glasgow . —Owing to the heavy rain which C 011-liuued to Sail duving the whole of the present week , the Clyde has flooded its banks to an extent we have not seen equalled for several years past . The whole of the sheds at the Uroomichiw were inundated , and but for the precaution !! taksr , to have the property lying under them removed to a nlaca of safety , much , valuable stuff might have been destroyed . The water opposite the steam-boat quay was at least twenty feet upon the causeway , and between Washington-strcefc . and M'Alpine-street , BroomicliW-stl'CCt was covered to within six feet of the pavement . At one time , when the tide was full , part of the footway of the wooden bridge was washed by the stream , and Jatterly became in such an unsafe state , that Lieutenant

      Reid , of the ( iorbals police , after consulting with different proprietors on the south side , deemed it his duty , to send a number of police substitutes to prevent passengers risking their lives by crossing the the bridge in its present dilapidated condition ^ The Hood in its progress swept many of the fields in the upper districts of the country . A correspondent afc Netherfoot , on the banks of tho Clyde , says that " Joseph Galding , baron officer to Lord Douglas , has lost his whole crop of oats , amounting to about 200 stooks , and that the potatoes arc covered with watCV near the Clyde . . Mr . James Williie , Civr-rnetlnui , nnd a rick < it' wheat camwl ' off , ami about eighty sticks floating . We likewise learn that a consideral : ! v ( MiMi ' .. ity ofVrain was carried off from the farms ou tho bank ot the Black Cart .

      Teuulture Anilv Lartmtiture.

      teuulture anilv lartmtiture .

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      * In proportion ta the number of paupers in any couatrr , frifllbe found , aJuav ^ tlie number otpeitytliieves and < -ilat sivjndlers a » d otlier criminals Jar ^ e and email .

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      * Compost Heap . —Ar this time Piper lias about fifty cart loadg of composted manure ( pretty well for a liveacre farm ) , the fruits of his cara and industry . lie will empty upon it about 200 gcJlOJls of t .-j afc liquid two or tliree times before it is used .

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      i V / TV'i ?? - "SSUmption that parties have the land to seek at this time . B y Cobbett ' s p lan it IS neCCS wi ? Wt f ' 2 feet « 4 » rt , in April and May , aud hS 5 ^ v « l , n 0 Ver , often as tlleweed Sot 3 inches I ? i % 1 '• nCil " , * ie TOed would bc kept under , and assist in miiiuirmg the land . Still , any one who could obfZ , ? Kte " ' -TV ! il 0 Ult 0 CS " » vo boon got up , and Sfto ¦ v ! -I ! ' / i ( S l ! U 1 tI dl ' ' » ¦ omnJceovec vvmk ^ ti . VV ** , "" '" ' " ? till spring . Thirty-Six rods Of tins land should be laid in Hdges , 2 feet a part as soon as possession is obtained , which should not be later tlinjj a it cok or so fvom this time .

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      SEED POTATOES FOR 1846 . The following correspondence has just taken place between Lord Portraan , President of the Royal Agricultural Society , and William Herapatli , Esq ., the eminent analytical chemist of this city , in reference to seed potatoes for 1846 . His lordship , in a subsequent letter , requests that the correspondence may be made public , and it has been handed to us by Mr . Herapatli tor that purpose . The subject is of vital importance , and is worthy of the deepest attention ;—Bryanston , Sept , 10 , 1845 . Sir , —I observe in the newspapers that you have

      directed your attention to the potato disease , and have advised as to the use of the starch , &c . As I am specially bound , during this year of my holding the office of President Of tliu Royal Agriculturist Society of England , to promote inquiry and to notify observations on subjects relative to the produce of the soil , I trouble you with this letter , and ask if any method has occurred to you by which the potatoe may he preserved for the planting of 1840 ? I have found thatpotatoes . apparently sound and iree from the disease , though in a field or garden which has been partially diseased , have , after being stored away ,

      shown signs of the disease and have rotted off ; and I tear that the greatest quantity of the potatoes will thus perish , and so continue the distress of the poor into another season . I have directed some potatoes to bo stored in sluiced lime , in the hope that it may preserve them , but have , of course , yet had no time to judge of the effect . I , therefore , ask for your opinion , as one of our most tmincnt cliei ' iiiEt-, upon this point , and would ask leave to make known your reply , if you are able to otter an opinion biiliiciently explicit to bc useful . I remain , your obedient servant , Win , Herapatli , Esq . I ' outmajj .

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      DISEASE IN T 1 JF ; POTATOB CROP . The potatoe crop is suffering much from disease in thcsiiiuh of England , as well as in Flanders and the north of Franco . Thc _ sanio dige . iisjL . lj ^ s . iiko _ siia « -n itself nljDiijfljyiifinT'Tii Cliwiiiire , ' ar . d in some of the still" lands iu'Lauausitii'o , though it has not become general cither in Cheshire or Lancashire . At Lymm the destruction of the crop is almost entire , and what vender . ) this the more remarkable is that the soil in that neighbourhood is one of the best in tlie north of England , and pjirtieuhu-Jy favourable to the "VO ' . vMi of the iM > t ;\ t -jo . It will be seen from the following article that the editor of the Gardeners' Chronicle attributes tho disease to the toa rapid growth of the plant , and the want of solar heat to carry oil

      the superfluous moisture . This is probably the case to some extent , but wo cannot help suspecting , from the frequent appearance of disease amongst the potatoe crops during the last five or six years , as well in wet as in dry seasons , that many of the sorts now in use are bseoming exhausted , and that the only effectual remedy is to raise new varieties from the seed . Ali that is necessary is to squeeze tho seed ' . fro " tn the pulp , and to sow them in the spring in small beds like onion seed , ' transplanting the plants when they are two or threc _ inches long . Any e » o who lias a garden may do this , and though it is iwt possible to tell in tlio case of any yingla seed what sort of a plant will bc produced , vet it will generally happen that a bed thus sown will yield one or two ¦ rood varieties . When it is considered that tlic tuber

      of the potatoe is not the seed of the plant but merely » receptacle for nourishment , furnished with l ) tu ! r ? , it will easily bc seen that no new variety is likely to last for many years , and that it is a matter of absolute necessity to return occasionally to the real seed . Therefore , without doubting the correctness of tho theory coutaiued in the following extract , we should strongly recommend the growers of this valuable root to raisea few new sorts every year , and thus '' to renew tho blood : "— " The Potatoe Crop . —\ fatal malady has broken out among the potatoe crop . On all sides we hear of the destruction that has overtaken this valuable product , except in the north of lingland . Li Belgium the fields arc are said to have been entirely desolated . There is hardly a sousd samnle in ' Covent-irardon market . In " fact , the

      murrain seems to have been transferred from cat' 5 e to potatoes . The disease consists in a gradual decay of the leaves and stem , whieh become a putrid mass , and the tubers are affected by degrees in a similar way . The first obvious . sign is the appearance on the edge of the leaf of a black spot , which gradually spreads ; then gangrene attacks the haulm , and in a few days the latter is decayed , emitting a peculiar and rather offensive odour . When it is severe the tuhera also I ' ccay ; in otlier cases they are comparatively uninjured . The cause of this calamity i % we think , clearly traceable to the season . During nil tlio first weeks of August the temperature has been cold—from two to three degrees below tlio average ; we have had incessant rain and no sunshine . It is hardly possible to conceive that such a continuation

      ot circumstances should have produced any otlier result , all things considered . The potatoo absorbs a very large quantity of water . Its wliole construction is framed With a view to its doing so ; and its broad succulent leaves are provided in order to enable it to part with this water . But a low temperature is unfavourable to the motion of the fluids , or to the action of the cells of the plant ; anil , moreover , sunlight is required , in order to enable the water sent into the leaves to be perspired . In feeble light the amount of perspiration is in exact proportion to the ({ uautity of light that falls upon the leaf . At night , or in darkness , there is no appreciable action of this kind , During the present season all this important class of functions has been deranged . The potatoes have

      been compelled to absorb an unusual quantity of water ; the lowness oi' the temperature lias prevented their digesting it , and the absence of sunlight has rendered it impossible for them to got rid of it by perspiration . Under these circumstances it naturally stagnated in their interior ; and the inevitable result of that svas rot , for a . reason to be presently explained . If the first days of July had not been suddenly hot it would not have happened ; if we had had sunlight with the rain it would not have happened ; and perhaps it would not have happened hacl the temperature been high instead of low , even although tho sun did not shine , . and rain fell incessantly . It is the combination of untoward circumstances that lias produced the mischief . "

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      Bristol , Sept . 17 , 1845 . My Lord—In reply to your letter of tlio JStli inst ,, I must say that I do not think it would be either safe or prudent to depend upon tlie infected potatoes o £ the present season as seed for the next year ; as , in all instances , I have i ' oiiml the diseased parts to extend when the potatocsarchq'tin a damp situation : I should therefore expect that if any diseased seed was kept ^ so dry as not tu rot before setting limp , yot upon being planted and left iu thu damp soil , the rotting process would then begin , : uul lliu hopes of ttic Imsbaudmau bc disappointed . I have no doubt that some potatoes , apparently sound , have ( as stated by yonr lordsliip ) been Ibiiml Io lie aiiduted alter stowing aivay ; Imt I do not considei- this to have ben an origination of it , tut merely that which was not noticed when dug has become ap ^

      parent alter storing . Vi lien a j'oiatoeis first aikcted this diseased pints are scarcely visible , but upon keeping it ia a dry pities the spots so-. mb&uoiiu ! dark ami ooiisniiienlly move i \ p ; i ; ucnt , but tho snots ilo not extend ; if , however , the tuber lias been kept in a damp plai'e , the spots not only extend rapidly ever tlic surfnrc , but penetrate into the interior , and in a short time it will be completely rotten . As fin- as tlie slacked lime , which you have USCll in your potalue stoics , as ii tendency to prevent the tubers from touching each otlier , or , by its power of absorbing water , of keeping them dry , it will answer « good end ; but it must not be expected to . have any cl-. eimual efivct upon tlic dis-. ase' ] ji . iris or tiicir juices . Anything which , liku dry sawdust or .-am ! , would prevent contact , would prevent tliu propagation from one tuber to another , and any substance cunnbie of absorbing the

      : noi ? t ; : rc of the air in which thepotatoa is stored , would 5 > rcvi . iit the extension of the iliscas ^ in each diseased roof . Olll" bCSt lllici ' ilSt'OliistS Uiul CrypiogMuisU are divided Jii opinion as to ivh ' . thor ifiu cnu . se uf the calamity is a . fungus oi not . After all the ux . v . nauvUon I have g ' . van . to tlie subject , and a careful review of all Hie evidence brought b ' j fovc me on t ' . ie two sides , 1 litlicvu Ur . vt it is ; anil 1 am iVuly confirmed in tl : e opinion originally expressed tl ' . utthGW . W ftdvavitngftows way » 1 ' treating 1 'ie diseased potatoes is to obtain from them , by rasping and waslusig , the starch which they contain—by which process all their nutriment can be retained ; and if it is well dried it will keep for any length oflinu . I'he operations eau be per . formed m the cottage or manufactory alii-: ! , ;; s no appiinuns bi-yuml a tin rasp ( n nutmeg grater } , a tab , and clean water , arc required ; aud I have asc-.-vtainc \\ VU ;\ t , however far the disease might have c . \ tcii ! it d . even if the

      root is rotten , yet the starch can bc separated , nnd in a . state iit to be eaten , if it shall bs well washed , as ail the bad parts come away with the water , while" the great wuigilt of ( h

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      October 11 , 1845 . THE NORTHERN STAR . 7

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 11, 1845, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1336/page/7/