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The POTATOE FAMINE the ects must be preparedforuse byto eversoul on boardin of the *" . -.-" ' ¦ . ¦ ;..'* • I THE NORTHERN STAR. : T Novevbeb 8, mt ?i' ~ tt iv -k-f Ti ihaoii'i ' X ™ *M/iinmM ™ : 7A! -I ..'-.. .» ia nmnonicl for ii«» hv I to everv soul on boardin conseouence ot the i
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OF THE DISEASE AT PRESENT EXISTING OF Ta...
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DISEASE CAUSED BY THE CONSUMPTION OF COR...
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THE POTATOE CROP IN PRUSSIA. " The follo...
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THE POTATOE CROP IN SWEEDEN. Siockholme,...
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LORD HARDWICKE ON THE POTATOE DISEASE. [...
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THE POTATOE...FAILURE IN THE SOUTH OF EN...
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THE POTATOE FAMINE IN IRELAND. Second Re...
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DREADFUL SHIPWRECKS. Further Particulars...
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Extraordinary SwiNDMNo.~At the Central C...
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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.
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The Potatoe Famine The Ects Must Be Preparedforuse Byto Eversoul On Boardin Of The *" . -.-" ' ¦ . ¦ ;..'* • I The Northern Star. : T Novevbeb 8, Mt ?I' ~ Tt Iv -K-F Ti Ihaoii'i ' X ™ *M/Iinmm ™ : 7a! -I ..'-.. .» Ia Nmnonicl For Ii«» Hv I To Everv Soul On Boardin Conseouence Ot The I
The POTATOE FAMINE the ects must be preparedforuse byto eversoul on boardin of the *" . -.- " ' ¦ . ¦ ; .. _'* I THE _NORTHERN STAR . : T _Novevbeb 8 , mt ? i ' ~ tt iv -k-f _Ti ihaoii ' i ' _X _™ _* / _iinmM ™ : 7 _A ! -I _.. ' -.. . _» ia _nmnonicl for ii «» hv I to everv soul on boardin conseouence ot the i
Of The Disease At Present Existing Of Ta...
OF THE DISEASE AT PRESENT EXISTING OF _Ta IN TBE POTATOE CROP . A Pipke Bead befokb tbe Ijtsbpooi . _Looum A _^ _SiShiw Socmir , October 20 th . By _IX _^^ andasasmmg _fasIisre of the potatoe _- « _ntbkSason . in so many countries of Europe and _ffiSfaS _^ stance whichso deeply affectsthe _Stion of the labouring _dasas , anditis also so remarkameafactm thehisto _^ _ofcrffavation _^ _Sdelife , thatlamsure that it wiU be thought well _fl- _Mervinff of the consideration of themembers of this society both on account of its connection with the natural history of cultivated _plants , and . on account of its influence on agricultural wealth , and on the subsistence of the labouring classes . Now that the
ootatoehas become aprincipal portion of the food of the neople in all the moist and temperate countries of Europe and America , and nothing less than the staff of life to the greater part of the population of Ireland it is a matter of national and -rital _ini--porfance to ascertain the causes of every disease which interferes with its productiveness , and to suggest _eTery possible means both of checking _^ the present evil and of preventing its recurrence in future seasons . Having always been strongly attached to agricultural pursuits , and having followed them on a large scale for many years , on a farm on which every kind of crop is grown , and , amongst others , from twenty to thirty acres of potatoes _^ yearl y , the observations which I am about to lay before the society as the of
may _^ be regarded result several years' experience in the growing of this valuable root . During that time we have been _^ angularly fortunate , on the property in "which I am interested , in escaping those diseases by which the potatoe has more or less been affected for some years , and . never more successful than this year , when disease has been so prevalent both at home and . . abroad . It is in the hope of Tendering Hie cultivation of the root more generally successful , and , at the same time , of averting and mitigating some of the worst evils of the present f eneral failure of the crop , that I take the liberty of lying the Mowing observations before the members of tiie society . The present disease of the potatoe first made its appearance in Belgium , lt showed itself there in the
beginning of August , and was , at first , supposed to be a merely local malady . Its _eni-ly appearance in ihat country " probably arose from the richness of _Flemish cultivation . Owing to that cause the green crops of Belgium are generally more advanced than those of Normandy and the northern departments of Fiance , and still more so than those of Great Britain or Ireland . In the spring of last year I saw the rape plant from two to three feet high between Brussels and Antwerp , in Easter week , having just before seen the same crop scarcely afoot high inFrenchFlanders _andUormandy . The rich manuring of the Flemish farmers is the cause of this rapid growth , and from that cause the potatoe crop reached the critical point at which the disease shows itself earlier in
Belgium than anywhere else . In that _countiy it is stated , in a return just published , that not less than two-thirds of the crops of the early kinds of potatoes , and not Jess than Jive-sixths of Jate , hare been destroyed , _ao that thecrop of thepresent year in Belgium instead of yielding 1 , 700 , 000 tons , as it did last year , will not yield more than _340 , 000 tons : the destruction of this kind of food , in Belgium alone , has teen estimated at not less than 1 , 360 , 000 tons . After Belgium , the disease next began to show itself in Holland , with scarcely less violence , and there Ose destruction was estimated , about a month Since , at about one-half the crop of upwards of
thirteen millions of razieres . The disease also appeared about the same time in the north of France , and it has _Bince spread through the Grand Duchy of the Shine , as far into Germany as Brunswick , in one direction , and to Switzerland in another . The first appearance of the disease in England seems to have been in the county of Cornwall , whence it spread along the whole southern coast , as far as Sent , before it made any progress northwards . As the potatoe crops approached maturity it has continued to advance through the midland to the northern counties , until it has reached the banks of the Clyde .
Sanguine hopes were long entertained that Ireland -would have escaped the ravages of a disease so dreadfolly dangerous to a potaf oe-fed population , but unhappily they have not been realised . As the potatoe crops began lo ripen in that country the disease showed itself , and every post now brings us intelligence of its having spread itself in some new district which was before considered quite free from it . What is yery remarkable is that a disease of an equally fatal character has prevailed this season on ihe other side ofthe Atlantic , and has destroyed the potatoe crops in Canada , New Brunswick , and Nova Scotia , to such a degree that the colonists are now looking to this country for a supply of seed for next year . . I have not yet seen any account of the
present year ' s disease in America , which is sufficiently clear to enable me tojudge whether it is the same as -ihat which ha 3 done so much injury in Europe . The season there has been unusually dry and not ; in those respects a complete contrast to ours ; and I _Jmvebeeninformedbyaveryintelb ' gent farmer who leaded and cultivated land near the city of New York , for some years , that hot seasons are generally fetal to the potatoe crops in that part of America . In the excessively hot summer of 1819 my informant lost Beveral acres of potatoes near New York , part of them from the heat and dryness of the spring and summer , and part of them from a deluge of rain , which fell when the season was far advanced , and lotted in the ground all that the heat had net withered .
The first and most urgent question arising out of the alarming failure is , how the present crop , including that part of it which is injured as well as ihat which is sound , can be turned to the greatest advantage . On this part of the subject , "which involves tiie whole question of how the peasantry of Ireland are to be saved from starvation and disease , as well as that of how healthy seed is to be procured for next year , I beg to make the following suggestions . The first step to be taken , wherever the disease has -shown itself , is to separate the sound from the unsound potatoes , and to store the sound ones with mora than usual care . The three great points to be looked to in storing them are these : —First , to keep
them dry ; second , to keep them cool ; and , "third , to keep them well covered from frost . All of these objects may be gaioed by the following method : — In . the first place , the holes in which they are S laced should be extremely shallow , if any holes are ug ; bat it is still better to store them on the surface of the ground . The bottoms of the heaps should not he more than three feet or tliree feet and a half wide . On these the potatoes should be placed in such quantities that there will not be more than from eight hundred weight to half a ton in a running yard . To keep the potatoes dry , a small drain should be formed all round the heaps , and the potatoes should be well covered with sods or earth . To furnish them witli a sufficient supply of fresh air , which is the oslt way
to _ruEVEsi iheir heaiisg , a row of tiles should be placed under the potatoes , running from one end of the heap to the other , and open to the air at both ends ; and , to render the ventilation still more complete , tiles should also be placed at right angles to this main "ventilator , at the distance of from one and a half to two yards from each other , and chimnies of "tiles , rising from the bottom of the heaps , should be formed at moderate distances , say every two yards . As the season advances the fermentation in the potatoe heaps "will cease , and then they may be more closely covered up to guard themfrom the frost . For some time , however , they cannot be kept too cool in the day , though care should be taken to stop the openings with straw whenever the nights are clear ,
and tnreaten to be frosty . By adopting these precautions , we have succeeded in saving our potatoes from rotting' ever since we adopted them , and also in checking the disposition to vegetate too soon , which I suspect to have been one of the chief causes of the diseases which have shown themselves among potatoes for several years . "Where tiles cannot be obtained , a very small drain in the earth , or a row of irashwood nnder the potatoes , or , in fact , any other contrivance by which such a supply of air can be furnished as wilfprevent the heating of the mass , will answer . In a season like this , when the potatoe is full of moisture , and when the crop has ripened pre * maturely from the frost , I feel confident that nothing but the utmost care in supplying the " potatoe heaps
-with abundance of fresh air , either by this or some other method , will preserve the potatoes long enough either to serve as wholesome food through the winter months , or as healthy seed inthe spring of next year . We see that hay , if put together before it is perfectly dry , heats , and even bursts inio flames ; andpotatoes , -which are stored with ten times as much moisture in them , must heat and rot from the same cause , especially in seasons when they are so full of sap as they iue this , if they are closed np from the air . Ihe potatoes thus stored should be opened from time to time in order that they may be examined . If they remain sound , they may of course be used in the usual ma _** mer , 3 hii £ J wherever they are unfortunately found to be deceased , not 3 day should be lost in turning them into flour or starch , which is -very
"wholesome , and may easily be made a palatable article of food , dr in preparing them for food in some othei way . _* he method of converting potatoes into flour or ~?* _£ . on a large scale , is well known , astheartis _^^ m many parts of the country , but it is not _* S _^ £ ° _w _eaaly and cheaply it may be _-S _^^ _Si _^ w _^ _** _^ o _ramptei of potatoe > _? < R » i _£ miS _£ r _? l ? _**» both manufactured _^^ _rLV _^ ¦ £ ? - _** Grange , fann diseased _ftiS _^ _SWi _Ta _* . - _— « has been lost withk the & _^^ tely , _«» h « t two montlis i * **
Of The Disease At Present Existing Of Ta...
The brighter of the two samples which 1 now produce , and which is equal in colour to good wheaten flour , weighs three quartersof a pound . It _wasmade from potatoes , of the kind called Cork Beds . The potatoes from which it was made weighed four pounds and a half before they were washed , with tne decayed parts upon them , and about a pound leBS when they had been cleaned . The darker sample was made from potatoes which nothing would have eaten , and though I do not positively assert that it is good food , yet I believe it to be such , and it would certainly make excellent starch . As such it might be sold , and thus the means of buying food be extracted from potatoes , which , in their present state , could neither be eaten by man or beast , nor in
sold at any price . The only implements used making these two samples of potatoe flour , were , a rough iron ' grater , to rasp the potatoes , a coarse towel , to strain the liquid and pulp , and a common tub to receive the liquid . After all the pulp had been well washed and removed , the flour sank at the bottom ofthe tub , as a milky deposit . It was allowed to settle for half an hour ; the water was then poured off gently , and the flour remained at the bottom in the form of a paste . The above is the only method which I am acquainted with , by which the decayed part of potatoes can be made of any value ; but potatoe starch made even from the sound parts of partially decayed potatoes ( such as the first sample which I now produce ) may be used in making other potatoes into biscuits _.
according to the following method , described by the French physician Parmentier : — " Mix a little yeast or leven , diluted with hot water , with one pound of the pulp of boiled potatoes , and a 3 much of the stakch of potatoes . Of the whole form a dough , and knead it a long time ; after which , divide it into pieces , and flatten them and form them into the shape and size of common seabiscuits . The dough should be set upon plates , and should remain about an hour before it is put into the oven , firstpricking it with an iron skewer _ftke regular biscuit-bakers have an iron instrument furnished with teeth for this purpese _) in order to prevent it from swelling . As this dough contains but little water , it is more difficult to be baked ; hence it must
be left in the oven longer than the bread , two hours longer at least . When the biscuit is taken out of the oven , it should he set in a warm p lace , that it may cool gradually , and be deprived of its moisture ; and it should be kept in as dry a place as possible _, this potatoe-biscuit , when well prepared , has all the qualities of common biscuit . " There is a third method of preparing" potatoes which is generall y adopted in South America and Mexico , and which is recommended for adoption in Europe , by Baron Humboldt , in his Essay on New Spain . He says : — " The Mexicans , like the Peruvians , can preserve potatoes for whole years by exposing them to the frost and drying them in the sun . The root , when hardened and deprived of its water , is
called cfiuii ' o , from a word of the Quichua language . It would be -undoubtedly very useful to imitate this preparation in Enrope , where a commencement oi germination frequently destroys the winter ' s provisions . " This method is more clearly described in the following passage , which I translate from a communication recently addressed to the Brussels paper L'Independence , by Don Vicentd Pazzos , formerly Consul-General of Bolivia , in Belgium : — " The potatoes of Peru , which form the ordinary food of thepeople , are of many kinds , and differ from each ether in colour , form , and taste . All are capable of being prepared and preserved . The prepared notatee takes in Peru the name of _clomo . The method of preparing this chuno which is unknown
in Europe is very easy . Large pits ( or holes ) are dug and filled with water , in which the potatoes are placed until they have lost the coarser part of theii fibre . In this state they begin to swell . They are then taken out ofthe pits , and exposed to the ' open air . This operation is performed in the wintei months . The aetion of the air and the light purify thepotatoe , which becomes a white substance , almost purely fecular , very nourishing , and of a most agreeable taste . " The above would probably be an effectual method of preserving the sound part of the injured potatoes , as well as perfectly sound ones . As the experiment is easy , and the result may be very important , 1 shall try it immediately , and shall state the result at the next meeting of tne society , it would be well if others would do so likewise , taking care not to try it on too large a scale . ( To be concluded nsxt week . )
Disease Caused By The Consumption Of Cor...
DISEASE CAUSED BY THE CONSUMPTION OF CORRUPTED POTATOES . In the above article Mr . Baines recommends the turning of the diseased potatoes into starch , which , he asserts , may be used ' as a wholesome and palatable article of food . The question remains , however , if the deceased potatoe is injurious to health , will not the starch made from it be also injurious ? We invite the attention of the reader to the following article on this subject , from the Medical Times of Saturday last : — That corrupted potatoes are capable of acting detrimentally as food , wehave striking evidence in a case published by Mr . Peddie in the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal , vol . xxxix ., p . 384 , etseq . The
particulars are worthy of detail . Three children of the same family , Clapperton by name , were attacked , the ihrst with gangrene p f the cheek , and the two last with anasarca . Excision of the affected parts , and careful subsequent treatment , sufficed to cure the one affected with gangrene , but the other two , in spite of remedies , perished . . _TMr .. Peddie , unable to account for the circumstance , especially in . the last case , was inclined to think that imperfect or impure nutrition had some share in it ; yet , says he , " although I could perceive that the family were in a , state of extreme destitution , that every member of it had a most unhealthy aspect , my inquiries as to bad food were always met by an assurance that they had been living on nothing but what was perfectly
wholesome . A neighbour of the family , to whom I next applied for information , 'hinted the probability of bad potatoes being the cause ofthe evil , as she knew for certain that the Clappertons had lately been subsisting almost entirely on such . I now renewed my efforts to ascertain the truth , and having directly charged the parents of the family with the use of this unwholesome diet , I obtained the following confession , apparently at much expense of feeling : — That for some time past the father had been out of employment , in consequence of which his family were left perfectly destitute ; and having too much pride to beg , and seeing starvation before them , they went to the fields and gathered those potatoes which are exposed on the surface of the ground , and which
are uniformly rejected by the farmer as utterly unfit for human use . That the potatoes in question were frosted , * were watery in consistence , some of a green , and others of a deep purple colour , and all of them having an excessively bitter taste ; that in gathering these potatoes from the field , they often met with people similarly employed , but did not think that any of them did so for the purpose of human food , but were merely obtaining them for pigs ; indeed , they had never heard of any one eating such potatoes ; that this had been their aliment for upwards of six weeks previous to the beginning of December , 2832 , and that they had perhaps only a single meal of another kind once in eight days ; that the potatoes had such a disagreeable taste as to be
loathed , notwithstanding all the modes of preparation which their ingenuity could devise for rendering them more palatable ; that in a very few days after -using them , the whole family were seized with severe griping pains in the bowels , followed by diarrhoea of a green watery kind ; that these bad effects continued with short intervals during ihe whole time that the potatoes were used , but that the children had not experienced them so severely or so constantly as the parents , which circumstances was accounted for by their " occasionally getting a crust of bread from some of the neighbours . Mr . Peddie goes on to say , "I may mention that the father had a most "unhealthy , feeble appearance , and the mother looked even worse , had various ailments , and , among the rest , had an
abortion of a four months' pregnancy ; all of which were not improperly attributable to her late unwhole some mode of _fiving . " He further states , as the result of many inquiries amongst experienced farmers , that if cattle be fed with potatoes , frosted , or otherwise damaged , they become subject to severe colic , diarrhoea , and dropsy , and that these things are guarded against by allowing the animals a plentiful supply of fodder along with the potatoes ( loc . cit . p . 388 . ) We have quoted Mr , Peddie's observations at some length , both because they are the most ample and accurate of any extant upon this particular subject , and because of their singular applicability at the present time . The potatoes which this season has afforded , are not only in a great measure innutritive , but are also to some extent decidedly anddireetly
injurious . The effects which the worst potatoes produce are closely allied to those mentioned by Mr , Peddie as resulting from the use of frosted potatoes , and to those which we quoted last week as the consequenceof eating unsound grain . We learn that in several parts of Worcestershire and '• _tVarwickshire _, where pigs have been largely fed with these damaged potatoes , they have been seized with severe purging have lost their'flesh , in some instances their _tailsnare become gangrenous and dropped off , and not a few have died . Amongst such as have been lulled after the accession of the poisonous symptoms , it has frequently been remarked that , in the process of salting , the flesh became extremely dark , sometimes indeed , completely black , Cowsthathave been similarly fed have drooped , and have either ceased to give milk or have furnished only an impure kind , and that * These potatoes , it may be necessary to explain , lie on the surface of the ground , and are exposed to the influence ofthe sim during the day , and to frost during the night . Some conceive thatfrost effects a chemical change m the constituents of the potatoe root , by converting its mucilage into sugar , from which acetic acid is speedily formed , and putrefaction induced . Others , again con . sider that the watery part of the potatoe is converted into ice , which , occupying a larger space , separates the solid ? arts farther from eoch other , and produces , in _consejuence , a partial mechanical disorganisation of structure ,
Disease Caused By The Consumption Of Cor...
sparingly . Upon the human subject , also , the effects of these potatoes , taken as food , have been very mischievous . Within our personal knowledge the following cases have occurred - during the last few weeks : —An artizan , his wife , and two eldest children , partook one evening of a supper of potatoes which were known not to be sound , but were made somewhat palatable by being mashed up with a little milk . During the ni g ht the children were seized with violent pains in tlie stomach and bowels , and cramp in the legs , shortly followed b y profuse vomiting and purging of frothy matter looking like barm . Before morning the father and mother were similarly affected , _but-with even greater severity , for oh the arrival ofthe medical attendant they were nearly __' _ _ - _ _ v _. « .. « ,.-- „„ w ' _w .
pulseless and speechless from the exhausting effects of pain and evacuation . They were relieved by anodyne and antispasmodic treatment , together with warm diluents , and the application of neat to the abdomen and calves of legs . Prior to this evening the family had been in excellent health , had no warn ings of any such attack , nor had eaten anything , save the potatoes , which could in anywise account for it . A strong healthy man partook one day for dinner cold beef and potatoes . Of the latter he ate heartily , and though he observed them to be discoloured , he did not reject any portion , for hewas Very hungry , and their taste was not . unpleasant to him . In about an hour after he had returned to his work , he felt a degree of heat and " effervescence , " as he called it , in the
stomach , shortly followed by pains and cramps in tho legs , and afterwards by violent vomiting and purging . His dinner was ejected in an unchanged state , but accompanied with some frothy mucus and bile . Thealvine evacuations were frothy and bilious . The attack lasted some hours , with little decrease of severity , and it was not until a week hei _lapsed that ne was quiV " recovered from . _Mus aisorder . Prior to the occurrence of it he v , as in his accustomed good health , had lived Vith perfect regularity , as was his habit , and on the occasion referred to had eaten nothing but beef , bread , and potatoes . The two former were good , and as the latter were not , there is every reason for supposing they were the souroe of the ailment . A woman , in somewhat indigent circumstances , supped
one night upon roasted potatoes , of . which . she ate tkee tolerably large ones . They were hollow in the middle , and discoloured , but she cut no portion away . Whilst preparing to go to bed , she was seized with ssmptoms precisely like those of the preceding cases ; they continued with little intermission for several hours , and rendered her , for days afterwards , extremely weak and emaciated . To these cases we could add m any others of less severity , which have occurred in our own practice , and in that of many of our professional acquaintance , In particular , we may mention that , whilst talking over the subject the otlier day with an experienced and erudite medical friend , we were informed by him , that the day previously ho had suffered from extreme nervous
depression , famtness giddiness , and trembling , the consequence , as he thought of having partaken rather largely of potatoes at dinner . The symptoms , he says , were precisely those under which he once laboured in consequence of having for some hours respired an atmosphere strongly impregnated with the effluvium of recent henbane . And he sagaciously observed , as his potatoes were not apparently rotten , could the steins have suffered deterioration and the tubers in consequence have imbibed any noxious material ? The idea is perfectly consistent with the notions of some judicious botanists , that decay has commenced in the stem , and afterwards been propagated to the root ; and also with the known fact , that , there are
certain portions of the potatoe plant which are capable of producing physiological effects _anaolgous to those of the more poisonous solanese . However this may be , certain we are of two things , viz ., that the potatoes ofthis season are most extensively damaged , and that all so conditioned are unfit for food . Have we any remedy ? Mr . Herapath suggests that the injured tubes be carefully peeled , rasped , and elutriated , so as to obtain the starch in a separate form , and ready for future use . We believe that it is the practice in some parts of Scotland thus to treat store potatoes that have been frosted ; and inthe Isle of Portland the people prepare , in the same way , a kind of arrow-root from the arum macitlatum ; and experiment has proved that whilst " 121 _bs . of starch
can be obtained from a bushel of sound potatoes , 81 bs . can be procured from such as are useless as an article of food . " In so far the suggestion seems , as it really is , a very good one but its applicability is another thing . The care and trouble of the preparation will never be undertaken by private individuals , aiid especially the poor , for their own use ; nothing short of a company on a large scale can hope to __ carry out the plan . Such a company is not * very likely to be formed , and even if it were formed , and in operation , the proof would yet be wanting that the . starch of these said potatoes is itself free from injury . Meanwhile the potatoes are still going to decay , because rottenness " propagates itself : and if theyare now bad , what will they be before the winter is over , or before a future crop shall bo ready ! And what ,
consequences may we expect to follow their consumption 2 - Independently of the direet mischief which the worst of them will produce at once , we can assign no limits to the injury which will be done by the continued use of such as are less corrupt , but still unhealthy . Scrofula , with all its concomitants , and cachexies in their direst forms , willbe among the common results , nor are we able to say ihat'itis not likely famine or pestilence will prevail . We are not fond of anticipating evil , but , we cannot Mind ourselves to the fearful prospects which we apprehend to be before us , and especially before pur pauper brethren , who have lost one of their chief sources of sustenance . Our duty , however , is done—we naye stated facts as . we have found them—we haveuttered the warning—the poor are in jeopardy—and with the higher powers rests their rescue , ,
The Potatoe Crop In Prussia. " The Follo...
THE POTATOE CROP IN PRUSSIA . " The following communication having been published by the Ministry of the Interior at Berlin _^ and being of a nature to meet , and in part to obviate , the awfulsufferings to beantieipatedfrom ageneralfailure of the potatoe crop , we give a translation of the document , in the hope that it may alleviate in part the impending calamity . A . " The potatoe being more or less diseased in many parts , it has been suggested to raise the plant from seed ( the potatoe berry ); but a period of some , ; years
being , as it was thought , requisite to produce fullgrown potatoes , and the success doubtful , this plan seemed " little adapted for agricultural purposes . ¦« But a fact has been established deserving the best consideration . Mr . Zander , gardener to Count D'Arnim , at Boitzenburgh , well known at the Berlin fruit and flower exhibition _^ as a scientific horticulturist , has succeeded in raising from seed in one year roots yielding a crop equal to that obtained by planting thc tubercle ; andthe potatoes thus raised have remained this year perfectly sound in the midst of infected ones grown in the usual way .
"According to the communication of Mr . Zander , the proceeding is as follows : — "In the autumn the fruit , or _potatoe-apples , are collected before the frost ( a slight frost is said not to injure the germ ) , and secured from frost in a dry spot until the end of January . They are then crushed in the hand and thrown into a vessel , where they remain six or eight days to rot . The seed being freed from the slimy particles , it is washed and dried like cucumber seed , and preserved from moisture . "About the end of March , or the beginning of April , this seed is sown in a hot-bed , and treated like early vegetables . In a warm protected situation no frame is necessary ; but the plant being very tender , it must be carefully covered at nicht .
"In May the plants are removed to a light soil , and put at the distance usual in planting potatoes . On the llth of April last Mi * . Zander sowed in a hotbed seed of early Saxon potatoes , treated as above ; and on the 26 th of Maythe plants were transplanted . Itis necessary to observe that Boitzenburg is a fortnight behind Berlin in vegetation ( a month behind Ireland . The plants yielded from ene to one . and a half metze ( the metze is circa six pounds ) a piece ; one the enormous number of 280 tubercles . " Among these there were many small , but the produce of large ones was , on the whole , equal to what is obtained from root seed . Mr . Zander having instituted these experiments for the last five years , in
the springof this year he gave some of theseed toother members of Count D'Arnim's establishment , and to labourers . The potatoes grown from this seed have remained perfectly sound , though the infection has spread all round . This fact is the more significant from the labourers having set their plants in the same piece with tubercles ; and , whilst the crop of the latter lias been attacked by the disease , that obtained from seed has entirely escaped . " This result , therefore , deserves of a surety to be quickly and generally _promulgated , in order that , wherever potatoe-berries are still untouched by frost , they maybe carefully collected for next year ' s seed . " A bed of about half a square rod yield plants for _tvfo-thirds of an acre . "
The Potatoe Crop In Sweeden. Siockholme,...
THE POTATOE CROP IN SWEEDEN . Siockholme , Oct . 2 i . — Deplorable accounts of the results of the harvest are received here . The iirovince of Upland , _Westmanland , part of Sodermanand , East Gothland and Calmarsleen , all Gothland ; and Ocland have suffered a total failure , and these are the very provinces which used to export corn , but cannot now , not having sufficient for their own consumption . In consequence of this state of things , tho price of barley and potatoes has risen . It is expected that the government will follow op the prohibition toi export potatoeB . Norway is indeed free from the potatoe disease , nevertheless potatoes are already scarce , because such great quantities have been purchased for foreign countries by speculators .
Lord Hardwicke On The Potatoe Disease. [...
LORD HARDWICKE ON THE POTATOE DISEASE . [ From the Cambridge Chronicle . ] ¦ The Lord-Lieutenant has thought it his duty to issue an address to the labourers of the county and isle upon the subject of the potatoe disease .
Lord Hardwicke On The Potatoe Disease. [...
IO IDE LAB 0 VBEB 8 OF CAMDRIOaBSHIRB AND THE ISO op m . Fellow Country men , —A sense of duty induces me to address you on the subject of the potatoe . Itis not necessary on this occasion to state the nature or cause of the decay of that most important artiole of food . I wish to induce you to look forward to the consequence of neglecting the endeavour to stop the progress of the evil . If you do neglect to do so , all will be lost ! From all I can learn moisture is the food on which the decay increases , and dryness the medicine to be used for the cure . m ' _X , _™„ ..-.-.. _„„„* , _M / .. _iinmM _.,...,. . _»™ _ :
. Therefore , do not pit the potatoes in the usual way ; but , after most carefully picking tliem , and separating the bad from the good , place the good under a roof ( if you have space ) , placed in layers , and not more than four potatoes deep , so that tliey may keep effectually dry . Where you have not house-room , expose them to the sun and air during dry weather on the surface of tho ground , and then pile them in small conical heaps on the surface , thatching them over with straw , and cutting a deep trench round about tliem , with a good drain from the trench to carry off the
water . Pick the best potatoes for seed next year , and take them into the cottage , keeping them quite dry , and let no price induce you to part with them ; for next year seed will not be procurable ! I also advise that at present you do not sell , for I feel sure that at no very distant period the price of the potatoe will be unprecedented . I further advise all who have pitted potatoes at once , to open the pits , and pick the potatoes over again . I am , fellow-countrymen , Ever your faithful servant , Winds !"! Castle , Oct . 28 , 184 d . _Hardwicke .
The Potatoe...Failure In The South Of En...
THE POTATOE ... FAILURE IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND . [ From the Mori . ' _^ . CkronieU . ' _] A statement which appeared !? . ? . ¦ " week in some London papers , I am told it was in tii 6 Morning Chronicle , but I did not see it , and which is reprinted inthe Salisbury Journal and other local papers oi Saturday last , has caused much surprise in this part of Hampshire . The statement was to the effect that no potatoe disease prevails in the south of England , save in a Yery mild and limited form , in one or two localities , and not in Hampshire . The writer professes to take the country 30 miles round Andover , and quotes the moderate market prices of potatoes in Salisbury , Southampton , Romsey , Winchester , Basingstoke , and other markets , as proofs that potatoes
are neither diseased nor scarce , nor likely to be scarce . Now the low prices in tliese markets are attributable to the notorious fact , that the potatoes are diseased , and are every day getting worse . At this season of the year large quantities are always tin-own upon the market by the cultivators of small holdings in the New Forest , and the country surrounding it . Also the holders of allotments and large cottage gardens send potatoes to market at this time , to raise a little money to pay their yearly rent now due , which circumstance , together with the fact of speculators and regular buyers , knowing that the potatoes are diseased , and dangerous to put in store to be kept for sumcient to account tor
any length oi time , are prices remaining low , even in the face nf scarcity . - Focinstance , hear Warminster , where large fieldsare planted with potatoes , and where it is a staple product , the failure has been so terrible that the plough in being used to open the drills before the wbrk people who fork out and gather up the tubers ,. has tliis year opened out , instead ofthe tuberous treasure expected , lines of decomposing rottenness . A gentleman not given to exaggeration , and whose word is not to be doubted for a moment , has _assured me that on one hundred acres of his property planted with potatoes in the Warminster district , the sound tubers are not more than one to each plant .
The Potatoe Famine In Ireland. Second Re...
THE POTATOE FAMINE IN IRELAND . Second Report of ihe Government Commissioners . " To his Excellency Baron Heytesbury , Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland , & e . "Board-room , Royal Dublin . Society , Oct . 29 . " My Lord , —Having submitted to your Excellency , in a former report , some preliminary instructions intended to prevent improper treatment of the potatoe crop still remaining unaffected , we now have the honour to lay before your Excellency our views regarding some processes of treatment for the potatoe which appear to us to be of practical value and importance . " We are deeply sensible of the incompleteness of form whicli this mode of presenting our results to | _-our Excellency necessarily assumes , ; but the exigencies of the case are _such , that we , consider . it our highest duty to bring at once under the notice of her Majesty ' s . Government such , principles or mode 3 . of practice , [ as ,.. upon due consideration , we . feel authorized toiecoriimend .
.. "W , e _. haYe ' been engaged in the investigation of various plans for preserving ' diseased potatoes , as proposed by other persons , or suggested by ourselves , and we have been collecting , precise information as _tee the experience of others m their endeavours to arrest . the progress of the . disease . From all results .. that _welaye . _^ obtaihed / we feel justified in submitting to your Excellency , the following observations . : ' .. . .., .. , "Plans of treatment have been proposed by persons possessing more or , less of chymical knowledge , inwhich _^ by some ,, acids are to _) be employed ; in others ,, alkaline liquors ; . and , in a , third class , gases —such as chlorine _.., These processes * We dismiss from further 7 conSideration ,- _^ -as , even did they , in the laboratory , answer the intended purpose , they are totally inapplicable to the circumstances of the produce of an entire country , and to a population such as that for whose welfare your . Excellency is so deeply
anxious . Other methods , apparently more practical , consist in the treatment ofthe potatoes with chloride oflime ( bleaching powder ) and salt , either separate or in ; mixture , The result of our own experiments , and the evidence we have received concerning trials made by persons in whom we have full confidence , _authbhise us at once to recommend the rejection of ' these materials . We have found the decomposition of the potatoe to be decidedly accelerated by their application . With respect to lime , the results of our own experiments are not yet decisive ; nor is the experience of others as yet satisfactory . We , therefore , reserve this point for further consideration . " Whilst the disease is not yet very far advanced in the potatoe , it is certain , that after being boiled or steamed , it may be employed as food for immediate use , both for man and other animals , without prejudice to health .
When the disease is more advanced , so as to nave invaded a large part of the potatoe , and when the tubers have acquired a disagreeable smell , their influence on the system ia more questionable . We have put m operation a series of experiments , in order to determine this point , and will , in due time , report the result to your Excellency . As , however , the potatoe , when once affected , quickly runs into total decomposition , if left to itself , it is evident that its consumption merely for the purpose of food cannot be sufficiently rapid ; and it therefore becomes necessary to consider to what other uses it may be applied . ' "The extraction of starch from potatoes , and its use as food , haying strongly attracted publio attention , and conflicting , and , in many cases , inaccurate opinions having been entertained on this subject % »»« _-iiu ulnaouujcuii
, we " *— : *;— T" _- < = ... _. _wuu , we consider it ot paramount importance at once to direct your Excellency ' s attention to the actual state oi knowledge regarding this material . It is recognised that the potatoe , in relation either to its weight or bulk , is one of the most inferior articles of food . In its ordinary state of sound constitution , every hundred pounds weight of potatoes contain , on an average , 741 b . of water ; of skin and fibrous matter , 81 b . ; and of starch , 16 lb . ; whilst of gluten , the most nutritious of vegetable matters , and which predominates in corn , there is not more than 21 b . in the above quantity . It is quite certain that starch , or materials corresponding to it , exist to a certain amount in every variety of useful food ; but it is equally certain that in food starch is not the material which
serves for the support of the animal frame ; and an animal fed merely on starch dies of starvation nearly if not quite as soon , as if totally deprived of food ! Hence , Btarch extracted from the potatoe cannot be ' viewed as a substitute for the potatoe itself ; and we consider it of great importance , that whilst the attention of the people is directed to the real value of starch , and the uses to which it may be advantageously applied , they should not be allowed to rest their hopes of nourishment during the succeeding season npon any store of it alone . " With this preliminary caution , we have to state to your Excellency , that probably the best use to which diseased potatoes may be applied is the extraction of starch . In a commercial point of viewthe
, Btarch represents a considerable proportion of the value of the potatoe , although it is not present in as large a quantity in the unsound tubers as in those which are free from disease . The extraction is simple , and consists in processes which we need not here describe , as theyare given in the current publications 61 the day , and indeed are already practised in most parts of the countiy . " Your Excellency is aware that we are directing our attention tothe manner in which starch can be advantageously employed . It can be worked off and with utility , as food , when mixed with propor
tions of oatmeal , beanmeal , or peasmeal , and such intermixture forms an excellent and economical article of food . It is also to be remarked , that the pulp remaining after the extraction ofthe starch from the diseased potatoes contains a considerable quantity of nutritive material ; and as the decomposing substance is , to a very great extent , washed out during the preparation , the pulp may , when dried , beapplied with _^ confidenee tp the nourishment of animals . Further , if the dried starch , extracted from the potatoe , be mixed up with the dry residual pulp , a material will be produced ( really representing the _polatoe , equivalent to it as food , and , if kept dry , capable of being preserved for a considerable length
The Potatoe Famine In Ireland. Second Re...
of time : it , of course , must be prepared , for . use by cooking or baking in theprdiaary way . 7 , , 7 --Themanufacture ' ofthe pulp and starch , on an extensive _scale , in accordance with tliese suggestions , we venture to consider worthy of your _Excellency ; s attention . It is an operation not suited to the circumstances of isolated cotters ,, and just now might not be a proper object for mere commercial speculation . But arrangements might possibly be made for carrying out this recommendation through the agency of the Poor Law unions and other Government establishments , in which mechanical power and intelligent superintendence could be speedily and economically applied . We feel , however , that even these facilities for the conversion of the tubers may not be sufficient 7 .. _A ! _ -I _ _.. ' -.. __ _„ . _» ia _nmnonicl for ii «» hv
to keep pace with the progressive injury which , it is to be feared , the potatoe crop is sustaining . We , therefore , recommend a mode by which we believe the process of decomposition may be retarded . In our preliminary report we mentioned to your Excellency the important influence exercised upon the disease by moisture and dryness . Our _subsequent investigations have confirmed this opinion , and we believe , where means exist for a more complete drying ofthe tubers , such a method will prove the most efficacious plan for preserving the potatoe from further decay . This more perfect drying cannot , however , be effected in this climate by mere exposure to air : it requires artificial heat , applied in some form of kiln ; and , without entering into mechanical details , we may name some simple contrivances which seem well adapted to the purpose .. " The jcom kilns extensively distributed through the country may at once be applied to the drying of
the potatoes , which will , however , demand a temperature rendered gradually higher than that required for corn . But , as ih many cases those kilns are at present fully occupied , we would represent that every limekiln may be adapted to the purpose , without interfering with its ordinary operations , by erecting over it at a suitable height above its mouth a framework of hurdles upon which the potatoes may be spread in a thin layer , fresh potatoes being added as the others become dry and are removed . In localities where the previous means do not exist , or may j not be on a sufficiently extensive scale , potatoes may be spread on a framework of hurdles supported on a fe * _S . urops of stone , two or three feet high ; one or more _" twef fires burning slowly under the hurdles would effect the sasie object . There need be no fear of the potatoes _becomw . g . slightly browned , as they are not injured thereby ior future -use ; and the turf smoke would , act favourably on the potatoes rather than otherwise .
" In all these modes of drying , the potatoes should be cut into two , or it" very large into three pieces , so as to allow the water to escape . " Potatoes dried in any of the modes above described are certainly capable of being preserved when kept in a dry place , and stored , with the precautions described in our first report , until suitable opportuni ties arise for converting them into starch or meal , according to the degree in which they were affected by the disease .
" It is gratifying to us to find that our own opinion as to the advantage of thoroughly drying the potatoe in the manner we have recommended , and by processes such as those above described , are confirmed by the experienced and highly intelligent persons who hare simultaneously directed their attention to the subject . " We shall not hesitate to bring under the notice of your Excellency our further conclusions , and wehave the honour to be , your Excellency ' s obedient and faithful servants , " Robert _Kaxe .
" _Joni _* - * _Lindlev . " Lyon Playfair . " Proceedings in Dublin . —A public meeting oi the citizens of Dublin was held on Friday , Oct . 31 st , at the Music-hall , in Abbey-street , the Lord Mayoi presiding . The attendance was respectable and rather numerous . The Duke of Leinster , Lord Cloncurry , and Mr . O'Connell were present . The meeting terminated in the appointing of a deputation to wait on the Lord Lieutenant as the bearers ol resolutions calling on his Excellency : — " To open the ports for the importation of food . " To close the ports against the export of oats . " To establish public granaries , and provide employment for the people . " To raise a loan of £ 1 , 000 , 000 , to be secured on the revenue of the Irish Woods and Forests Department , and to consider the question of stopping distillation . "
Dublin , Nov . 3 . —This afternoon at three o ' clock a mixed deputation from the corporation and committee appointed at the public meeting held on Friday last waited upon the Lord-Lieutenant by appointment . The deputation consisted ofthe Lord Mayor , theDukeof Leinster , Lord _Gloncurry , Mr . O'Connell , Mr . H . Grattan , and several others , and was , with somewhat of discourtesy on the part of Lord Heytesbury , brought to the viceregal lodge in the park , instead of being received at the Castle . The Lord Mayor read a series of resolutions wliich had been previously submitted to the Lord-Lieutenant . His Excellency read his reply from a written paper , as tollowB : — "My Lord Mayor and Gentlemen , —It can scarcely be necessaay for me to assure you , that the state of the potatoe crop has for sometime occupied , and still occupies , the most anxious attention of the Government .
" Scientific men have been sent over from England to co-operate with those of this country in endeavouring to investigate the nature of the disease , and , if possible , to devise means to arrest its progress . They have not yet terminated their inquiries ; _Tiut two reports have already been received from them , which have been communicated to the public . " The Government is also furnished with constant reports from the stipendiary magistrates , and inspectors of constabulary , who are charged to watch the state of the potatoe disease , and the progress of the harvest . These vary from day to day , and are often contradictory . It will , therefore , be impossible to form an accurate opinion of the whole extent of the evil till the digging of the potatoes shall be further advanced . To decide , under such
circumstances , upon the most proper measures to be adopted , would be premature , particularly as tliere is reason to hope that , though the evil exists to a very great extent in some localities , in others it has but partially manifested itself . "There is no immediate pressure on the market . I will , however , lose no time in submitting your suggestions to the consideration of the Cabinet . The greater part of them can only be enforced by legislative enactment , and all require to be maturely weighed before they can be adopted . It must be clear to you that in a case of such great national importance , no decision can be taken without a previous reference to the responsible advisers of the Crown . " When the deputation was about to withdraw ,
Mv . O'Connell , addressing his Excellency , said that , with reference to one of the resolutions passed by- the ' committee—that which referred to the s ' toppage of distillation—he was afraid that there was a serious _difficulty to be got over before itB adoption , namely , the injury it would be to the trader whe had advanced his capital in the purchase of corn , spirits , & c . . The Lord-Lieutenant briefly replied that the observation of the gentleman who had spoken was one deserving of much consideration , and one which had not been overlooked by the Government when they had the matter under discussion . The deputation then withdrew .
Dreadful Shipwrecks. Further Particulars...
DREADFUL SHIPWRECKS . Further Particulars of the Wreck op the Hull and Hamburg Archimedean Sxjeameij Marg _aiiet _.- —The subjoined particulars relating to the melancholy loss of the Hull ancl Hamburg propeller steam ship , the Margaret , during the late hurricane off the Dutch coast , have been furnished by the owners of the ill fated ship . . The Margaret , we are given to understand , was a iron buut vessel , 250 tons burthen , 120 feet in extreme length , 24 feet beam , and depth of hold 12 feet . She was fitted with two engines of 14 horse power each , and was propelled by an Archimedean screw . She had a very rakish appearance , and in
form of building was something like a slaver , being rigged with three masts , and carrying , considering her size , a large proportion of canvas . On several _occasions she made remarkably quick passages , even when the weather was so tempestuous as to preclude other vessels proceeding . Daring the time she was engaged trading between Hull and Hamburg , a period of about twelve months , her trips were _exceedingly regular , and from her punctuality she was rather a favourite on the station . The loss of the ship is described by Captain Rawlinson , the commander , and the survivors , to the owners , Messrs . Price , at Hull , nearly in the following terms : — '
"We left Hamburg for Hull on the 16 th ult with moderate weather , having on board 16 passengers , chiefly Jews , and apparently in needy circumstances . We also had a heavy cargo , consistins principally of wheat , oats , wool , and other merchandise . On arriving above Cuxhaven , one pilot , _asusual Still we kept W at the - _JJffih _^& _Sfe
as tar northward as possible _Dnrii . » A 1 _£ nf V _^ and 19 th , the _weatherSimiM 8 the m h 1 . _* terous state _dl _^ SS _^** _W _^ _^ fearfully . In the l _^ _TSS _^ ES _* _^ " _^ abate , the track was _st i 1 W + V llat th , _§ ale W 0 _UW little way . On th * 20 th _ff £ ? _^ "" Sty but tenfold ; the sails _weron- » M 1 _Dcreasad almost sea dashing over _hKffl ft ? T ' _^ * * he immediate destruction | _Ktte threat nedh er
Dreadful Shipwrecks. Further Particulars...
to every soul on board , in consequence of the many shoals that abound at the entrance , as in the case where the Manchester Hull steamer and all hands were lost about eighteen months since . Even , how ever , if such , a step should have been attempted , it would have been impracticable to have carried it out , for we had been driven about to such an extent by the gale , that we could scarcely take our position ; we were blown miles out of the track . As evening advanced , the wind increased to a hurricane , yet the vessel worked well head to wind ; and considering the frightful pitching , it is somewhat surprising that the engines and screw could have acted in the manner they did . The following day brought more tempestuous weather , the wind blowing Btill from the same to everv soul on board , in conseouence ot the i
quarter . Captain Rawlinson had just taken soundings , when it was discovered that the steamer was off a place called Borkrum , eleven miles distant , arid about sixty to the southward of Heligoland . Shortly afterwards a man who was stationed at the masthead gave the alarm of breakers ahead . We instantly adopted the necessary precautions to keep clear of them when a tremendous sea struck the ship , and swept the decks fore and aft , taking with it the boats , caboose , < S * c , as also literally demolishing the wheel . The only chance left us was to try the anchors , and at nine o'clock a . m . they were let go . Every sea now swept over us ; in fact she was perfectly immersed , and for shelter we all got into the cabin , and , hours passing away , we
were in hopes she would outlive thc storm . Unhappily , however , at three o ' clock in thc afternoon , the cable of one ofthe anchors snapped asunder , and immediately afterwards the other one parted also . In an instant the vessel was borne with great rapidity amongst the breakers , and was dashed on to the Memmett with much force . Wo still remained in the cabin , being fearful to venture on deck incase of being swept off . There we remained until near nine o ' clock at night , when , finding that the ship was settling on the sand , and began to fill with water , I recommended taking to the rigging as ' the only means of saving ourselves . The crew followed me , and although 1 begged the passengers to adopt the samo steps , they did not attempt it , probably not being so well able to go aloft as the seamen . Thev remained
on deck , and I regret to state that during the night the entire sixteen perished ; some no doubt , being earned away by the surf that swept the vessel , and others from sheer exhaustion falling overboard . We lashed _o-irsclyea to the rigging , where we remained until nine o ' clock the following morning , the 22 d having endured the most intense suffering from a gel vere frost and the sea making a breach over us . Fortunately the vessel waB built of iron , for nothing else could have lasted out the night . The tide having receded , and the wind lessening in its fury , we got all the spars we could muster , and by lashing them together , formed a kind of raft , and tliere being no other possible means of escape for us , we ventured on it to gain the shore . Being clear of the wreck , we
secured ourselves by rope to the raft , every man being up to his middle in water . The steward , however , whose name is Turpin , refused to go with us , saying he though the could gain the shore by swimming , and after we had left he jumped overboard , but failed in the attempt and was drowned , we being too far off to save him . We had been six hours on the raft , when Providence pleased to float us upon the sand , opposite the island of J uist , on which we landed . Two poor fellows died from the privation tliey had endured . Shortly after we had reached the sand , and ere much time had elapsed , we were observed by a Dutch vessel , which promptly bore down to our asssistance . We were taken off by a boat , and being placed on board the vessel , were landed at the town oi Korden near the entrance of the river Emm . Our conditioa was most pitiable , but thanks to the English Consul , everything was done to soothe onr sufferings . As regards the Margaret , I am afraid she is a total wreck .
Nothing is to be seen of her but her masts . The consul has taken seeps to recover as much of the wreck and cargo as possible . I regret further to inform you that there are no fewer than twenty-six ships ashore between Borkrum and the Weiser . The names ofthe sixteen passengers who were lost I cannot furnish you , or even where they belong . Those saved , including myself , are M . Archibald , first mate * . John Hurdman , second mate ; William Maiden , seaman ; G . Smith , seaman ; Robert Couch , seaman ; R . Briggs , engineer ; and W . Swift , second engineer . Those of the crew who perished were Nathan Turpin , steward ; James Leafe , teaman ; and Henry Heath , fireman . The spot where the steamer struck , the Memmet , is a dangerous shoal of a somewhat similar character to the formidable Goodwin . It is off the coast of East Friesland , sixty miles from the entrance of the Elbe , and adjacent to the small island of Suist , at the mouth ofthe eastern entrance of the river Emms .
Among other fatal shipwrecks that occurred at the same period , on the Dutch coast , were the following : —An English brig was seen to founder with all on board off Spiekeroog . A vessel called the Fameliens Vel , bound to Christiana , is also supposed to be lost near thesame spot . * Oh the shore near the Osse , a large vessel was on her beam-ends ; her name has not as yet been forwarded . Near Borkrum a brig , laden with railway iron , has been wrecked . At the mouth of tho river Jahde a large vessel , with white mast , was sunk in six fathoms and embedded in a red sand . A large ship with _mizen-masta and yards painted white , is reported to have been lost off
the Weiser . On the Norderdeich , the United Friends , Captain IIodey , from London , was totally lost . Near Spiekeroog , the Hesperus , a Dutch vessel , was wrecked—crow saved . Tho _Poi'tumen , from Stockholme , for Ostend , was lost during the storm , mate and a seaman drowned . The entire range of coast has been strewn with pieces of wreck , merchandise , ( fee , and some idea may lie formed of the awful character of the storm , from the circumstance of several vessels being actually borne by the tremendous sea into corn fields , whicli were inundated some 300 or 400 yards from the beach , where they will have to be broken up , their removal being impossible . Several thousand head of cattle were drowned . The loss of the Margaret steamer is reported to be considerable , but she is understood to be insured .
Extraordinary Swindmno.~At The Central C...
Extraordinary SwiNDMNo . ~ At the Central Criminal Court on Saturday last , Arthur Rowan Hamilton was placed at the bar on the charge of obtaining under false pretences , from Captain _JamesWood , a check of £ 500 , Jir . Ciarkson and Mr . Bodkin appeared for the prosecution ; Ah : Ballantiue for the prisoner . Mr . Clarkson stated the case to the . jury , and said the prisoner now standing before them was indicted for fhe offence com . monly called swindling , having obtained of the prosecutor , Captain James Wood , a large sum of money by false pretences .- The defendant called himself Arthur Rowan Hamilton . The prosecutor , Captain "Wood , was a person _, of considerable property , who had retired on half-pay from the Royal Regiment of Marines , and resided at Woolwich , lie was owner of a farm of fifty acres near
Iteigate _, and in March last , in consequence oi the farm being to let , the defendant was intoduced to him as beiug likely to be an eligible tenant , under tbe name of Captain Arthur Rowan Hamilton , of her Majesty ' s Sth regiment of Dragoon Guards . ' Captain Wood , suspecting nothing , received him very cordially , introduced him to lus family , and negociations went on for the occupation of the farm , A treaty was enteredinto between him and Captain "Wood , The defendant thought that the farm contained a quan . tity of excellent _brick-earth , ' and talked a great deal of what might be made by entering into an undertaking for that purpose j but , in order to do so , it was necessary that Captain Wood should advance a check for £ 500 . Captain Wood made no objection ; but , at the same time , in order to be certain of the identity of Captain Hamilton
he proceeded to the ofiRcesof Messrs . Cox and Greenwood , and , on making inquiries there , was told that that person was ofthe greatest respectability , and whose word might be entirely relied upon . In consequence ot this information lie felt no reluctance to grant the desire of the defendant , and the check for £ 500 was accordingly given , and an agreement for the lease of the farm draff n up _. The defendant then became very intimate with the famil j , stated that he had seen a great deal of service , and that he had been severely wounded at Cabul .. Affairs were In this state when a lady , whom it was his ( Mr . ClarUson ' s ) painful duty to mention to the jury , was introduced to the defendant at the house of Captain Wood . This lady the defendant followed to her father ' s residenca ia Scotland , where she had property to a considerable amount ,
He introduced himself there as Captain Arthur Koiran Hamilton , of the 5 th Dragoon Guards , dressed in the uniform , and , in fact , completely engaged the svmpathv of thelaaies , at least , in his favour . He stated that he had been employed three times especially to quell the Welsh _» ° u _^** 6 _? ad been under l 01 , d Keane itt India _- thathe had received a severe wound at Cabul , and had lam in the snow for three days by _theslde of his servants , who had met their death beside him . No suspicion was excited m the mind of any but tbecannie Scotchman , the father of the lady in question . It occurred to his mind that the Welsh riots and the disaster at t / abul had occurred at the same period . The defendant had also stated he was thirty years of age , and had been present at the
close of the battle of Waterloo . These suspicions brought on inquiries , in the course of which it appeared thatthe defendant was in reality no captain at all . That he sometimes went by the name of Captain Hamilton , ana sometimes as Dr . Ayton , and lived at So . 9 , Duchess-street , Portland-place ; and , iu fact , the two highly respectable persons near him , the real Captain Arthur Rowan Hamilton , of the 3 d Dragoon Guards , and Captain Archibald _HamUton , would prove that they derived very little satisfaction from the assumption oftheir name by the defendant . The witnesses called fully proved the truth of the charge , and thejury founds verdict of guilty . There was another indictment against the prisoner for a like offence , but it was not gone in ' - The learned Judge then sentenced the defendant to be
transported for the term of seven years . Sesterces . —The same day Bridget Smith , who bid previously been found guilty of attempting to _adminM _* poison , was sentenced to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour in the House of Correction for twelve calendar months . William Aggers found guilty of assaulting Frederick John Stokes , with intent to murder him , was sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour in the House of Correction for fifteen calendar months . Charlotte Mackie was sentenced to three months oftlie same punishment for a common assault . ™
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 8, 1845, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns4_08111845/page/6/
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