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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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DISEASE CAUSED BY THE CONSUMPTION OF CORRUPTED POTATOES . In { he above article Mr . Baixes 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 I 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 , we have striking evidence in a case published by Mr . Peddle in the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal , vol . xxxix ., p . 384 , et seq . The
particulars are worthy of detail . Three children of the same family , Clapperton by name , were attacked , the first with gangrene of the cheek , and the two last with anasarca . Excision of the affected parts , and careful subsequent treatment , sufficed to cure the one affected with gangrene , but the other two , in spite of remedies , perished . Mr . Peddie ^ unable to account for the circumstance , especially in the last case , was inclined to think that imperfect or impure nutrition had some share in it ; yet , says be , " 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 of the evil , as she knew for certain that the Clappertons had lately been subsisting almost entirely on such . I now renewed my efforts to ascertain the truth , and having directly charged the parents of the family with the use of this unwholesome diet , I obtained the following confession , apparently at much expense of feeling : — That for some time past the father had been out of employment , ia 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 , hut 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 , 1832 , and that they had perhaps only a single meal of another kind once in eight days ; that the potatoes had such a disagreeable taste as to be
loathed , notwithstanding all the modes of preparation which their ingenuity could devise for rendering them more palatable ; that in a very few days after using them , the whole family were seized withsevere wiping pains in the bowels , followed by diarrhcea of a green watery kind ; that these bad effects continued with short intervals during the whole time that the potatoes were used , but that the children had not exlerienced them so severely or so constantly as the parents , -which circumstances was accounted for by heir occasionally getting a crust of bread from some of the neighbours . " Mr . Peddie goes oh to say , " I may mention that the fatha- had a most unhealthy feeble appearance , and the mother looked even worse , had various ailments , and , among the rest , had an
abortion of a four months' pregnancy ; all of which were not improperly attributable to her late unwholesome mode of living . " lie further states , as the result of many inquiries amongst experienced farmers , that if cattle be fed \ rith potatoes , frosted , or otherwise damaged , they become subject to severe colic , diarrhoea , and dropsy , and that these things aie guarded against by allowing the animals a plentiful supply of fodder along with the potatoes ( loc . cit . 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 bec ause of their singular applicability at the present time . The potatoes which this season has afiorded , are not only in a great measure umutritiye , rat are also to some extent decidedly and directly
iniurious . The effects which the worst potatoes produce are closely allied to those mentioned by Mr . 3 eddie as resulting from the use of frosted potatoes , and to those which we quoted last week as the consequence of eating unsound grain . We learn that in several parts of Worcestershire and Warwickshire , where pigs have been largel y fed with these damaged potatoes , they have been seized with severe purging , have lost their flesh , in someinstances their tailsha « j become gangrenous and dropped off , and . not a few have aiea . Amongst such as have been killed 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
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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 nig ht the children were seizec with violent pains in the stomach and bowels , and cramp in the legs , shortly followed by profuse vomiting and purging of frothy matter looking like barm Before morning the father and mother were similarly affected , but with even greater seventy , foron the arrival of the medical attendant they were nearly
pulseless and speechless from the exhausting effects of pain and evacuation . They , were relieved . ** anodyne and antispasmodic treatment , together witn warm diluents , and the application of heatjo the abdomen and calves of legs . Prior to this evening the family had been in excellent health , had no warnings of any such attack , nor had eaten anything , save the potatoes , which could in anywise account for it . A stron" healthy man partook one day for dinner colt beef and potatoes . Of the latter he ate heartily , and though he observed them to be discoloured , he did not reject any portion , for he was very hungry , and their taste was not unpleasant to him . In about an hour afterhe 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 the legs , and afterwards by violent vomiting and purging . His dinner was ejected in an unchanged state , but accompanied withsomefrothy mucus and bile . Ja ealvine evacuations were frothy andbilious . The attacklasfcri some hours , with little decrease of seventy , and it was not until a week had elapsed that be waa quite recovered from hisdisorder . Prior to the occurrence of it he was in his accustomed good health , had lived withperfectregularity , as was his habit , andontne occasion referred to had eaten nothrag but beef , bread , and potatoes . The two former were good , and as the latter were not , there is every reason tor supposing they were the souroe ot the ailment . A womanin somewhat indigent circumstances , supped
, ; one night upon roasted potatoes , ot which she ate three tolerably large ones . They were hollow in the middle , and discoloured , but shecutnopotfionaway . Whilst preparing to go to bed , she was seizedwitn ssmptoms precisely like those of the preceding cases' j they continued with little intermission lor several hours , and rendered her , for days afterwards , extremely weak and emaciated . To these cases we could add many others of less severity , which have occurred in our own practice , and in that of many of our professional acquaintance . In particular , we may mention that , whilst talking over the subject the other day with an experienced and erudite , medical friend , we were informed by Mm , that the day previously he had suffered from extreme nervous
depression , faintness 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 stems have suffered deterioration and the tubers in consequence have imbibed any noxious material ? The idea is perfectly consistent with the notions of some judicious botanists , that decay has commenced in the stem , and afterwards been propagatedHo the root ; and also with the known fact , that , there are
certain portions of the potatoe plant which are . capable of producing physiological effects anaol&us to those of the more poisonous solanese . However this may be , certain we areoftwothings , viz ., that the and that all so conditioned are unfit for food . " Have we any remedy ? Mr . Herapath suggests that the injured tubes be carefully peeled , rasped ; - arid elutriated , so as to obtain the starchiri 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 in'the Isle of Portland the people prepare , in the same way , a kind of arrow-root from the arum maculalum ; 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 uselesB 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 , and 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 they are now bad , what will they be before the winter is over , or before a future crop shall be ready ! And what
consequences may we expect to follow their consumption ! Independently of the direct mischief which the worst of them will produce at once , we can assign na limits to the injury which will be done' ! by the eontinned use of such as are less corrupt , but still unhealthy . Scrofula , with all its concomitants , and cachexies in their direst forms , will be among the common results , nor are we able to say that it is not likely famine or pestilence will prevail . We are not fond of anticipating evil , but we cannot blind ourselves to the fearful prospects which we apprehend to be before us , and especially before our pauper brethren , who have lost one of their chief sources of sustenance . Our duty , however , is done—we have stated facts as we have found them—we have uttered the warning—the poor are ib jeopardy—and with the higher powers rests their rescue ,
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of time : it , of courfle . must beprepflred , for . me by cooking or baking in theordiaary way . "Thefminiifacture bfthe ' pulpand Btarch , on an extensive scale , in accordance with these suggestions , w 6 venture to consider worthy of your Excellency ' s attention . It is an operation not suited to thecircumstances ot 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 csnversion of the tubers may not be sufficient
to keep pace with the progressive injury which , it is to be feared , the potatoe crop is sustaining . We , therefore , recommend a mode by which we believe the process of decomposition may be retarded . In our preliminary report we mentioned to your Excellency the important influence exercised upon the disease by moisture and dryness . Our subsequent investigations have confirmed this opinion , and we believe , where means exist for a more complete drying of the tubers , such a method will prove the most efficacious plan for preserving the potatoe from further decay . This more perfect drying cannot , however , be effected in this climate by mere exposure to air : it requires artificial heat , applied in some form of kiln ; and , without entering into mechanical details , we may name some simple contrivances which seem well adapted to the purpose . "The corn 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 in many cases those kilns are at present fully occupied , we would represent that every limekiln may pe adapted to the purpose , without interfering with its ordinary operations , by erecting over it at a suitable height above its mouth a framework of hurdles upon which the potatoes may be spread in a thin layer , fresh potatoes being added as the others become dry and are removed . In localities where the previous means do not exist , or may not be on a sufficiently extensive scale , potatoes may be spread on a framework of hurdles supported on a few props of stone , two or three feet high ; one or more turf fires burning slowly under the hurdles would effect the same object . There need be no fear of the potatoes becoming slightly browned , as they are not injured thereby for 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 if vevy 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 opportunities arise for converting them into starch or meal , according to the degree in which they were affected by the disease . " It is gratifying to us to find that our own opinion as to the advantage of thoroughly drying the potatoe in the manner we have recommended , and by processes such as those above described , are confirmed by the experienced andhighly intelligent persons who have simultaneously directed their attention to the subject . " We shall not hesitate to bring under the notice of your Excellency our further conclusions , and we have the honour to be , your Excellency ' s obedient , and faithful servants , " Robert Kane .
" John Li . vDiiEr . " Lyon Playfair . " Pbocebdinos in DwBHif . —A public meeting of the citizens of Dublin was held on Friday , Oct . 31 st , at the Music-hall , in Abbey-street , the Lord Mayor presiding . The attendance was respectable and rather numerous . The Duke of Lemster , Lord Cloncurry , and Mr . O'Connell were present . The meeting terminated in the appointing of a deputation to wait on the Lord Lieutenant as the bearers of resolutions calling on his Excellency : — " To open the ports for the importation of food . , "To close the ports against the export of oats . " To establish 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 . "
Dubhn , Nov . 3 . —This afternoon at three o ' clock a mixed deputation from the corporation and committee appointed at the public meeting held on Friday last waited upon the Lord-Lieutenant by appointment . The deputation consisted of the Lord Mayor , theDukeof Leinster , Lord Gloncurry , 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 which had been previously submitted to the Lord-Lieutenant . His Excellency read his reply from a written paper , as follows : — 41 My Lord Mayor and Gentlemen , —Ib can scarcely be necessaay for me to assure you , thatthe state of the potatoe crop has for some time 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 ; but two reports havo already been received from them , which nave 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 there is reason to hope that , . though the evil exists to a very great extent in some localities , in others it lias 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 ,
, Mr . O'Connell , addressing his Excellency , said that , with reference to one of the resolutions passed by--the . committee—that which referred , to the . stoppage of distillation—he was afraid that there was a serious difficulty to be got over before its adoption , namely , the injury it would be to the trader whohad 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 .
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DREADFUL SHIPWRECKS . Further Particulars of the Wreck op the Hull and Hambukg Akchimedean Steamer Mar-( unET . —The subjoined particulars relating to the melancholy loss of the Hull and Hamburg propeller steam ship , the Margaret , during the late hurricane off the Dutch coast , have been furnished by the owners of the ill fated ship . ' - The Margaret , we are given to understand , was a iron built vessel , ' 25 O 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 J ¦ ¦ ¦
— | . ^^ — ' * ^ » " ^ * tmr ^^ ^^ ^^ AAAbV ^ J V ^ J V BUB m T ^ ^^ *^^ ^ J H M H ^^ £ ^ » ^ » ^ 1 a ^_ t T ^ M I l | f * 1 her size , a large proportion of canvas . On several ocsasionsshe made remarkably quick passages , even when the weather was so tempestuous as to preclude other vessels proceeding . During the time she was engaged trading between Hull and Hamburg , 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 , havinc on board lfi
twhsengers , chiefly Jews , and apparently in needy circumstances . We also had a heavy cargo , consisting principally of wheat , oats , wool , and other merchandise . On arriving above Cuxhaven , one pilot , as usual , was left in charge of the vessel , and we continued our course out of the Elbe to the south end of Heligoland at the general speed and then bore into the usual track for Hull , viz ., S . W ., and hoisted a trifling sail Before midnight , however , the wind sprung up from the westward , and ere many hours increased to a gale still we kept on , at the same time keeping the vessel as far northward as possible . During the lfth 18 th and 19 fch , the weather continued the same the boisterous state of
the sea causing the vessel to roll most fearfully In the hope , however , that the galeWuld abate , the track was still . kept , the vessel makiSt little way On the 20 th tne gale increSSoft tenfold ; the sails were partly blown awl ? and £ sea dashing over her with great force , threat ^ W Srr ^ a ftra ^ sl
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to every soul oh board , in consequence ot 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 , men , 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 tempestu * ous weather , the wind blowing still from the same quarter . Captain Rawlinson had just taken
soundings , when it was discovered that the steamer was off a place called Borkrum , eleven miles distant , and 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 , Ac , 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 the storm .
Unhappily , however , at three o clock in the afternoon , the cable of one of the 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 . We still remained in the cabin , being fearful to venture on deck incase of being swept off . There we remained until near nine o clock at night , when , finding that the ship was settling on the sand , and began to fill with water , I recommended taking to the rigging asthe only means of saving ourselves . The crew followed me , and although 1 begged the passengers to adopt the same steps , they did not attempt it , probably not being so well able to go aloft as the seamen . The ; remained on deck , and I regret to state that during the night the entire sixteen perished : some nn dmilii ; .
heinocarried away by the surf that swept the vessel , and others from sheer exhaustion falling overboard . We lashed ourselves to the rigging , where we remained until nine o ' clock the following morning , the 22 d , having endured the most intense suffering from a severe frost and the sea making a breach over . us . Fortunately the vessel was 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 there 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 , is
whose name Turpin , refused to go with us , saying he though the could gain the shore by swimming , and after we had left he jumped overboard , but failed in the attempt and was drowned , we being too far off to save him . We had been six hours on the raft , when Providence pleased to float us upon the sand , opposite the island of Juist , on which we landed . Two poor fellows died from the privation they had endured . Shortly after we had reached the sand , and ere much lime had elapsed , we were observed by a Dutch vessel , 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 of Norden near the entrance of the river Emni . Our eonditioa was most pitiable , but thanks to the English Consul , everything was done to soothe our sufferings . As regards the Margaret , I am afraid she is a total wreck . Nothing is to be seen of her but her masts . The
consul lias 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 of the 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 , Beaman ; R . Briggs , engineer ; and W . Swift , second engineer . Those of the crew who perished we ' re Nathan Turpin , steward ; James Leafe , seaman ; and Henry Heath , fireman . The spot where the steamer struck , the Memraet , 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 Snist , at the mouth of the eastern entrance of the river Emms .
Among other fatal shipwrecks that occurred afc 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 Famelicna Ye ] , bound to Christiana , is also supposed to be lost near the same spot . On the shore near the Osse , a large vessel was on her beam-ends ; her name has not as yet been forwarded . Near Borkrum a brig , laden with railway iron , has been wrecked . At the mouth of the river Jahde a large vessel , with white mast , was sunk in six fathoms and embedded in a red sand . A large ship with mizen-masts and yards painted white , is reported to have been lost off
the Weiser . On the Norderdeich , the United Friends , Captain Hodey , from London , was totally lost . Near Spiekeroog , the Hesperus , a Dutch vessel , was wrecked—crew saved . The Portumen , 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 , &c , and some idea may be formed of the awful character of the storm , from the circumstance of several vessels being actually borce by the tremendous sea into corn fields , which were inundated some 300 or 400 yards from the beach , where they will have to be broken up , their removal being ' impossible . Several thousand head of cattle were drowned . The loss of the Margaret steamer is reported to be considerable , but she is understood to be insured .
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Extraordinary Swindling At the Central Criminal Court on Saturday last , Arthur Rowan Hamilton wa 6 placed at the bar on tha charge of obtaining under false pretences , from Captain James Wood , a check of JE 500 . Mr . Ciarlcson and Mr . Bodkin appeared for the prosecu . tion ; Mr . Ballnntine for the prisoner . Mr . Clarlcson stated the case to the jury , and said the prisoner now standing before them was . indicted for the offence com . monly called swindling , having obtained of the prooecutor , Captain James Wood , a large sum of money by false pretences . The defendant called himself Arthur Uowan Hamilton . The prosecutor , Captain Wood , was a person of considerable property , who had retired on Iialf-paj from the Royal Regiment of Marines , and resided at Woolwich , Heivas » irncrof a farm of fifty acres near
Reigate , and in March last , in consequence of tlio form being to let , the defendant was intoduced to him as being likely to be an eligible tenant , under the name of Captain Arthur Uowan Hamilton , of her Majesty ' s-ath regiment of Dragoon Guards , Captain'Wood , suspecting nothing , received him very cordially , introduced him to his family , and negoeiations went onfor the occupation of thofarm , A treaty was entered into between him and Captaia Wood , The defendant thought that the farm contained a quantity of excellent brick-earth , and talked a great deal of what might be made by entering into an undertaking for that purpose ; hut , in order to do so , it was necessary that Captain Wood should advance a check for £ 500 , Captain Wood made no objection j but , at the same time , in order to be certain of the identity of Captain Hamilton
he proceeded to the offices of Messrs . Cox and Greenwood , and , on making inquiries there , was told that that person was of the greatest respectability , arid whose word might be entirely relied upon . In consequence ot this itiformation he felt no reluctance to grant the desire of the defendant , and the check for £ 600 was accordingly given , and an agreement for the lease of th e farm drawn up . The defendant then became very intimate with the family , 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 . Clarksoa ' s ) painful duty to mention to the jury , was introduced to the defendant at the house of Captain Wood . This lady the defendant followed to her father ' s residence in . Scotland , where she had property to a considerable amount .
He introduced himself Ihere as Captain Arthur Rowan Hamilton , of the \ fk Dragoon Guards , dressed in the uni . form , and , in fact , completely engaged the sympathy of theladies , at leastj . in his favour . . He stated that ho had been employed three times especially to quell the Welsh riots . That he had been under Lord Keane in Indiathat he had received a severe wound at Cabul , and had lam in the snow for three days by theside of his servants , whohaa met their deathbeside him . Nosuspieibn was excited in the mind of any but thecannie Scotchman , the father of the lady in auestion . It occurred to his mmd that the Welsh riots and the disaster ' at Cabul 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 thatine defendant Wa 5 in reality no captain at Hamilton , and sometimes as Dr . Ayton , and lived at No . 0 , Duchess-street , Portland-place ; and , in fact , the two h . ghly respectable persons near him , the real Captain Arthur Rowan Hamilton , of the 3 d Dragoon Guards and Captain Archibald Hamilton , would pme tSTev d 7 nved very little satisfaction from the assumption of their name by the defendant . The witnesses called fully proved the truth of the charge , and the jury found aver , mot of guilty . There was another indictment against the prisoner for a like offence , but it was not gone into ; ihe learned Judge then sentenced the defendant to be transported for the term of seven years . . •
SBNTENCES . —The same day Bridget Smith , who . had previously been found guilty of attempting to administer poison , was sentenced to be imprisoned and kept to hard 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 Houso of Correction for fifteen calendar months . Char , lotte Mackie was sentenced to three months of the same punishment for a common assault . ^
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• These potatoes , it may be necessary to explain , lie on the surface of the ground , and are exposed to the influence of the sun during the day , and to frost during the night . Some conceive that frost effects a chemical change in the constituents of the potatoe root , by converting its mucilage into sugar , from which acetic acid is speedily formed , and putrefaction induced . Others , again consider that the watery part of the potatoe is converted into ice , which , occupying a larger space , separates the solid parts farther from eoch other , and produces , in consequence , a partial mechanical disorganisation of structure .
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TOE POTATOE FAMINE . 'SiJsSS&BXtt SsfeffiS S ^ 5 H ££ 5 » J « d . » deeply fectsthe Stira of the labouring classes , anditas also so re-™» rfcahle a factin tbeiistory of cultivation and of ve-^ SSSamsure thatitwillbethoTightweU EStSkS ^ considera tion of the members of this « nrletr both on account of its connection with the rratnrailistay of cultivated plants , and . on account if its influence on agricultural wealth , and on the subsistence of the labouring classes . Now that the Botatoehas become a principal portion of the food of ? Tip Beonle 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 DMtter ° f national and vital imtLfinne to ascertain the causes of every disease which interferes with its productiveness , and to suggest every possible means both of checking the prefent evil and of preventing its recurrence in future seas * n& 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 tind of crop is grown , and , amongst others , from twenty to thirty acres of potatoes yearly , the observations which"I am about to lay before the society
may " be regarded as the result of several years' experience in the growing of this valuable root . Daring Sat time we Lave been singularly fortunate , on the property in which 1 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 ioth at home and , abroad . It is in the hope of Tendering the cultivation of the root more generally successful , and , at the same time , of averting and mitigating some of the worst evils of the present general failure of the crop , that I take the liberty of laying the following observations before the members of the society . __ _ _ " ,. ..
The present disease of the potatoe first mAdo its appearance in Belgium . It showed itself there in the beginning of August , and was , at first , supposed to ie a merely local malady . Its early appearance in that country probably arose from the richness of flemish cultivation . Owing to that cause the green crops of Belgium are generally more advanced than ihose of Normandy and iheaorthern departments of Trance , and still more so than those of Great Britain or Ireland . In the spring of lastyear I saw the rape plant from two to three feet high between Brussels and Antwerp , inEaster week , having justbefore seen ihe same crop scarcely a foot high in French Flanders andSonnandy . The rich manuring of the Flemish -farmers is the cause of this rapid growth , and from
that cause the potatoe crop reached the critical joint at which the disease shows itself earlier in Belgium than anywhere else . In that country it is stated , in a return just published , that not less than two-thirds of tie crops of the early Mnds of potatoes , and not less than five-sixths of late , have been destroyed , so that the crop of the present year in Belgium instead of yielding 1 , 700 , 000 tons , as it did last jear , will not yield more than 340 , 000 tons : the destruction of this kind of food , in Belgium alone , has been estimated atnot less than 1 , 360 , 000 tons . After Belgium , the disease nest began to show itself in Holland , with scarcely less violence , and there the destruction was estimated , about a month
since , at about one-half the crop of upwards of thirteen millions of razieres . The disease also appeared about the same time in the north of France , and it has since spread throngh 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 Kent , before it made any progress northwards . As the potatoe crops approached maturity it has continued to advance through the midland to the aorihern counties , until it has reached the banks of ihe Clyde . . ..
Sanguine hopes were long entertained that Ireland trould have escaped the ray ages of & disease so dreadfully dangerous to a potaioe-fed population , but nniappily they have not been realised . As the pntatoe crops began to 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 very remarkable is that a disease of an equally fatal character has preraiJed this season on £ he oilier side of the Atlantic , and lias destroyed ihe 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 to judge whether it is the same as that which has done so much injury in Europe . The season there has been unusually dry and hot ; in those respects a complete contrast to ours ; and I have been informed by a very intelligent farmer who resided and cultivated land near the city of New York , for some years , that hot seasons are generally fetal to the potatoe crops in that part of America . In tlie excessively hot summer of 1819 my informant lost several 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 xotted in the ground all that the heat had net withered .
The first and most urgent question arising out of flie alarming failure is , how the present crop , including that part of it which is injured as well as that which is sound , can be turned to the greatest advantage . On this part of ihe subject , which involves the whole question of how the peasantry of Ireland are to be saved from starvation and disease , as well as that of how healthy seed is to be procured for nest 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 more than usual care . The three great points to be looked to in storing them are these : —First , to keep
them dry ; second , to keep them cool ; and , . third , 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 placed should be extremely shallow , if any holes are dug ; but it is still better to store them on the surface of the ground . The bottoms of the heap 3 should not ie more than threefeet or threefeet and a half wide . On these tlie potatoes should be placed in such quantities that there will not be more than from eight lundred weight to half a ton in a rnnnin" 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 tiicm with a nifficim supply of fresh air , -which is the oslt way
io pbetesi thqb heahsg , 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 ^ nds ; and , to render the Tentilation 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 tw o yards from each other , and chimnies of tiles , risingfrom . 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 he kept too cool in the day ,. though care should be taken to stop the openings with straw whenever the nights are clear ,
and threaten to be frosty . By adopting these precautions , we have succeeded in saving our potatoes from rotting ever since wa adopted them , and also in checking the disposition to vegetate too soon , which I Euspect 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 Imshwood under the potatoes , or , in fact , any other contrivance by which such a supply of air can be farnished as will prevent the heating of the mass , will answer . * 3 h a season like this , when the potatoe is full of moisture , and when the crop has ripened prematurely from the frost , I feel confident that nothing lrat the utmost care in supplying the ' potatoe heaps
• with abundance of fresh air , either by this or some other method , w ill preserve ihe potatoes long enough either to serve as wholesome food through the winter months , or as healthy seedinthe spring of next year . "We see that hay , if put together before it is perfectly dry , heats , and even bursts into flames ; and potatoes , ¦ which are stored frith , ten times as much moisture in lliem , must heat and rot from ihe same cause , especially in seasons when they are so full of sap as they are this , if they are closed tip from the air He potatoes thus stored should be opened from time to time in order that they may be examined . jf they remain sound , they may of course be used in the usual manner , but wherever they are unfortunately found to be deceased , not a day should be lost in turning them into flour or starch , which is verv
wholesome , and may easily be made a palatable article of food , or in preparing them for food in some other way . The method of converting potatoes into flour or starch , on a large scale , is well known , as the art is practised in many parts of the country , but it is not generally-known how easily and cheaply it may be I « me by any cottager . The two samples of potatoe I ¥£ ?* ' ™* i : I i « w produce were both manufactured I SfaSJ ^? 11 ^ Bart ° n Grange , from diseased r lecSrioS ^ S brf S s ^ P ^ i » s made from ^ a ^^ ed pa ^ havmg beenfirst toeswbidiiaieiwlv " 11516 wa smade frompota-- tfcepigs . * - - ™* tkwwn away as too bad even for I ¦ ** flSurj-mlae ^ firl ^^ . ^ P ^ oi pota-Jhich had also been twL ? » &om Potatoes * be eatenl hy anTanfe ^^ f * °° «* . rthas been lost * & ^ S ^ S ^
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¦ gS 5 S ^ = — The brighter of the two samples which 1 now produce , and which is eqiial in colour to « ood wheaten flour , weighs three quarters of a pound . It was made from potatoes , of the kind called Cork Reds . Ihe potatoes from which it was made weighed four pounds and a half before they were washed , with the decayed parts npon them , and about a pound less when they had been cleaned . The darker sample was made from potatoes which nothing would have eaten , and though I do not positively assert that it is good food , yet I believe it to be such , and it would certainly make excellent starch . As such it might be sold , and thus the means of buying food be extracted from potatoes , which , in their present state , could neither be eaten by manor beast , nor
sold at any price . The only implements used in making these two samples of potatoe flour , were , a rough iron grater , to rasp the potatoes , a coarse towel , to strain the liquid and pulp , and a common tub to receive the liquid . After all the pulp had been well washed and removed , the flour sank at the bottom of the 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 . T The above is the only method which I am acquainted with , by which the decayed part of potatoes ran be made of any value ; but potatoe starch made even from the sound parts of partially decayed potatoes ( snch as the first sample which I now produce ) mav h « used in makins other potatoes into hiscuits ,
according to the following method , described by the French physician ParmentiejM— .. 1 . 1 . 1 . " Mix a little yeast or leven , diluted with hot water , with one pound of the pulp of boiled potatoes , and as much of the siahch 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 ( the 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 be set in a warm place , that it may cool gradually , and be deprived of its moisture ; and it should be kept in as dry a place as possible 'lhis potatoe-biscuit , when well prepared , has all the qualities of common biscuit . " There is a third method of preparing potatoes which is generally adopted in South America and Mexico , and which is recommended for adoption in . Europe , by Baron Humboldt , in his Essay on New Spain . lie says : — " The Mexicans , like the Peruvians , can pres ' erve potatoes for whole years by exposing them to the frost and drying them in the sun . The root , when hardened and deprived of its water , is called chuno , from a word of the Quichua language . It would be undoubtedly very useful to imitate this preparation in Europe , where a commencement of germination frequently destroys the winter ' s provisions . "
This method is more clearly described in the following passage , which I translate from a communication recently addressed to the Brussels paper L'lndepaidmce , by Don "Vicentd Pazzos , formerly Consul-General of Bolivia , in Belgium : — " The potatoes of Peru , which form the ordinary food of the people , are of many kinds , and differ from each ether in colour , form , and taste . All are capable of being prepared and preserved . The prepared potatoe takes in Peru ihe name of chuno . The method of preparing this chuno , which is unknown in Europe is very easy . Large p its ( or holes ) are dug and filled with water , in which the potatoes are placed until they have lost the coarser part of their
Bbre . In this state they begin to swell . They are then taken out of the pits , and exposed to the open air . This operation is performed in the winter months . The action of the air and the light purify the potatoe , which becomes a white substance , almost purely fecular , very nourishing , and of a most agreeable taste . " The above would probably be an effectual method of preserving the sound part of the injured potatoes , as well as perfectly sound ones . As the experiment is easy , and the result may be very important , I shall try it immediately , and shall state the result at the next meeting of the society . It would be well if others would do so likewise , taking care not to try it on too large scale tw laftgv auaic
a . u a ( To be concluded tuxt iveekj
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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 awful sufferings tobeanticipatedfromageneral failure of the potatoe crop , we give a translation of the document , in the none that it may alleviate in part the impending calamity . " The potatoe being more or less diseased in many parts , it has been suggested to raise the 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 , tliis plan seemed little adapted for agricultural purposes . "But a fact has been established deserving the best consideration . Mr . Zander , gardener , to Count D'Amim , at Boitzenburgh , well known atthe ' 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 the tubercle ; and the 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 encumber seed , and preserved from moisture . "About the end of March , or the beginning of April , this seed is sown in a hot-bed , andtreatedlike early vegetables . In a warm protected situation no frame is necessary ; but the plant being very tender , it must be carefullv covered at night .
" In May the plants are removed io a light soil , arid put at the distance . usual in [ p lanting potatoes . On the 11 th of April last Mr . Zander sowed in a hotbed seed of early Saxon potatoes , treated as above ; and on the 26 th of May the plants were transplanted . It is necessary to observe that Boitzenburg is a fortnight behind Berlin in vegetation ( a month behind Ireland . The plants yielded from eneto 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 , equalto what is obtained from root seed . Mr . Zander having instituted these exDeriments for thelast five years , in
the spring of this year he gave some of the seed to other members of Count D'Arnira'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 has been attacked by the disease , that obtained from seed has entirely escaped . " This result ; therefore , deserveB of a , surety to be quickly and generally promulgated , in order that , wherever potatoe-berries are still untouched by frost , they may be carefully collected for next year ' s seed . " A bed of about half & square rod yield plants for two-thirds of an acre . "
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THE POTATOE CROP IN SWEEDEN . Siockholme , Oct . 2 A . — Deplorable accounts of the results of the harvest are received here . The province of Upland , Westmanland , part of Sodermanland , 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 , the price of barley and potatoes has risen . It is extion to export potatoes . 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 .
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LORD HARDWICKE ON THE POTATOE DISEASE . [ From the Cambridge Chronicle . ] The Lord-Lieutenant has thought it his duty io issue an address to the labourers of the county and isle upon the subject of the potatoe disease .
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TO THE LABOURERS O ? OiAffiBIDOBSHIM AND IHB . ISLB , 6 B BUT . Fellow Countrymen , —A sense of duty inducesme to address you on the subject of the potatoe . It is not necessary on this occasion to' state the nature or cause of the decay of that most important aT wish to induce you to look forward-to the conseauence of neglecting the endeavour to atop the progress of the evil . If you do neglect to do so , all will From all I can learn moisture is the food on which the decav increases , and dryness the medicine to be
used for the cure . . Therefore , do not pit the potatoes in the usual wav * but ; after most carefully picking them , and « enarating the bad from the good , place the good under a roof ( if you have space ) , placed in layers , and not more than four potatoes deep , so that they may keep effectually dry . Where you have not house-room , expose them to the sun and air during dry weather on the surface of the ground , and then pile them in small conical heaps on the surface , thatching them over with straw , and cutting a deep trench round about them , with a good drain from the trench to carry off the
wfltcr * 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 farther 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 , Windsor Castle , Oct . 28 , 1845 . Habdwicke .
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THE POTATOE FAILURE IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND . [ From the Morning Chronicle , } A statement which appeared last week in some London papers , I am told it was in the Morning Chronicle , but I did not see it , and which is reprinted in the Salisbury Journal and other local papers of Saturday last , has caused much surprise in this part of Hampshire . The statement was to the efleiet that no potatoe disease prevails in the south of England , save in a very mild and limited form , in one or two localities , and not in Hampshire . The " writer professes to take the country 30 miles round Andover , and quotes the moderate market prices of potatoes in Salisbury , Southampton , Romsey , Winchester ,
Basingatoke , and other markets , as proofs that potatoes are neither diseased nor scarce , nor likely to be scarce . Now the low prices in these markets are attributable to the notorious fact , that the potatoes are diseased , ' and are every day getting woree . At this season of . the year large quantities are always thrown upon the market by the cultivators of small holdings in the ( New Forest , and the country surrounding it . Also the holders of allotments and large cottage gardens send potatoes to market at this time , to raise a little money to pay their yearly rent now . due , which circumstance , together-with , the fact of speculators and regular buyers , knowing that the potatoes are diseased , and dangerous to put in store to be kept for
any length of time , are sufticient to account tor prices remaining low , even in the face of scarcity . For instance , nearWarminster , wherelarge fields arepianted 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 workpeople who fork out and gather up the tubers , has this year opened out , instead of the tuberous treasure expected , lines of decomposing rottenness . A gentleman not given to exaggeration , and whose word is not to be doubted fora moment , has assured me that on- one hundred acres of his property planted with potatoes in the Wai-minster district , the sound tubers are not more than one to each plant .
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THE POTATOE FAMINE IN IRELAND . Second Repobi of the Govsrnmemi Commis '
S 1 OSERS . " To Ms Excellent ]/ Baron Heytesbury , iord-Lieuttnant ¦ of Ireland , &c . "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 which this mode of presenting our results to your Excellency necessarily assumes ; but the exigencies of the case are such that we consider it our highest duty to bring at once under the notice , of her Majesty ' s Government such principles or modes of practice as , upon due consideration , we feel authorzed to recommend .
"We have been engaged in the investigation of various plans for preserving diseased potatoes , as proposed b y other persons , or suggested by ourselves , and we nave been collecting precise information as te the experience of others in their endeavours to arrest the progress of the disease . From all results that weliave obtained , 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 , in which , by some , acids areto be employed ; in others , alkaline liquors ; and , in a third class , gases —such as chlorine . These processes we dismiss from further consideration , —as , even did they , in the laboratory , answer the intended purpose , they are totally inapplicable to the circumstances of the produce of an entire country , and to a population such as that for whose welfare your Excellency is so deeply
anxious . Other methods , apparently more practical , consist in the treatment of the potatoes with chloride of lime ( bleaching powder ) and Bait , 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 , authonise us at once to recommend the rejection of these materials . We have found the decomposition of the potatoe to be decidedly accelerated by their application . With respect to lime , the results of our own experiments 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 preudice to health .
" When the disease is more advanced , so as . to have invaded a large part of ihe potatoe , and when the tubers have acquired a disagreeable smell , their influence on the system is more questionable . We have put in operation a series of experiments , in order to determine this point ; and will , in due time , report the result to your Excellency . As , however , the potatoo , 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 , having strongly attracted public attention , and conflicting , and , in many cases , inaccurate
opinions having been entertained on this subject , we consider it of paramount importance at once to direct your Excellency ' s attention to the actual state of knowledge regarding this material . It is recognised 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 slnn and fibrous matter , 81 b . ; and of starch , lClb . ; whilst of gluten , ilie most nutritious of vegetable matters , and which predominates in corn , there is not more than 21 b . in the above onantitv . 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 , starch extracted from the potatoe cannot be viewed as a substitute for the potatoe itself ; and we consider it of great importance , that whilst the 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 upon any store of it alone . ... h to stat
" Withthis preliminary caution , we ave e to your Excellency , that probably the best use to which diseased potatoes may be applied is the extraction of starch . In a commercial point of view , the starch 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 m those which are free from disease . The extraction is simple , and consists in processes which we need not here describe , as they are given in the current publications ot the day , and indeed are already practised in most parts of the country . . " Your Excellency is aware that we are directing our attention to the manner in which starch can be advantageously enimoved . It can be worked off ,
and with utility , as food , when mixed with proportions 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 of thestarch 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 , be applied with confidence to the nourishment of animals . Further , if the dried starch , extracted from the potatoe , be mixed up with the dry residual pulp , a material will be produced [ really representing the potatoe , equivalent to it as food , and , if kept dry , capable of being preserved for a considerable * length
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THE VQBTMBN STAR . V « m S " ^
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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/vm2-ncseproduct1340/page/6/
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