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PROBABILIT^^^- »* Weerfract from *J^&£&&...
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THE POTATO FAILURE.—ALA.RMING ACCOUNTS F...
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THE POTATO CROP. « " . ¦ ¦ The following...
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THE POTATOE DISTEMPER. ("From the Corres...
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THE CONDITION OP THE PEOPLE OF ICELAND. ...
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Annness op tub Hincklet FKAMuwoRK-KKiTTE...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
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_ " . ; .. ' .. ^^ , ^ , ^ - ^
Probabilit^^^- »* Weerfract From *J^&£&&...
PROBABILIT ^^^ - »* Weerfract from * J ^& £ && lowmg wtideon tfaecrnpsofH ^ in M-rto aIc ^ m ° « Cfadopted , we " ^ -W , £ JSnnT tf the results of the last ^ Si ^^ ohe ^& g to ^ e ^ , ma 2 ° S £ tHhe wdtof Europe . Forseveralyears attfe ^ tffi & te ^ ns with st erihty vit first ZftM ™***^ ' spreadover Poland andPrus-^ anTw peared even this year hkely to diffuse ? £ e ¥ m thTeast of Germany . Experience-has generally proved ' thatin the boreal latitude the rainy |!« a are more sterile than the dry ones . This fact has again been confirmed during the last years . It was humidity that diminished the crops a few years ago in Russia , and which produced the like effect in Poland , Galicia , and Upper Silesia in the course of fastvear . In Germany the humidity has not
produced an unarourable consequences but in certain countries ; there are others , on the contrary , "which have suffered for want of rain . The results of . the crops are , in the mean time , far from being satisfactory , " and , from the . calculations which have been made , will not suffice the public consumption . It is far from our intention to represent the situation of things in more dreary colours . than belongs to them ; but we do not wish , and we ought not , to exaggerate the " advantages of it , desirous as we are of attaining our present object , which is to furnish an exact appreciation of actual ' circumstances . We shall separately name the different countries , and indicate the supplies they stand in need or can dispose of . . Russia will have sufficient corn for the whole empire , without purchasing any foreign corn . Its Governments are in a position to assistmutually each other , but it is very doubtful whether they can send much corn abroad .
The crops of Poland are not sufficient for its general consumption , and , unless it has been previously supplied , will suffer from a scarcity , or be obliged to receive corn from abroad . But whom can one have recourse to when one ' s neighbours have only had themselves but middling ' crops , and have not wherewith to supply the deficiency ? Money also is scarce in Poland , and important sums cannot be sentabroad to purchase corn . The kingdom of Prussia has greatly suffered last year and this from inundations , which have ravaged precisely its most fertile countries ; and want , which is generally felt there , is on the point of transforming itself into actual famine . The news from Pomerania agrees in stating that the results of the last crops are very mediocre .
In the grand Duchy of Posen only a middling crop has been obtained , and anterior provisions can alone Erevent a scarcity . The author does not remember aving heard such numerous and general complaints , unless it be in the years 1804 and 1817 . God grant that-the unfortunate events of that epoch be not again reproduced ! There are in this province whole countries where the usual com sellers will be obliged themselves to make purchases the next spring . The situation of Galicia is still worse . The price ef rye rose 60 per cent , immediately after the crops : it is still on the rise . In Hungary , which Is Usuallysoproductive , the Government has been obliged to lay in large stores of corn to prevent a famine . The hope entertained of having good crops has been still more cruelly disappointed than in Silesia .
In Austria , Moravia , and Bohemia , the results of this year's crops are below those of the average ones , and must scarcely suffice for the general consumption . If we consider the west of Germany , we find , first of all , that the crops in Saxony have not precisely failed , although they are very far from being abundant . The same may be said of the provinces of Brandenburg and of Magdeburg . Bavaria , like other countries , has suffered greatly this year from hail-storms and water-spouts ; the re sults" of the ^ crops have in consequence been diminished , as likewise byjthe state of the atmosphere , which has shown itself but little favourable to the cultivation of corn ,
Wurtemburg , the country of Baden , Westphalia , and the-Rhenish provinces , have been better treated ; but the disease which has ravaged the potato crop will be severely felt . Nevertheless thepotatoe crop has been generally good throughout Western '; Germany ; it will supply many deficiencies in the crops of places , although they are not so much grown as in other parts of Germany . Belgium and Holland have had but bad crops ; and the news from France sufficiently , proves that this year has not been a productive one . Spain occupies bat an-inferior rank among corngrowing countries ; still reports from this country do not mention that the crops have been deficient .
England , where the states of the European continent generally find a market for their surplus corn , appears to-day to be re-assured on the wants of its internal consumption , or at least the alarming news which arrived from that country has been succeeded by much more favourable intelligence . Those who count upon corn supplies from the Baltic and provinces of the North " Sea -will be greatly deceived ; the prices of these productions will first of all be very high , and in the second place the quantities that can be supplied very small . A great quantity of
wheat has this year been struck by blight , and this disease , * which has spread throughout Germany , Poland , and Hungary , has deteriorated the quality of the corn as well as diminished the quantity . Further , it cannot now be accurately known whether at a later period England will not be reduced to supply itself from abroad , for it is well known that it is only in case of an abundant crop that enough corn can be . grown tor the country . In the contrary case she mil look to supplies from America , or from the countries bordering on the Black Sea .
In Scandinavia , that is to say , Denmark , Norway , and Sweden , the crops have not been satisfactory . In a few words , then , it may be said that for many years past there has not been so unfavourable a year as the present one ; and if it be added that last year only furnished but indifferent crops in comparison with the preceding ones , this circumstance ought to give rise to measures being taken to prevent the danger which threatens us . "
The Potato Failure.—Ala.Rming Accounts F...
THE POTATO FAILURE . —ALA . RMING ACCOUNTS FROM IRELAND . The Dublin correspondent , tf the limn , writing under the date Oct . 22 nd , says : — The-reports to-day arevery conflicting—almost aU ad milling considerable injury ; but several describing the disease as much less destructive than others . Undei these circumstances I shall place all the accounts , such as they are , before you , observing that . the statements made by the provincial journals are much less unfavourable than those proceeding from private individuals Meantime the scientific persons employed by the Govern meut are prosecuting their inquiries , in co-operation with the Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland , and they expecc to have their report in the hands of Sir Robert Feel within a fortnight . The following communications from the county of Galway are written by a clergyman of the established church , who described what he has actually witnessed , and who is , I am quite sure , incapable of any wilful exaggeration , and not likely to be influenced by any undue alarm : —
" Tuak , Sa * ob » at Evehihg . —I -write a horned line to tell yon that the potato rot has appeared everywhere in this district . I speak of a circuit of ten miles , which I have myself examined ; as far as I can learn , it has appeared since my leaving , home a few days ago—it presents the same character as in England . I have heard of one field in this- neighbourhood , of fire acres , being wholly , lost , but from what I have seen myseh ; I fancy this to be exaggeration , though it really is hard to doubt anything one hears in this respect , as the evil seems so insidious and so rcpid . In the fields I examined there was not a potatoe in a bundled—I might even say a thousand—rotten , all the land was -very inferior in qualify , and manured with black mud . or bog stuff and clay . -Potatoes grown in this mould hare , I have heard , as yet . escaped . On Monday and - Tuesday last , it appeared extensively in the King's County 5 and now that it
has beyond question , and , I confess , contrary to my expectation , crossed the Shannon , and entered Connaaght , at such a distance too from lhe Shannon as we are here , I apprehend the rery worst consequences " . My potatoes , cups , were ' dug and housed'nearly three weeks ago . They were then carefully examined , but presented no appearance of the rot . T « sterday , in those served to table , I saw one fermented with the disease—whatever it maybe , animalcnlE , or , as I rather Incline , fungi—to the very heart . There ought to" be aa . immediate examination made ,-chemically , entomologically , and botanicaUy into this mysterious infliction . Could the cause be ascertained with due certainty , a remedy or preventive might be devised . , The baffltog minuteness of the seed —nay , ' of the capsule that contain the seed , in the cryptogamia classes—ivnl , I fear , In the" present state of botanical science , and of mechanical power , as applied to it , render thU scarcely possible . " " "'""
" Toam , Mosdat Evehisq . —All my inquiries , since wrote on Saturday , ire not merely confirmatory of ' vfhat I then wrote , but open up a prospect even more dis heartening . The rot is hot only more extensive than I then had reason to believe—that is , a large * portion of the crop is already tainted—but it is also Injured in a greater ¦ degree than . I thought . The specimen I examined on Saturday , and the accounts I then received , left with me the impression that the crop was not extensively injured , nor to a very injurious degree ; but , I deeplyregret to say , that » Iaigeporponis already
discased to a degree nnfit for use , either-by man orpig . What makes this . fiie more alarming is , the gigantic ttdeswiawhi ^ the pestilence has overran the district ™ at , onllondaylas ^ t . ne week ago , was apparently ftee r ^^ - ^ t Proceeds as it has begun , there will not be * w « adpotai 6 e in the district in a fortnight - Of ^ those weelo » - " ? - ^ ftrcoB *; . ** . tmt and housed three Yeiteraa ; ;; ^ " ^ <>« . diseased . on Saturday . ^ Vto *^ ^* ^ ^ - -rcelyonetreefrom ^ SS ! - ^ -The graater . par ^ « o » ed in tout ™^ Ui ^ "Bw'd ?^ »««« jou menwnn nut . 1 fc ^ e ^ ^ U | mt ^ - A{ ob ^
The Potato Failure.—Ala.Rming Accounts F...
abound nibre oriessthvacidSv ^ If . the present rot-be caused by togVany dk ) di ; . fo ? » oreveneartii , might be J found to neutralise its vegetativVpowers , and check the propagation of the plague , which , if fungi we know can , from the seed , become in twelve hours a perfect plant , and may in an inconceivably shorter time . I have not yet heard of any potatoes grown in bog soU being injured . Perhaps the antiseptic qualities of peat may preserve them , or their turn may not have come yet . = l AU , in fact , is conjecture ; and clever , indeed , must the botanist be who can do more than conjecture in the preseat state of botanical science , of the more cryptogamic portion of the class cryptogamia . " " " The Dublin Evening Post contains the following remarkable statement from a correspondent in the county of Meath : —
Kuis , Suhday . Night , Ocr 19 . —I have been through the country again on Saturday and this morning . You know I am no croaker " : in fact , I always look to the happy side of the picture ; and perhaps this is the reason why , after all , Jam about reporting to you that it is aU over with the potatoe crop . Strange , you' will ; saj , that on a subject on which so many are looking melancholy , that my burly , happy-minded friend would or could say this . The announcement of the loss of so much human food as the potatoe crop is the pleasing side of the picture . It is even so . Tho crop is gone , and it is pleasing news . I see in it only the wise decree of an all-good and bountiful Providence . Man persecuting his fellow-man , not only in Ireland , but oyer the great portion of civilised Europe , and a part of America , has driven his brother
man—the vastmultitude of his fellow-beings—to the last refuge for the support of nature—the potatoe—the vile lumper , that even the swine , three years ago , would turn up his snout at ; and I see the Omnipotent God destroy the soul-degrading root , and thus force man back on better and more fitting food . I do notimagine there will be a potatoe to be used in this country on the 1 st of April . God is great—He is good—He is bountiful . He has sent an abundant oat harvest—following in the march of science , which has rendered useless the supporting such a number of horses , that this better food for man be for his use , and not for the dumb brut e ; and He has , by a plague , destroyed the potatoe crop . Man must live on bread—and , strange to tell , the people are beginnning to look on what has hitherto been considered a visitation , in
thatlight . And what , think you , is the result !—that some of the peasantry talk of throwing down the bridges , to prevent the corn thus from being removed from the interior of the country . The potatoe , they say , was all that tbelandlordleft them—God has taken that from themand they say , " Look what He has sent for us in its stead , such a fine crop of oats ; " and they bless and praise Him for his mercy . And then they shrug then'shoulders , and wiU ten yon , " Wen , if we can't get our own darling Repeal , surely God has , at all events , proved we must have the other repeal—the repeal of the corn-laws . Now , as to my evidence in Saturday ' s excursion on the potatoe : I want into another district from that in which I had been before . Going along the road , I overtook a load of potatoes in a cart ; I stopped and examined them ; I
congratulated the driver of the cart that his potatoes were se safe , as I found only a few diseased ones . He replied , " Thaf s all you know about it , sir ; It was this day fortnight , after picking them on the ridge , as weU as those have been picked , and thinking I had not left a bad potato in the let , I put about fifteen barrels in the hole I took that load out of , and treated them as well as ever potatoes were treated , and there is all I have left of the fifteen barrels , the rest are lying at the hole , and the pigs themselves would not eat them ; and I am afraid that these will be the same way in a week . " There were only about three-and-a-half barrels in the cart . ' This , in a fortnight after they were picked in the first instance , being in the ratio of three-and-a-half sound out of fifteen .
Ijthenmet a woman with a basket on her head , and a apads in her hand ; she had been just digging the potatoes she was carrying . I examined them , and she told me she did not observe the potatoes bad a fortnight ago , but now they are growing worse and worse every day ; notwithstanding she had left , as she supposed , all the bad ones on the ridge , yet , there were , on examination , a great many in the basket diseased . I have seen these things , and several other instances , with my own eyes ; and from the most truthful gentry and farmers , all are unanimous that the crop is gone and lost , as forming any considerable portion the food of the pe » ple for this year '; and if gone for one year , it wUl be ' many years before they can be in such demand again as the general , and , alas ! the only food of a people .
Countx of Mato . —Castlebab , Oct . 21 . —TVc have made inquiries of persons from different parts of this county , relative to the disease which is said to have attacked the potatoe , . but could not learn from any one individual that he had seen is either in hts own potatoes , or those of any of his neighbours . Almost every person we spoke to heard that other persons in his neighbourhood found some of their potatoes rotten , or affected by the disease ; hut , strange to say , not one of them saw it himself . While there is doubtless some truth in the statements published about the extent and progress of the dieease , we believe they are greatly aggravated . Most of the persons we have heard speak on the subject , said they scarcely ever had or saw a better potatoe crop ; and unless disease has attacked it to the extent some aver , there wiU be a plentiful supply of this necessary article of food . —Mayo Constitution .
Beu-ast , Oct . 21 . — "We entertain a hope that the destruction in . the potatoe crop will not prove so extensive as bad been apprehended . Already we ' see some symptoms of returning confidence—at least , to the extent of feeling that the alarm had gone somewhat beyond wlfat the ^ actual state of the case warranted . As far as we have been able to get information in this district , ' we learn that a spirit of moire confidence is springing up . Not but that there is evidence of serious loss ; but a more careful examination and estimate tend to the cheering opinion , that the calamity is less than it bad been considered . This , we say , is what we gather from
information received iu Belfast , derived from the surrounding districts . We must not , ot the same time , flatter ourselves too confidently upon this point . As yet , information is too indefinite ; and , besides , it is not yet possible , by any inquiry that could be made , to ascertain the extent of the disease . Potatoes , which , when taken out of the earth , appear quite sound , are often found soon to show sickly signs ; and , in many cases , a short time suffices for the disease to run its course , and cause the destructionthe death—of the potatoe . So we have before us the uncertainty arising from this circumstance . — Northern mig . -
The Potato Crop. « " . ¦ ¦ The Following...
THE POTATO CROP . « " . ¦ ¦ The following is a report from the Royal Irish Agricultural Society on the potato crop : — Report from the Board of Trade on the Disease in Potatoes . « Office of Committee of Privy Council for Trade , ¦ WhitehaU , 29 th Sept ., 1845 . " Srs , —I am directed by the lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade to transmit to you , for the information of the Irish Agricultural Society , the enclosed translation of a special report of the committee of agriculture of the province of Groningen j relative to the potato disease in Holland . I have the honour to be , sir , your obedient servant , - "J . MacGbeoob , "E . Sullen , Esq ., Secretary , Irish Agricultural Society . " Heport of the Commission of Agriculture of the Province of Groningen on the Disease Affecting the Po-- \ tatoe in the Netherlands .
1 ST . CAUSES AND NATURE O ? THE DISEASE . The agricultural commission is of opinion that the disease is not occasioned by any direct cause , but ratheqj that various circumstances have combined to give the dis . ease this year an extraordinary impulse , it being in the opinion of many scientific persons not a new scourge . The primary cause may be attributed to the extremely wet summer of 1844 , and to the heavy rains which fell at the moment of the formation of the tubers . It is probably owing to this circumstance " that many plants did not germinate . In the second place , the commission is of opinion that the growers do not sufficiently attend to the preservation of the potatoes used as plants , so as to keep them from" all damp . " It is also very probable that the intense cold in the month of March much injured the tubers . The more direct causes are probably as follows : —
1 . The too rapid development of the plants this year . It is well known that those plants which spring up too quicUy , and the grain sown on an over-manured soil , are subject to such diseases as ergot or rye , and other cereal grains , and rust for wheat , and the presence of cryptogamous plants . 2 . The intense heat in the early part of the summer of 1845 , and which amounted on the 13 th of June , 87 Fahr ., entheBrdof July , to 87 i , and on the 7 th of July , to 911 , necessarily had the effect of drying up the ground excessively ; and the rain which fell at intervals during the continuance of the hot weather , and was soaked in , had the e & eet of scorching , as it -were , those plants and potatoes which , not being very deeply planted , were exposed to the action of the heated water .
3 . This intense heat was succeeded by cold and rainy weather , which lasted from the 15 th of July to the end of the month of August . This damp weather , and the total absence of the vivifying rays of the sun , caused a kind of rottenness among the pithy plants , and especially deve . loped the cryptogamous plants . 4 . On the 21 st and 22 nd of July last , an extraordinary fog was perceived in many places , which spread a disgusting smell . " Soon afterwards , on the 38 th of July , the first symptoms of the disease were discovered in the provinces of Groningen and North Brabant , and it is more than probable that this . fog , which was epidemical , was intimately connected with the disease .
According to all the experiments and descriptions made of the disease , it appearsjthat it commences on the upper part , and then attacks successively the leaf , 'the stalk , and the tuber . This is fully confirmed by : an experiment made at Groningen . As it is the upper part of the stalk which is generally first attacked , it is probable that the disease originates inthe leaves , descends the stalk 'by means of the peel , and then communicates with the part below the ground .: . ' - •; 5 . On the leaves spots have been perceived , and also a kind of fungus described in the work of M . M . Maleschott and Baumbauer , and classed by M . de Martins among fhefusisporiumsalani .. These , fungi are j similar in every respect to thote drawn by tae above gentlemen . " v "
. _ It is very probable , then , that the-above enumerated circumstances have been the simultaneous causes of the plant rotting , and of the fungi which ^ are observed thereon . It unlortOBstely happens that these fungi , which are ex-
The Potato Crop. « " . ¦ ¦ The Following...
tremely , minute , are quickly propagated . to an inconceivable extent , favoured by the dampness of theatmospherc . V - j \ ' ' . . ¦¦' -. But the principal cause , or rather the character of the disease , is a kind of grangrene or mbuldiness in the leaf , which occasions a very hurtful and even mortal decay to the plant . The dangerous influence of the cryptogamous plants has long since been shown by the example of the rust [ aredo rubigo ) in corn . As soon as the rust spot developes itself on the leaf of the wheat or . oat plant , it is observed that the leaf turns yellow and withers at the spot where the rust shows itself . . - ¦ , . Ho traces of the fungi has been found in the interior of the stalk or in the tuber . The commission ,. therefore , considers that the disease of . these parts results from that of the leaf .
SECOND . —REMEDIES FOB THE DISEASE . The disease itself , its character ; and causes ; having now been sufficiently considered , it is necessary to-consider the remedies for the disease , " of which the comnussioh points out three different kinds , viz . ' : — •; — 1 . A means which ,, unfortunately , it is not in our power to adopt at pleasure ; that is , a drier atmosphere ; for if it be damp that has caused the moldiness of the leaves , and has propagated it among the plants , it follows that dry weather would put a stop to the ravages of the disease , and even result in entirely destroying it . ; This observation applies to the measures which science may propose , now that the disease has probably reached its period . 2 . To prevent the return of the disease , it is necessary to take the folio wing precautions : —
1 . To leave the potatoes in the ground until very dry weather occurs . Experiments having shown that their decay is accelerated by being taken up , it is advisable to leave them in thegroundat first in order to get dried , and afterwards to lay them out over the field . This would have the double advantage of rendering the vegetable more wholesome and preserving it better . 2 . ThefoUowing applies espcciaUy to those potatoes to be used as seed for next year . It is necessary to beware of planting those plants which have been attacked by the disease . They must be clearly chosen from those whose stalks have not been attacked , and placed in a situation free from the slightest damp . As the disease has been less severe in gravelly than in clayey soils , the tuburs should be chosen from those gravelly soils where the diseaschas not penetrated .
3 . The withered leaves of diseased potatoes , which are Of no value , should be immediately burnt ; the same should be done with the rotten potatoes which cannot be of any use . Nothing should remain of them . . 4 . It is necessary to avoid as much as possible planting potatoes in the same spots where they have been planted this year , for it is most probable that seeds of the fungi have remained in these places , and there would be great risk of the ensuing crop being similarly attacked . It is also necessary to manure the landSwith lime after the potatoes have been taken up , and then to clear it ; and if the land be employed for produce which need not be planted before winter , it is bettor not . to harrow it , and so allow the air and cold to penetrate it . In the spring the Umemanure should be renewed as much as possible , and the laud should be watered with diluted sulphuric acid ( one part of sulphur to 100 of water ) . ; '
5 . Next year the potatoes should be planted in dry lauds ; all , damp places should be avoided , even places shaded by houses or trees . 6 . The commission does not agree with those naturalists who think that the origin of the disease may be attributed to the race of potatoes having gradually deteriorated , owing to their bsing rc-produced . in fresh soil . The report mentions that , in the commune of Marum ( province of Groningen ) , among other instances , is to be seen a field of potatoes / the produce of only three years ' culture , equally attacked by the disease ; and an infinite number of similar « ases prove incontestibly that the potatoe has not degenerated . However , the commission recommends that fresh seed should be employed this ysar , for it will then at any rate be certain that it has not been attacked by this scourge .
7 . If , notwithstanding every effort , the disease should again break out next year , the moment the first symptoms , of it are perceived , the first leaves that turn yeUowshould be taken off and burnt , or the entire field should be wa . tered towards the evening with lime water , or , still better , with diluted sulphuric acid , so as to ' destroy the seeds of the cryptogamous fuegi ; sulphuric acid , moreover , prevents rotting , and when prepared as above directed , can do no injury to the plaiifcl themselves . 8 . —USE TO DE HADE OF THE DISEASES POTATOES , Those potatoes which have been attacked by the disease appear not to be prejudicial to health when taken in moderate quantities . This commission has consulted veterinary surgeons as to whether the potatoes can be employed without danger to feed cattle . Their reply was in the affirmative ; it has been proved , moreover , that pigs have eaten the diseased potatoes without death ensuing ,
Man may likewise make use of the diseased potatoes , but must carefully remove the brown spots which caused the disease . It has also been shown by experiment that potatoes which have remained untainted on the same plant where there are spoilt tubers , may be eaten without hesitation . It is almost useless to remark , that pota . toes which are completely rotten arc hurtful hot only to man , but also to cattle , and that a too frequent use of spoilt potatoes is equally dangerous to those who make their sole food of them . Dr . Wesfcerhoff remarked that in the commune of Warffun ( province of Groningen ) , those persons who inade use of spoilt potatoes experienced pains in the stomach , and nausea , ' followed by vomiting after eating tbemr
As to the means to be employed to prevent ' the . baneful influence that may be exerted on the health of man by mating the diseased potatoes , the commission , proposes to make this the subject of another inquiry . In the" meantime , it advises that as much use as possible should be made of the fccula of potatoes .
The Potatoe Distemper. ("From The Corres...
THE POTATOE DISTEMPER . ( "From the Correspondent of the Times . J DniiLiN , Oct . 27 . — -Making due allowance for exaggeration , the natural result of any panic , the accounts to-day fully justify the supposition that no district is free from the fatal distemper ; and that , come what will , the Minister will have to take measures to provide for a deficiency of the crop . The morning papers publish a preliminary report , drawn up at the instanae of the Government by Professors Kane , Lindley , and Playfair . This document supplies no facts with which the public are not already perfectly familiar , and the remedies suggested have been frequently proposed by men less eminent for chymic ' al skill than the three learned professors above named . The report , which is as follows , states that the suggestions it offers arc not final but are put forward as a means of checking the " progress of an enemy whose history and habits are as yet but imperfectly known S-i "Board-room , Royal Dublin Society , October 24 .
" My" Lord ,- —Wc , the undersigned commissioners appointed by her Majesty ' s Government to report to your Excellency on the state of disease in the . potatoe' crop , and on the means of . its prevention , have the' honour to inform your Excellency , that we are pursuing bur inquiries with unremitting attention . " We arc fully sensible of the important and difficult nature of the inquiry , and therefore are unwilling to offer , at the present moment , any final recommendations , as we are still ' receiving evidence , and awaiting the results of various experiments now in progress . But at the same time we ought to state to your Excellency that we have reason to hope the ^ progress of the disease may' be retarded by the application of simple means , which we trust may appear worthy of adoption , until we are enabled to offer further recommendations .
" In the present communication we avoid entering into any account of the origin or nature of the disease ; but we would particularly direct attention to the ascertained fact , that moisture hastens its progress , and that it is capable of being communicated to healthy potatoes when they are in contact with such as are already tainted . A knowledge of these facts , determined as they have been by experiment , and agreeing by the scientific information obtained as to the causes and nature of the disease , lead us to propose the adoption of the following plan for diminishing the evils arising from this destructive malady ' : — " In the event of a continuance of dry weather , and in soils tolerably dry , we recommend that the potatoes should be allowed for the present to remain in the land ; but if wet weather intervene , or if the soil be naturally wet , we consider that they should be removed from the ground without delay .
" When the potatoes are dug out of the ground , we are decidedly of opinion that they should not be pitted in the usual way , as the circumstances under which potatoes are placed in ordinary pits are precisely those which , tend to hasten their decay . "Werecommend that potatoes when dug should be spread over the field , and not collected into heaps , and if the weather continue dry and free from frostj that they should be allowed to tie upon the field for a period of time not exceeding three days . " Thepotatoes , after , being thus dried and improved in their power of resisting disease by the means proposed , should then be sorted , by carefully separating those which
show any tendency to , decay , those potatoes which appear to be sound should then be placed about two inches apart in a layer , and over each layer of potatoes should be placed a layer of turf ashes , or dry turf-mould , or-dry sand , or burnt clay , to the depth of a few inches . Thus will be formed a bed of potatoes , each potatoe being completely separated from the other by a dry absorbent material ; upon this bed another layer of potatoes should be spread in like manner , and be also covered with the dry materials employed ; , as many as four layers may thus be placed one above the other , and when the heap is completed it should be covered with dry clay , straw , heath , or any other material adapted to protect it from rain .
" In the event of the weather becoming wet these recommendations are not applicable . In that case we would advise the potatoes to be packed in small heaps , with either straw or heath interposed , and well . covered ; in such a situation they should become as well dried as seems practicable under the circumstances . Where outbuildings exists , it would be advisable that this mode of temporary packing should be carried on in those places . If there be no out-houies , the heaps may be left In the open field . We . Ihowever , particularly recommend that potatoes should not be removed . into Inhabited rooms . "
" With regard , to the treatment . of .: potatoes already attacked with the disease , we have to state that in this early stage of our investigation , we do hot feel justified in proposing to your Excellency any more positive treatment —this subject we reserve for » future report ; but we may
The Potatoe Distemper. ("From The Corres...
remarMhat exposure to light and . dryness ; ia all cases retards the . progressofi alterationspsuch . asJthe disease inques ' tiou , and wethereforesuggest . that aU such potatoes should ,. as far as possible , be so . treated . " We do not mean to represent that these recommendations , if carried into effect , will prevent the occurrence of disease in potatoes , but we feel assured that the decay will extend less rapidly and less extensively under these circumstances than if the potatoes , when taken from the ground . are at once pitted in the usual manner . Neither
do we offer these suggestions to . your Excellency as a final means of securing the . crop , but merely as a method of retarding the progress of an enemy whose history and habits are as yet but imperfectly known , whilst wc endeavour to ascertain the means of more completely counteracting its injurious effects , if any . such can be discovered . "AU which we submit to your Excellency ' s consideration , and remain r ¦ ' ¦ - . "Your Excellency ' s obedient and faithful servants , - " ' ¦ "Roheet Kane . "John LisnwsY .-" L 7 . 0 N PiAVFAIE .
" To his Excellency Baron Heytesbury , & c , " Dublin , ' Oct . 28 . —There was another meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society held yesterday , for the purpose of receivingthe reports of the several local farming societies forwarded to the parent institutions , and by it presented to the Irish Government . The extracts from these reports occupy nearly three closely-printed columns of-the Dublin morning papers , but the result—and a sufficiently alarming one it is—will bo learned by the following ab > stract , as given in the Freeman's Journal ;—" Munster . —The same sad tale comes from Munstcr « From Tipperary , Clare , Waterforo , and Cork , the reports of September were favourable . From Tipperary and Waterford supplemental reports have been since farwarded of the most alarming character .
' " Ulster . —The reports from Ulster arc still more alarming , being more numerous , and nearly all unfavourable ; most of the early reports brought intelligence of the partial attack of the disease , and the only supplemental reports that have been published announce the rapid progress of tho malady . There are reports from various districts in six of the counties of Ulster . " Leinstor . —The accounts presented by the ten reports from this province are all unfavourable with the exception of two , and these two bear date September 22 . Judging from the supplemental reports from otherplaces , we fear that had there been later reports from these two districts they also would be unfavourable . As the necessary consequence of these calamitous reports , the Dublin retail markets are rising fast .
"The priceof the 21 b , loaf , " says the-Freemcm , — " Was raised yesterday a sum . of one halfpenny . A similar increase of price took place the Monday previous , and within a few weeks we have had a further advance . The consequence of this is , that we new pay 4 £ d . for the 21 b . loaf , which in the end of August last , wc could buy for 3 d . Here ia , therefore , on the article of bread alone , a rise of 50 per" cent , in price within a period of two months ! ; ' Dublin Octobeb 28 . —A report bearing date October the 23 d . hasjbeen received ^ from Galway from the Rev . TV . Le Poor Trench ; D . D ., rector of Ivillerenan , a member of the Tuam Society , October 18 * . — " I deeply regret to inform you that the potato rot , so unhappily prevalent in the other provinces , has at length manifested itself in this . A fortnight ago the crop in this parish was apparently perfectly untainted , but now , alas ! all are complaining more or less , ' and at least one-third of the entire crop is
already unfit for consumption . My poorer neighbours generally look to me for information and guidance in their agricultural difficulties , and several have come within the last week to consult me as to the best course to pursue under the present deplorable emergency . I am of opinion that it would be more prudent not to dig out the crop except as wanted for use , but toleave it in the ground , putting an additional covering of six inches of day from the furrows , or where the land is to shallow to afford so muclv of turf mould , over the beds , as a protection from frost ; then to dig them out as fast as the women and children of the family can convert them into flour , a process familiar to every Irish housewife . I have likewise advised those who have oats' or barley not to sell , butto send the grain from time to time to be ground into meal for the purpose of mixing in the proportion of one-fourth , or even one-eighth with the potato flour , in order to make itinto griddle cakes orstirabout .
The Condition Op The People Of Iceland. ...
THE CONDITION OP THE PEOPLE OF ICELAND . C From "The Times' Commissioner . "J Limerick , Oct . 23 . Without entering into any lengthened description of the city of Limerick , it will , be enough , perhaps , to state , that it is a large , well-built , and evidently a thriving town . It possesses wide and straight streets —the first instance I have yet met with of this being the character of any town inthe west of Irelandmany handsome public buildings , some manufactories of lace , gloves , and brushes , most extensive flower mills , and a very large "pig factory , " as it is called , at which about 1 , 000 , 000 pigs a-year are slaughtered . The Shannon , which is here a magnificent river ,
passes through the town , which is built on either side of its banks . A handsome bridge , designed by Nimmb ,: and several other bridges , connect each portion of the town . A-good deal of shipping and small craft find sufficient commerce for employment , and the one dock which exists is very inadequate for the trade . A number of . men are seen idling about the streets , who might , it is said , obtain work at Is . aday , which they refuse ; still , however , an air of commercial activity and prosperity pervades the place . . The brush factory employs about 300 men , who receive from £ 1 to 80 s . a-week wages , and many of the brushes are sent to London . When it is considered that 14 lb . of potatoes may be purchased for 2 d , or 3 d ., according to the market , and that this is
the chief food , this rate of wages is high , as compared with that in most English towns . The lace f actories give employment to about 1 , 000 girls ; , the most extensive of these factories—that carried on by Messrs . Greaves—employs 240 girls , who receive on an average 3 s . 6 d , a-week each . Very beautiful lace is made at this factory , on an invention of the proprietors ^ for which they obtained a prize of a silver medal at the exhibition ot" Irish manufactures in 1844 ; it is , similar in appearance to the finest Brussels lace , and her Mojesty is said to have obtained several specimens oP it . The " pig factory , " and the extensive flour mills of Messrs . Russell , also give a great amount , of employment and encouragement to trade . The glove
manufacture is , falling off . The town and county of Limerick have ' also obtained much celebrity for their Erett y women . Iliad the opportunity yesterday of eing present' at a charitable bazaar held in the town , and certainly the number of handsome women and the female beauty assembled there , maintained this . cbaracter , and fully , equalled in these respects any similar assemblage which I have seen in any part of England . This affords me an opportunity , though'it is scarcel y worth while , to answer one slander which has been industriously propagated on every possible occasion by "the Liberator , " as ho is fantastically termed by his party , to get up a prejudice against rue , by asserting that I had accused the women of Ireland of being " ugly . " There are those
with whom such an assertion may have a certain influence , and therefore it was made , The man , however , who unblushingly dared to slander the women of ; England en masse , by accusing them of being unchaste , was the last man , one would have thought , to forget his own glass windows" when he . threw this stone , even had I made the broad assertion that "the women of Ireland were ugly , " -which I need not tell you I never did . In an early letter from Leitrim I drew a Comparison between the appearance of the countiesof Fermanagh and . Leitrim , and also of the people , the contrast iu both respects , having forcibly struck me at the time . In one county was dirt , disorder , wretched poverty , and the rudest system of cultivation , and the people , both men arid women ,
seemed " generally undersized and plain . In Ferma nagh the " country was infinitely improved—there was generally cleanliness and order , and the people , ' both men and women , were tall and good-looking . It was ' " not convenient , " however , to '' the Liberator " to state all this ; but by a process of reasoning , or rather broad . unfounded assertion , which tells " mighty well" , before the audience at Conciliation ' Hall , he extracted out of this that I had said , that " the women of Ireland werc : ugly . " . i - . v In my letter of . to-day , I wish to draw your attention to an excuse which is almost universally made by the tenants for not improving their land and eultivafcingit properly , and to show to them its folly . In conversing with the tenants in almost any part of
Ireland where Ihaye yet been , the usual complaints are against high , rents , want of tenure , and want of encouragement on the part of . the landlords . If you ask a tenant who is loud in . these complaints , and who is evidently steeped in poverty , and who therefore apparently has truth to back him , why lie leaves one-haff of his farm . undraihed , untrenched , unimproved , and in the most wretched state of cultivation , you are quite certain to be met with the reply . "Surej who should Iimprove for ? . My landlord would raisemy rent . directly , and if I could not pay it ,-he would turn me ont , and another would get my farm that I had improved . Sure , wouldn't I beruinine myself by improving , , and only benefltino- tbn
landlord ? " Not only have I continually heard this from the tenants , butscores of tunes from the Roman Catholic priests , who , surely , ought to know better Often and often I have tried to convince them in vain of the truth of that common sura in arithmetic that " three and two make five ;" -that if the - tenant by improving his hmd can make it yield a profit of £ 5 the acre where it yielded no profit at all before -and takingthem on their own ground , and supposing the worat , th ^ tthel auaord drf ^^ from 5 s . to £ 2 an acre ; still , if they . put abalan ™ nf £ 3 ; imVtheir pockets by . the-iajSKB ^ clearly their advantage to improve , even though that which they . seem : so -terribl / afrah ^ KShfd take place , and their hard landlords ( assuming them ffbl such ) should uicrease their rentals ^ jjKS by the improvement , ' p * **
The Condition Op The People Of Iceland. ...
i It may be of advantage-to point this-clearly out , and to prove the -fact by figures and evidence . In one of m y early letters irom Donegal , ' relating to ] a a piece of land at Pettigb' , I showed that a pieceof latin" which before was worthless , on being properly cultivated left a profit of £ 3 , per annum on an average of three years . Deduct the . most exorbitant rent you please , or which any landlord would have the conscience to impose , from this , say £ 3 an acre , still you have the tenant putting £ 6 a-year into his pocket over and above the rent , as the reward of his improvement , - from land which before was -worth nothing to him . . , ¦ ,- ¦ ..... •„ -. In the . second part of the . evidence given before Tnrd TinvnnOnmhiissiori 168 MrGC lXira uuiumiaaum ivu
, ' s . naee . . .... uevons , page ,... uu .. u .... « . Wray , a large farmer of Ardnamona , near Donegal , says , " I consider that the cost of reclaiming moorland , where limestone is abundant and a proper fall for drainage exists , ' would be repaid in every case by the second cropland he gives instances ' to prove this . Mr ; Alexander Thompson , a magistrate and landed proprietor of Ballynahinch , in Galway , gives an instance of the cost of reclaiming an acre of mountain and deep bog land , and of the value of the produce the first yean He says [ ibid ,, page 463 ) t- " The whole cost of an acre of potatoes which I am growing this year , the reclaiming , enclosing , open draining , manuring , and seeds , and , everything else , ' is about £ 10 . I think I will have them got in for £ 11 10 s .
the acre , including everything . " That acre of land he estimates produced ten tons of potatoes , " which , at 3 d . the stone , would be about £ 20 , " Here , then ; was a profit of £ 8 10 s . the first year . Suppose a tenant farmer had done this , and his landlarcl had put on the most exorbitant rent because of the improvement—say £ 3 an acre—still the tenant would put £ 510 s . into his pocket , even though his landlord did thus raise his rent ; and without the improvement , even though his rent was but 5 s . an acre , he would scarcely realize any profit at all . On passing through the county of Clare to this town I had the opportunity of seeing some judicious improvements which have been effected by Mr . David John Wilson , of Belvoir , on his estate , in draining and subsoiling , and in building for his tenantry a better description of cottage . Tills gentleman , though spending from £ 100 to £ 500 a-
yearin improvements , from £ 200 to £ 300 of which is appropriated to paying his tenants to drain and subsoil their lands at so much per perch , has found the greatest difficulty in inducing his tenants to change their old . mode of cultivation . Every such step taken by any landlord is viewed with suspicion by the tenantry ; theylook on it only as a means of increasing the rents , and never for a moment conaider the benefits which they themselves will derive from it , even though their rents are increased . Mr . Wilson's plan , after thus improving a farmcliefly at his own expense , is to add one-half of the increased value to the original rent agreed on , as a repayment tohini for the" outlay of hi § capital , the other half goingto the benefit of his tenants . In consequence , however , of compelling his tenants to follow an improved system of cultivation , this gentleman lias already received one or two notices that he will be shot .
Whilst at Belvoir I obtained a calculation , which was derived from the tenantry themselves , as to the cost of improving an acre of moorland and thoroughly draining it with 30-inch drains at 21 feet apart , and cultivating it for four-successive years in the manner in which the tenantry , according to the best of their knowledge , cultivate it ,, with potatoes the two first years and oats the two following , together with the produce , which according to their estimation , would be yielded , charging for the priceof labour and for every expense , and estimating the produce , at a low rate . The country around Belvoir is generally thin poor moorland . My object in obtaining this valuation was to show the folly of the excuse f or apathy and want of exertion on the part of" the
tenants , which I again heard here as elsewhere , — that the rent would be raised if they improved thenland , and they would be no better off . I wished also to take their own valuation and estimate of both cost and produce , and their own mode of cultivation ( which ever £ agriculturist will see at once is not the best ) , in order to prove oh their own showing , the inexcusable apathy of not improving , and the absurdity of their excuse . In the following estimate the price of § labour is charged at the fufl rate : spread over a little time the tenant and his family would themselves be able to accomplish this labour , so that it would cost them nothing , and would in fast leave nothing but the cost of lime and seed to pay for .
The outside rent of the moorland unimproved is , say 5 s . the Irish acre ; and the tenants agreed that they could barely get this value out of it for rough grazing . I will now show what they agreed it would cost to improve it ,- and what the produce would be , accordiag to the general crops : — First year . —Draining , trenching , and bringing in the land , and sowing it with potatoes : — £ s . d . Paring and burning , 30 men or days , at lOd . 15 0
Digging and spreading ashes , 24 ditto , at lOd . 10 0 Seed , 180 stone , at 2 id . per stone , - - - 1 13 9 Cutting and sticking , 11 women , at Gd . . - 0 7 0 Trenching , & c , 18 men , at Wd , - - . 0 15 0 Digging the potatoes , 3 G men at 10 d . -. ..:. 110 0 ricking ditto , 6 women , at Gd . - . . 030 Lime , 40 barrels , at lOd . - : - - . 1 13 4 Drains , 160 perches , at 6 d . - - - -400 First year—Total expense of improving and . cultivating « - - - - - . £ 12 7 1 Produce af first
year—12 barrels ( of 96 stone ) of potatoes , at 18 s . 10 1 G 0 Loss first year - - - - - £ 111 1 This ia charging for the labour at the highest rate , 8 d . per day being the current wages . Most of the labour the tenant might do himself , as much of his time is unoccupied , and then the expense would only be for lime and seed , or £ 3 lis . Id ., leaving him a profit on his first year ' s crop , to pay him for his labour , of £ 7 4 s . lid . Second year . —Potatoes
sowing—£ s . d . Re-digging , 12 men , at lOd , per man . - 0 10 0 Seed , 160 stone , at 2 Jd . per stone - - . 1 10 0 Cuttiug . & c , 14 women , at 6 d . per woman - 0 7 0 Trenching , 12 men , at lOd . per man - - 0 10 0 Second spitting , 12 men , at lOd . per man - 0 10 0 2 weedings , 8 women , at 6 d . per woman - -040 Digging , 40 men , at lOd . per man - . 1 13 i ricking , 8 women , at 6 d . per woman - : . 0 4 0 Total expense - - -584 Produce of second year—18 barrels of potatoes , at 18 s . per barrel - 16 4 0
Profit secondyear - - . 10 15 8 Third year . —Sowing with oata— , . Seed , 12 stone , at 9 d . per stone - -09 0 Trenching , 12 men , at „ 10 d , per man - ¦ . - o 10 0 Cutting , 12 men , at lOd . per man - . ¦ . - 0 10 0 Binding , G women , at fid . per woman . - 0 3 d Stacking , & c , 4 men , atUd . per man - . . 0 3 4 Threshing , 8 men , at lOd . per man - - . . o G 8 Cleansing , dse .: . . . . - , 020 Total expense ... « 2 4 0 Produce of third year—120 stone of oats , at 7 d , per stone .. '¦' . . 3 10 0 Straw - - » , - - ' - ¦ - ¦ - ' . - - 2 10 0 Deduct expense - -. ; - -240
Profit of third year .- . -3 16 0 Fourth year . —Oats-Extra expense over third year for digging ¦ stubbles .. . '¦ - . . -0 10 0 For clover and grass seed - . . . 1 0 0 ' Total expense - . - - . - 314 o Produce of fourth year—144 stone of oats , at 7 d . per stone - . -4 4 0 Straw . J V .-S '" .- ' . - ,. .. - ! - 0 0 .--..-. 7 40 Deduct expense .-..-, ' ¦ •• . * " - . 3 14 0 Profit of fourth year - » 3 . 10 0 expense , ' - ¦'• . '
„ . - ¦ ¦¦ £ s . d . Firstyear - . . ..-. ' . ¦ ' . 12 . 7 1 Secondyear - ..- __ -. - 5 34 . Thirdyear - ... 2 40 Fourth year - . . -, 3 14 0 Total . "" -. // - - ' . ~ . . 23 13 : 5 raontJCE . Firstyear / . . „ . . 10 16 0 Secondyear - ; . . . ie 4 0 Thifdyear - ' - . - 6 0 0 Fourthyear - . , . -7-40 Total r - ¦ . . -40 1 0 83 13 5
„ Total gain for four years 16 10 7 Or £ 4 2 s . 7 } d . average profit per acre each year . ¦ 1-rom this profit there will be to'deduct rent ; Now tiihe the tenants o « n argument , and suppose that for the first year he paid onl y Bs : rent for the unimproved moorland , but that the landlord , ' seeing tihe improvement and produce obtained ; unmedfatelv raised the rent . Now , a fourth of the produce H fair rent ( see , on this subject more fully , the evidenon of the Earl of . Mounteashel before tie Land cS missioners ,. Appendix , Part III , p . U 8 therefore this improved land would bear to pay £ 1 ™ nt ^ §!? suppose the landlord , was , in every im > ti < t i i 5 j landlord , and he raised tub rent S KhV tSS 30 s for the improved knd , wkichSere aWh ^ Swoulot ?* mfi 4 Ct ' not gained , ^ Jjg
First year ' s rent - « , . ~ « d < Three following years at 80 s . . ; - ¦ '¦ - ¦ ' " A „ ° County cess , poor-rates , and tithe " rent * ' , ° charge , estimatod at 4 s . pW year-u ^ 0 WV 5 11 0
The Condition Op The People Of Iceland. ...
The account ' will then . ' stand—Total profit for four years - « ' ' . " ig ^ - Deduct landlord ' s increased rent and charges ... . , . g „ Leaving clear profit " to tenant in four years 10 1 } 7 95 ^^ 101 . each year per improved acre , be sides paying huh for his labour , and this under tho " most unfavourable circumstances that the tenant can suppose—namely that the landlord will put upon Mm an exorbitant rent as soon as he has improved . With proper cultivation and rotation ef crops a munh greater profit ' than this might be obtained . Now , this is an ordinary and every-dav case . The statement cannot be disputed ; the whole calculating
is ironi the tenants themselves ; the rent is char" ?/! high and the produce low , and yet the tenant , aC being paid for every day ' s labour at the highest rat 0 this uniavourable calculation shows he : would pocket about £ 215 si profit per acre for improving the land in spite of his bad landlord . But whilst his land is left unimproved , thougli he only pays 53 , rent lie pockets nothing at all . Now , simple calculation sliows this . It is the farmer ' s business to make these - calculations ; the farmers and the schoolmaster made this very calculation for meshowing this result ; and yet with this result of their own showing before them they were still unconvinced , and kept crying , "Yeg 'but the landlord would raise the rent , and who should we improve for V . The only surprising thing is . that
the priests , as men of education , should not see this and point it out to the tenants if they are too stupid to see it themselves . What matters it to the tenants whether the landlord benefits , or not by their exertions so long as they themselves make a profit bv it i Now , let me point out to the tenants what would be another- effect of then * simpiy minding their own interests , and endeavouring to get as much produce out of their land as it will bear , and not caring whether the landlord or anybody else also derives 3 profit as well as themselves . They may depend upon this , that the landlord is more likely to do things foe their benefit if he sees them industrious , improving tenants , rather than if he finds them apathetic and indifferent , and seeking only to sublet the land to
the injury ofhis estate , which they ought to cultivate and improve . But the above calculation has shown that in tho worst case they would reap a profit where they now get nothing . This year , unhappily , their potatoe crops have generally failed . lam sorry to say that I was to-day informed by the priest of the parish of Clonlea , in the barony of Tulla , the district in Claro about which I have just written , that the potatoes generally are infected with disease . He last week saw eight barrels of potatoes , or about five mouths ' provisions for a family , apparently sound , put into a pit , and sixty barrels put into another pit , which , * on being opened to-day , had not a barrel of available potatoes in either ; nearly the whole of the potatoes were found to be diseased and decomposed , Hhis accounts to me are most alarming , On digging the poiatoes generally throughout the district they
are found in the same manner diseased . A black spot on them spreads under the surface of the skin round thepotatoe , and at length goes through to the heart of it , the whole substance becoming , black and decomposed . Some of the people have given up dig . ging their potatoes in despair , and it is most alarming to contemplate what the result may be . It is , however , certain that some steps will be required to be taken to avert the horrors of a famine . This is a . subject too immediately pressing and dreadful to work out an argument . But had these poor people cultivated and improved their land as they might have done , without stupidly refusing to improve because it would benefit their landlords , the extra profit in their pockets , which they' would be certain to have made , would he sufficient to avert the severity of the calamity which they now apprehend .
It may astonish some English farmers to learn that these tenants told me they . were constantly in the habit of getting nine successive crops of oats off this mountain land , manuring with lime only event thirdyear , till at length it would grow nothing but a few weeds ; and that it is ' almost impossible without running the risk of being shot , to get them out of their old habit of cultivation after this fashion . This , however , strongly points out the necessity of securing to the , rising generation the means of being taught agricultural knowledge . That knowledge wiU disnel'theic present stupid and prejudiced notions , will , in fact , teach them the trade by which they live , will secure them from periodical famines , and in insuring them comfort and competence will benefit every class in tho community .
Annness Op Tub Hincklet Fkamuwork-Kkitte...
Annness op tub Hincklet FKAMuwoRK-KKiTTERa to the Public in Gbnbral . —The season of the year being at hand when the great mercantile houses of London , engaged in the hosiery trade , send their agents into this our market , who commonly make large contracts for manufactured goods , and as a . necessary consequence , buy up the labour of the Framework-knitters for long periods to come ; we feel ourselves compelled by stern necessity , arising 0 U ( i of OUT duty to our wives and . families , to ad . dress you at this momentous time ; . " with a cold , dark , and dreary winter before us , and famine around us , owing to the' failure of those crops by which the poor are principally sustained , and the unparalleled low rate of wages ' paid in this district . ' In adopting
this method , in order to place our real position before the public eye , we utterly disclaim having any intention or wish , to disturb that harmony and good willj which ever ought to exist between masters and men ; but common Justice demands that the situation of the Framework-knitters of this town , and its vicinity , should be fully known and understood . Could we assure ourselves that our present low prices were necessary , we would endeavour to be resigned to the hardness of our lot . Could it be shown that our sufferings were consistent with the arrangements of Divine Providence , submission would then become our duty . Did we believe that a small advance would militate against the interests of our employers or the community , we would not ask for it . We will not otter an opinion of our own upon this subject , well knowing that the judgment of an interested party wouid weigh but little with wise and discerning men . We
haye repeatedly appealed to our employers during the last three years ( since the demand for our labour has been so abundant ) for a small advance of wages , and we have as often been told by a great majority of them that our requests were reasonable , that they MM Willing to give it , atid that the stateof the markts would justify it , " but it has never been beaused . Kocently , ' it has beeh . reeommehded to make an effort to raise the prices of the Framework-knitters in Nottinghamshire , thereby intimating that then a way would be opened for an advance here . A letter was , therefore , instantly dispatched to a first-rate house ot Nottingham , soliciting information relative to the rate of wages paid by them ; the following reply has been received , which we have the pleasure of laying Oetorc the public ; the writer is a gentleman of high standing , of unblemished reputation , and of unimpeachable veracity ; the extracts are as follows : —
. Nottingham , September 24 th , 1845 . bin , —I received your letter and cannot but feel compassion for the Framework-knitters of your town and neighbourhood ; we make no cotton stockings in Nottinghamshire lower than twenty-four gages , and therefore your manufacturers meet with no competition from us , or I believe from any other manufacturers , in twenty-two gages and under , ; I do not sea therefore but they might advance the prices of those low gages . We charge 9 d . per week rent for all narrow frames up to thirty gage , all above Is . All sorts are narrowed two plain in the gusset , that is , shift tour StltOlies and narrow two ; every other part is narrowed one plain , that is , shift three stitches and narrow two , except some finer sorts , which are narrowed two plain throughout ; . those are paid Is . per dozen extra . . . r
„ Mr . James Leigh . live folic ™ scale presents a comparative view of vicimt --f Nottingham and Hinckley and its NOTTINGHAM , Gage . Jacks . Length . .. price
30 hose ......... set < in n ao haifhose ;^ , ;; ,, ; ?§ " - \ 26 hose 124 .. or ! . " | " 26 half hose 86 f £ J I 24 ¦ hose 114 oi ? ' t « 24 half hose 82 ::::::: ? f | j i 6 jacks wider , leg 1 inch longer , eTextra " nofe ^ t ^^^ sorts named ar ? narrowPd W * * ' ? - ° ' two w H er ; AU set TheAfSnf e one -PIam . except the
gus-. „ ' HIXCKLKt . Gage , *«** Length . Price . . 30 hose 125 - ; 0 , s - u - sohatfh ^ e i :::: ;;•; - 24 j j 26 : hose ' 121 - * ""' H * $ X 26 half-hose' 86 "" ¦ "" " •¦ % ,. 7 » 24 . j hose in .. "" 11 * 0 24 half hose ^ J— j 7 7 0 NT * ah -I " 1 < 5 * - 3 v the ScTntiorHM * * " * ^ owed two plain , with „ . i :: i > . cepuon of the-twentv-W oa „ AXm W .
lerFramSk &•• * Wfc TheHinckyi . SS ? ' co »» B , only ; WOrking inferior upon hi mnV ^ fJ ^ ; to » loss of 5 per cent * fi Uiefift £ ^ * man living can disprove ; anj ^ tStlSc } Lu ^ petl ^ nf rm Nottingham , " or w ^ th the wSbfLr f t 0 •» " Put « Pon a Par town-weS tt ? it ! i ^ ovUmttm of that oTwork SS ^ ^^ iSlo f ^^^ the same be an iucveasftd 1 \ Zt 3 or he fra ™ es , there would *^ « S 3 ssas * s ?*«* Jamks Leigh , Thomas Brooks , Biripw ^ ft 11 . "' " Thomas Awscf * Hinckley , October 18 , 1845 ,
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 1, 1845, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_01111845/page/6/
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