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PRrtBABILITT OF A FAMINE THROUGHPE0BABIL...
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THE POTATO FAILURE.—ALARMING ACCOUNTS FR...
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THE POTATO CROP. The following is a repo...
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THE POTATOE DI3TEMPER, (From the Corresp...
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THE CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND. ...
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Annness of tue Hlvckley FnAMKWoiiK-uwiii...
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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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S' It Be Of Advantage To Point This Clea...
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Prrtbabilitt Of A Famine Throughpe0babil...
_PRrtBABILITT OF A FAMINE THROUGHPE 0 BABILU OUT _EUROPfi . _nr—vf « _u * from tbe GaitUed ? Augsburg the _foiloS _^ _SeW of 1485 in Europe _=-rjns COW CROPS OP _EUfiOPB . _, " _AeeonKng to the custom we have adopted , we ¦ hall divide onr account of the results of the last ™ _n > into two parts—one referring to the east , and the other to the west of Europe . For several yeara past the east has threatened us with sterility ; it first - of 2 l began in Russia , spread over Poland and Prussia , and appeared even this year likely to diffuse Itself in the east of Germany . Experience has
generally proved that in the boreal latitude the rainy years are more sterile than the dry ones . This fact has again been confirmed during the last years . It was humidity that diminished the crops a few years ago in Russia , and which produced the like effect in Poland , Galicia , and Upper Silesia in the course of last year . In Germany the humidity bas not produced any unfavourable consequences , but in certain countries *; there are others , onthe contrary , which iavo sa & sed for -want of Tain . The results of the crops are , in the mean time , far from being satisfactory , _and , from the calculations which have been made , will not suffice the public consumption .
___ life far from our intention to represent the sitEaticm of things in more dreary colours than belongs tothem ; but we do not wish , and we ought not , to exaggerate the advantages of it , desirous as we are of attaining onr present object , which is to furnish an Exact appreciation of actual circumstances . We shall separately name the different countries , and indicate the supplies they stand in need or can -dispose of . Russia will have sufficient corn for the whole empire , without purchasing any foreign corn . Its Governments are in a position toassistmutually each other , but it is veiy doubtful whether tbey can send
much corn abroad . Thecrops of Poland are not sufficient fer its general consumption , and , unless it has been previously supplied , will suffer from a , scarcity , or be obliged to receive corn from abroad . But whom can one have recourse to when one ' s neighbours have only had themselves but middling crops , and have not wherewith to supply the deficiency ? Money also is scarce in Poland , and important sums cannot be sent abroad to purchase corn . The kingdom of Prussia has greatly suffered last year and this from inundations , which have ravaged precisely its most fertile countries ; and want , which is generally felt there , is on the point of transforming itself into actual feminc . The news from Pomerania agrees in stating that the results of ths Jast crops are very mediocre .
In the grand Duchy of Posen only a middling crop has been obtained , and anterior provisions can alone prevent a scarcity . Ine author does not remember having heard such numerous and general complaints , unless it be iu the years 1804 and 1817 . God grant that the unfortunate events of that epoch be not again reproduced 1 There are in this province whole countries where the usual corn sellers will be obliged themselves to make purchases the next spring . The situation of Galicia is still worse . The price of rye rose CO per cent , immediately after the crops : it is still on the rise .
In Hungary , which is usually so productive , the Government has been obliged to lay in large stores of corn to prevent a famine . Thc hope entertained of haying good crops has been still more cruelly disappointed than in Silesia . In Austria , Moravia , and Bohemia , the results of this year ' s -crops are below those of the average ones , and must scarcely suffice for the general consumption . If we consider the weet of Germany , we find ; first of all , that the crops in Saxony have not precisely . failed , although they are very far from being abundant . The same may be said of the provinces of Brandenburg and of Magdeburg . Bavaria , like other countries , has suffered greatly this year from kail-storms and water-spouts ; the results of the crops have in consequence been diminished , as likewise bygthe state of the atmosphere , which has shewn itself but little favourable to the cultivation of com ,
_Wurtemburg , the country of Baden , Westphalia , and the Rhenish provkces , have been better treated ; but the diseaso which has ravaged the potato crop will be severely felt . Nevertheless the potatoe-crop ha 5 been generally good throughout _Yfeatera Germany ; it will supply many deficiences in the crops of places , although they are not so much grown as in other parts of Germany . Belgium and Holland have had but bad crops ; And ihe news from France sufficiently proves that this year has not been a productive one . Spain occupies but an inferior rank among corngrowing countries ; still reports from this country do not mention that the crops have been deficient . England , where the states of the European
continent generally find a market for their surplus corn , appears to-day to be re-assured on the wants of its internal consumption , or at least the alarming news -which arrived from that country has been succeeded by much more favourable intelligence . Those who count upon corn supplies from the Baltic and provincesof the North Sea will be greatly deceived ; ihe prices of these productions will first of all be very high , and inthe second place the quantities that can be supplied very Email . A great quantity of -wheat has this year been struck by blight , and this disease , * : which has spread throughout Germany , Poland , and Hungary , has deteriorated the quality of the corn as well as diminished the quantity . Further , it cannot now be accurately known whether at !
a later period England will not be reduced ta supply itself from abroad , for it is well known that it is only in case of an abundant crop that enough corn can be grown for the country . In the contrary case she will look to supplies from America , or fr o m the countries bordering on the Black Sea . In Scandinavia , that is te say , Denmark , Norw ay , and Sweden , the crops have not been satisfactory . In a few words , then , it may be said that for many years past there has nob been so unfavourable a year as the present one ; and if it be added that last year only furnished but indifferent crops in comparison with the preceding ones , this circumstance ought to give rise to measures being taken to prevent the danger which threatens us . "
The Potato Failure.—Alarming Accounts Fr...
THE POTATO FAILURE . —ALARMING _ACCOUNTS FROM IRELAND . She Dublin correspondent , ofthe Times , writing -under the date Oct . 22 nd , says : — The reports to-day are very conflicting-almost all _adfflitting considerable injury ; hut several describing the disease as mnch les 6 destructive than others . Under these . circumstances I shall place all the accounts , such as they xse , before yon , observing that the Statements made by the provincial journals are much less
unfavourable than those proceeding from private individuals . Meantime tbe scientific persons employed by the Govern ment are prosecuting their inquiries , in co-operation with the Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland , and they expect to have their report in the bands of Sir Bobert Feel within a fortnight . The following communications from fhe county of Galway are written by a clergyman of the established church , who described what he has actually witnessed , and who is , I am quite sure , incapable of any wilful exeggeration , and not likely tobe influenced by any undue alarm : —
"Tuam , _Satdbdai Evesiko . —I write a hurried . line to tell you that fhe potato rot has appeared everywhere in this district . I speak of a circuit of ten miles , which I have my self examined ; as far as I can learn , it has appeared since my leaving home a few days ago—it presents the same character as in England . I have heard of one field in this neighbourhood , . of five acres , being wholly lost , but from what I have seen myself , I fancy this to he exaggeration , though it really is hard to doubt anything one hears in this respect , ns the ewl seems so insidious and so rapid . In the fields I examined there was not a potatoe in a hundred—I might even , say a thousand—ratten , aU the laud was yery inferior iii i quality , and manured with black nm 4 or hog _Stsf _* 8 nd ££ y . rotaioeS _ZfQWn in this mould have , I have heard , as yet escaped . On Monday and Tuesday last , it appeared extensively in the King ' s County ; and now that it
has beyond question , and , I confess , contrary to my expectation , crossed the Shannon , and entered Conna-aght , at such a distance too from the Shannon as we are here , I apprehend the very worst consequences . _3 Jy potatoes , cops , were dug and housed nearly three weeks ago . Ihey were tlcn carefuUy examined , but presented no appearance of the rot . Yesterday , in those served to table , I saw one fermented with the disease—whatever it _jaay be , auimalcuhe , or , as I rather incline , fungi—to the very heart . There ought to he an immediate examination made , chemically , ent 9 mo _! ogically , and hotanically into this n * vster 1 ou *< infliction . Could the cause be ascertained with due certainty , i T _^ medy or preventive might be devised . The _baffling minuteness of tbe seed nay , of the capsule that contain the seed , in the cryptogamia classes—will , I fear , in the present state of botanical science , and of mechanical _jiower , as applied to _^ . scarcely possible /'
" Tdah , _Moj-bat _Even-ixc—AH my mquiries , since I ¦ wrote on Saturday , are not merely confirmatory of what I then wrote , but open np a prospect even more disheartening . The Tot is not only more extensive than I then had reason to believe—that is , a larger portion of the crop is already tainted—bnt it is also injured in a greater degree than I thought . The specimen I examined on Saturday , and the accounts I then received , left with me the impression that the crop was not extensively injured , nor to a very injurious degree ; hut , I deeply regret to say , that a large portion is already diseased to a degree unfit for use , either by man or pig .
What makes this the more alarming is , the gigantic abides frith wbich the pestilence has overrun the district t _^ at , _onJSonday last , one week ago , was apparently free from it . If it proceeds as it has began , there wUl not be a sound potatoe in the district in a fortnight . Of those * e at * ° my own _table—cupu dug out and housed three _W _/ S 0—l _foarnl ohlj one diseased on Saturday . w _* aay , _onedaylater _. there was scarcely onefreefrom Or » JH _^ ! " lesser _degree . Ihe greater part , T _^ _T _™! _T _^ . - _* _^ Part Of the iixTZnrT _^ The _J _^^ lfcmU you men-4 rf tl ° V T _» e , toa _W " . I beUeve , the _paiasitg cus of tbe earth nut . I _hdie-ve , _^ 4 _^ _£ " ?
The Potato Failure.—Alarming Accounts Fr...
abound more or less in acids . If the present rot he caused by fungi , any alkali , lime , or even eartb , might be found to neutralise its vegetative powers , and check the propagation of the plague , which if fungi we know can , from the seed , become in twelve hours a perfect plant , and may in an inconceivably shorter time , 1 have not yet heard of any potatoes grown in bog soil being injured . Perhaps the antiseptic qualities of peat may preserve them , or their turn may not nave come yet . All , in fact , is conjecture ; and clever , indeed , must the botanist be who can do more thau conjecture in the present state of botanical science , of the more cryptogamic portion ofthe class cryptogamia . " The Dublin Evening Post contains the following remarkable statement from a correspondent in the county of Meath : —
Kins , Sundat Night , Oct 19 . —I have been through the country again on Saturday and this morning . You know I am no croaker : in fact , I always look to the hippy side of the picture ; amd perhaps this is the reason why , after all , I am ahout reporting to you that it is all over with the potatoe crop . Strange , yeu will _saj , that on a subject on which so many are looking melancholy , that my burly , happy-minded friend would or could say this . The announcement of the loss of so much human food as the potatoe crop is the pleasing side of the picture . It is even so . The crop is gone , and it is pleasing news . I see in it only the wise deoree of an all-good and bountiful _Providence . Man persecuting his fellow-man , not only in Ireland , but over the great portion of civilised Europe , and a part of America , has driven his brother
man—the vastmultitude ofhis fellow-beings to the last refuge for the support of nature—the potatoe the vile lumper , that even the swine , three years ago , would turn up his snout at ; and I see the Omnipotent God destroy the soul-degrading root , and thus force man back on bet . ter and more fitting food . I do notimagine there will be a potatoe to he used in this country on'the 1 st of April . God is great— -He is good—He is bountiful . He has sent an abundant oat harvest—following in the march of science , which has rendered useless the Supporting such a number of horses , that this better food for man be for his use , and not for the dumb brute ; and He has , by a plague , destroyed the potatoe crop . Man must live on bread—and , strange to tell , thepeople are beginnning to look on what has hitherto been considered a visitation , in
that light . And what , think you , is the result ?—that some of the peasantry talk of throwing down the bridges , to prevent the corn thus from being removed from the interior ofthe country . The potatoe , they say , was all that the landlordleft them—God has taken that from themand they say , " look what He has sent for us in its stead , such a * pne crop of oats ; " and they bless and praise liim for his mercy . And _tlfen they shrug their shoulders , and will tell yon , "Well , if we can't get our own darling Kepeal , surely God has , at all events , proved ire must have the other repeal—lite repeal of the corn-laws . How , as to my evidence in Saturday's excursion on thc potatoe : I wont into another district from that in which I had heen before . Goiug along the road , I overtook a load ol potatoes in a cart ; 1 stopped and examined them I
congratulated , the driver of the cart that bis potatoes were so safe , ss I found only a few diseased ones . He replied , " Thai ' s all you know about it , sir ; It was this day fortnight , after picking tliem on the ridge , as well as those have been picked , and thinking I had not left a bad potato in the lot , 1 put about fifteen barrels in the hole I took that load out of , and treated them as well as ever potatoes were treated , and there is all I have left oftlie fifteen barrels , the rest are lying at the hole , and the pigs themselves would not eat them ; and I am afraid ' that these will be the same way in a week . " There were only about three-and-a-half barrels in the cart . This , in a fortnight after they were picked in the first instance , being in the ratio of three-and-a-half sound ont of fifteen .
IJthcn met a woman with a basket on her head , aud a apadoinherhand ; she had been just digging the potatoes she was carrying . I examined them , and she told me she did not observe the potatoes bad a fortnight ago , but now they are growing worse and worse every day ; notwithstanding she had left , as she supposed , all the bad ' ones on the ridge , yet , there were , on examination , a great many in the basket diseased . I have seen these things , aud several other instances , with my own eyesand from the most truthful gentry and farmers , all are unanimous thatthe crop is gone and lost , as forming any considerable portion the food of the people for this year ¦ and if gone for one year , it will be many years before ' they can be in such demand again as the general , and , j alas ! the only food of a people .
| _Consix of MaTO . _—Castlebab , Ocr . 21 . —We have made inqniries of persons from different parts of this county , relative to the disease which is said to have attacked the potatoe , but could not learn from any one individual that he had seen is either in his own potatoes , or those of auy of his neighbours . Almost every person we spoke to heard that other persons in his neighbourhood found some of their potatoes rotten , or affected by the disease ; but , strange to say , not one of them saw it himself . "While there is doubtless some truth inthe statements published about the extent and progress of the disease , we believe they are greatly aggravated . Most of the persons we have heard speak on the subject , said they scarcely ever had or saw a better potatoe crop ; and unless disease has attacked it to the extent some aver , there will be a plentiful supply of this necessary article of food . —Mayo Cowtitution .
_BEirAST , Ocr . 21 . —We entertain a hope that the destruction in the potatoe crop will not prove so extensive as had beeu apprehended . Already we see some symp . toms of returning confidence—at least , to the extent of feeling that the alarm had gone somewhat beyond what the . actual state of the case warranted . As far as we have been able to get information in this district , we learn that a spirit of more confidence is springing up . Not but that there is evidence of serious loss ; but a more careful examination and estimate tend to the cheering opinion that the calamity is less than it had been considered . This , we say , is what we gather from
information received iu Belfast , derived from the surrounding districts . We must not , ot the same time , flatter ourselves too confidently npon this point . As yet , information is too indefinite ; and , besides , it is not yet possible , by any inquiry that could be made , to ascertain the extent ofthe disease . Potatoes , which , when taken out of the earth , appear quite sound , are often found soon to show sickly signs ; and , ia many cases , a short time suffices for the disease to run its course , and cause the destructionthe death—of the potatoe . So we have before us the uncertainty arising from this circumstance . — . Northern Whig .
The Potato Crop. The Following Is A Repo...
THE POTATO CROP . The following is a report from the Royal Irish Agricultural Society on the potato crop : — Report from thc Board of Trade on the Disease in Potatoes , " Office of Committee ef Privy Council for Trade , "Whitehall , 29 th Sept ,, 1845 . " Sib , —I am directed by the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade te transmit to you , for the information oftlie Irish Agricultural Society , the enclosed translation ofa special report of the committee of agriculture of the province of Groningen , relative to the potato disease in Holland . I have the honour to be , sir , your obedient servant , "J . MacGbegob . "E . _JBuUen , _Esij ., Secretary , Irish Agricultural _Soci-Jty , _* _*" _Jteport of ihe _Cmnmissum of Agriculture of ihe Province of Groningen on the Disease Affecting the Potatoe in ihe Netherlands .
1 st . causes Aim _kaiube or tbe disease . The agricultural commission is of opinion that the disease is not occasioned hy any direct cause , hut rather that various _circumBtantee have combined to giro the dis ' ease this * jear an extraordinary impulse , it being in the opinion of many scientific persons not a new scourge . The primary cause may be attributed to the extremely wet summer of 18 * 4 , and to the heavy rains which fell at I the moment of the formation of the tubers . It is probably owing to this circumstance that many plants did not germinate . In the second place , the commission is of opinion that the growers do sot sufficiently attend tothe preservation of the potatoes used as plants , so as to Keep them from all damp . It is also very probable that the intense cold in the month _^ of March much injured the tubers .
Tht ) more direct causes are probably as follows : — 1 . ihe _ioo rapid development of the plants this year . ItisweUJii-. u-. ru that those plants which spring up too quichly , and the grain sown on an over-manured soil , are subject to such diseases as ergot or rye , and other cereal grains , and rust for wheat , and the presence of cryptogamous plants . 2 . The intense heat in the early " part of the summer of 1845 , and which amounted on the 13 th of June , 87 Fahr ., on the 3 rd of July , to S 7 J , and on the 7 th of July , to 91 J , necessarily had the effect of drying up the ground excessively ; and the raiu which fell at intervals during the continuance of the hot weather , and was soaked in , had the effect of scorching , as it were , those plants and potatoes which , not being very deeply planted , were exposed to the action ofthe heated water .
3 . This intense heat was Succeeded by cold and rainy weather , which lasted from the 15 th of July to the end of the _mqnth of August . This damp weather , and the total absence of the vivifying rays of the sun , caused a kind of rottenness among the pithy plants , and especially _deve-Jppsd the cryptogamous plants . 4 . On the 21 st and 22 nd of Jul y last , au extraordinary fog was perceived in manyplact-6 , which spread a disgusting smell . Soon afterwards , on the 28 tb of July , the first symptoms of the disease were discovered in the provinces of Groningen and North Brabant , and itis more than probable that this fog , wbich was epidemical , was i _^ ti . m & tely connected with the disease .
According to all the experiments and descn _^' ijonj made of the disease , it _appearsjthat it commenr _^ . s on _{^ _g _QppCT part , and then attacks successively _thi leaf , the stalk , and tbe tuber . This is fully conui _**~ aed by an experiment made at Groningen . As it is the upper part of the stalk which is generally first attacked , it is probable that the disease originates inthe leaves , descends the stalk by means of the peel , and then communicates with the part below the ground . 5 . On the leaves spots have heen perceived , and also a kind of fungus described in the work of 11 . 31 . Maleschott and Baumbaner , and classed hy M . de Martins among the / i « ispoW « m salani . These _fongi are similar in every i respect to those drawn by the above gentlemen .
ttis TerypTObable , then , that the above enumerated circumstances have heen the simultaneous causes of the plaut rotting , and of the fungi which are observed thereon it unfortunately happens that these fungi , which are ex .
The Potato Crop. The Following Is A Repo...
tremely minute , are quickly propagated to an inconceivable extent , favoured by the dampness of the atmosphere . 7 _iDttto-a . ' ; .. ; But the principal cause , or rather the character of the disease , is a kind of grangrene or _mouldiness in the leaf , which occasions a very hurtful and even mortal decay to the plant . The dangerous influence of the crypto gamous plants has long since been shown by the example of the rust { aredo rubigol ia corn . As soon as the rust spot developes itself on the leaf of the wheat or oat plant , it is observed that the leaf turns yellow and withers at the spot where the rust shows itself . Ko traces of the fungi bas been found in the interior of the stalk or in the tuber . The commission , therefore , considers tbat the disease of these parts results from that of the leaf . i SECOND . _—BEHEPIES FOB THE DISEASE .
The disease itself , its character , and causes , having now been sufficiently considered , itis necessary to consider the TemedieB for tbe disease , of which the commission points out three different kinds , viz . : — 1 . A means which , unfortunately , it is not in our power to adopt at pleasure , that is , a drier atmosphere ; for if if be damp that has caused the _moldiness of the leaves , and has propagated it among the plants , it follows that dry weather would put a stop to the ravages ofthe disease , and even result in entirely destroying it . This observation applies to the measures which science may propose , now that fhe disease has probably reached its period . 2 . To prevent the return of the disease , it is necessary to take the following precautions : —
1 . Toleave the potatoes inthe ground until very dry weather occurs . "Experiments having shown tbat their decay is accelerated by being taken up , it is advisable to leave them in the ground at first in order to get dried , and afterwards to lay them out over the field . This would have the double advantage of rendering the vegetable more wholesome and preserving it better . 2 . The following applies especially to those potatoes to be used as seed for next year . It is necessary to beware of planting those plants which havebeen attacked by the disease . They must be clearly chosen from those whose stalks have not been attacked , and placed in a situation free from the slightest , damp . As the disease has been less severe in gravelly than in clayey soils , the tuburs should be chosen from those gravelly soils where the diseasehas not penetrated .
3 The withered leaves of diseased potatoes , whieh are of np value , should be immediately burnt ; tho same should be done with the rotten potatoes which cannot be of any use . Nothing should remain of them . 4 . It is necessary to avoid as much as possible planting potatoes iu the same spots where they have been planted this year , for it is most probable that seeds of the lungi have remained in these places , and there would bo great risk of the ensuing crop being similarly attacked . It is also necessary to manure the land with lime after the _potatoes have been taken up , and then to clear it ; and if the land he employed for produce which need not be planted before winter , it is bettor not to harrow it , and so allow the air and cold to penetrate it . In the spring the lime manure sliould be renewed as much as possible , and tlic laml should be watered with diluted sulphuric aeid ( one part of sulphur to 100 of water ) .
5 . _Xext year the potatoes should he planted in dry lands ; all damp places s ' _. iould be avoided , even places shaded by houses or trees . 6 . The commission does not agree with those naturalists who think that the origin ofthe disease may be at . tributed to the race of potatoes having gradually deteriorated , owing to their being re-produced in fresh soil . The report mentions that , * in the commune of Maruni ( province of Groningen ) , among other instances , is to be seen afield of potatoes , the produce of only three years ' culture , equally attacked by the disease ; and an infinite number of similar cases prove incontestibly that the potatoe has not degenerated . However , the commission recommends that fresh seed should be employed this ysar , for it will then at any rate be certain that it ha 6 not been attacked by this scourge .
7 . If , notwithstanding every effort , the disease should again break out next year , the moment the first symptoms of it are perceived , the first leaves that turn _yellowshould be taken off and burnt , or the entire field should be watered towards the evening with lime water , or , still better , with diluted sulphuric acid , so as to destroy the seeds of the cryptogamous fungi ; sulphuric aeid , moreover , prevents rotting , and jwhen prepared as above directed , can do no injury to the phu . _te themselves . 8 . USE TO BE HADE OF THE DISEASED POTATOES . Those potatoes whieh have been attacked by the disease appear not to be prejudicial to health when taken in moderate quantities . 'This commission has consulted veterinary surgeons as to whether the potatoes can be employed without danger to feed cattle . Their reply was in the affirmative ; it has been proved , moreover that pigs have eaten the diseased potatoes without death ensuing _.
Han may likewise make use of the diseased potatoes , but must carefuUy remove the brown spots which caused the disease . It has also been shown by experiment that potatoes which have remained untainted on the same plant where there are spoilt tubers , maybe eaten without hesitation . It is almost useless to remark , that pota . toes which are completely . rotten are hurtful hot only to man , but also to cattle , and that a too frequent use of spoilt potatoe ? is equally dangerous to those who make their sole food of them . Dr . Westerhoff remarked that in the commune of _"Warfifun ( province of Groningen ) , those persons who made use of spoilt potatoes experienced pains in the stomach , and nausea , followed by vomiting after eating them .
As to the means to be employed to prevent the baneful influence that may be exerted on the health of man by eating the diseased potatoes , the commission proposes to make this the subject of another inquiry . Inthe mean _, time , it advises that as much use as possible should be made of the fecula of potatoes .
The Potatoe Di3temper, (From The Corresp...
THE POTATOE DI 3 TEMPER , ( From the Correspondent of the Times . ) Dobhn , Oct . 27 . —Making due _allowancs for exaggeration , the natural result of any panic , the accounts to-day fully justify the supposition that no district is free from the fatal distemper ; and that , come what will , the Minister will hare to take measures to provide for a deficiency of the crop . The morning papers publish a preliminary report , drawn up at the instance of the Government by Professors Kane , lindley , and Playfair . This document supplies no facts with which the public are not already perfectly familiar , and the remedies suggested
have been frequently proposed by men less eminent for chymical skill than the three learned professors above named . The report , which is as follows , states that the suggestions it offers are not final , but are put forward as a meaus of checking the " progress of an enemy whose history and habits are as yet but imperfectly known ;" - "Board-room , Royal Dublin Society , October 24 , " My Lord , —We , the undersigned commissioners appointed by her Majesty ' s Government to report to your Excellency on the state of disease in the potatoe crop , and on the means of its prevention , have the honour te inform your Excellency , that we are pursuing our inquiries with unremitting attention .
" _Yfe axe fully sensible of the important and difficult nature of the inquiry , and therefore are unwilling to _offur , at thepresent moment , auy final recommendations , as we are still receiving evidence , and awaiting the results ef various experiments now in progress . But at the same time we ought to state to your Excellency that we have reason to hope the _^ progress of the disease may be retarded by the application of simple means , which we trust may appear worthy of adoption , until we are enabled to offer further recommendations . " Iu the present communication we avoid entering into
any account of the origin or nature ofthe disease ; but we would particularly direct attention to the ascertained fact , that moisture hastens its progress , and that it is capable of being communicated to healtby potatoes whan they are in contact with such as are already tainted . A knowledge of these facts , determined as they have been by experiment , and agreeing hy the scientific information Obtained as to the causes and nature of the disease , lead us to propose the adoption of the following plan for diminishing the evils arising from this . destructive malady : —> ... weatherand in
" In the event of a continuance * of dry , soils tolerably dry , we recommend that the potatoes should be allowed for thepresent to remain in the land ; but if wet weather _intwvfcfie , or if the soil fee naturally wet , v ? _£ consider that they should be removed from the ground without delay . " When the potatoes are dug out of the ground , we are decidedly of opinion that they should not be pitted in the usual way , as the circumstances under which potatoes are placed in ordinary pits are precisely those which tend to hasten their decay . " We recommend that potatoes when dug should be spread over the field , aud not collected intQ heirps , and if the weather continue dry and free from frost , that they should be allowed to lie upon the field for a period of time not exceeding three days .
_^ The potatoes , after being thus aneil and improved in their power of resisting disease ' uy the means proposed , should then be sorted , by caref'j _' flyseparating those which show any tendency to d . _-icay . those potatoes which appear to be sound _should then be placed about two inches apart in a _la- _^ er , and over each layer of potatoes should be placed a ] ayer of turf ashes , or dry turf-mould , or dry sand , Or burnt clay , to the depth of a few inches . Thus will ' formed a of potatoes , each potatoe being _completely separated from the other by a dry absorbent _material ; upon this bed another layer of potatoes should be spread in like manner , and be also covered with the dry materials employed ; as many as four layers may thus be p laced one above the other , and when the heap is com . pleted it should be covered with dry clay , straw , heath , or other materialadapted to protect it from rain .
any In the event ef the weather becoming wet these recommend ations are not applicable . In that case we would advise the potatoes to be packed in small heaps , with either straw or heath interposed , and well covered ; in such a situation they should become as well dried as seems practicable under the circumstances . Where outbuildings exists , it would be advisable that this mode of temporary packing should be carried on in . those places . If there be no out-houses , the heaps may be left in the open field . We , however , particularly recommend that potatoes should not be removed into inhab _^ fed rooms , » With regard to the treatment of potatoes already
attacked with the disease , we have to state that in this early stage of our investigation , we do not feel justified in proposing to your _ExceUency any more positive treatment — this subject we reserve for a future report ; but we may
The Potatoe Di3temper, (From The Corresp...
remark , that exposure to light and dryness ia all case * retards the progress of alterations , such as the disease in question , and we therefore suggest that all Buch potatoes should , as far as possible , be so treated . " Wo do not mean to represent that these recommendations , if carried iuto effect , will prevent the occurrence of disease in potatoes , but we feel assured that the decaywill extend less rapidly and less extensively under these circumstances than if the potatoes , when taken from the ground , are at once pitted in tbe usual manner . Neither do we offer these suggestions to your Excellency as a Anal means of securing the crop , but merely as a method of retarding the progress of . an enemy whose history and habits are as yet butimperfeotly known , whilst we endeavour to ascertain the means of more completely counter _, acting its injurious effects , if any 6 uch can be discovered . " All which we submit to your Excellency ' s consideration , and remain ,
" Your _Excellency ' s obedient and faithful servants , "Bobert Kane . "John _Lindm-tj . "Lion Piatfaib . "To his Excellency Baron Heytesbury , & c . " Dublin , Oct . 28 . —There was another meeting oi the Royal Agricultural Society held yesterday , for the purpose Of receiving tho reports of the several local farming societies forwarded to the ' parent institutions , and by it presented to the Irish Government . The extracts from these reports occupy nearly three closely-printed columns of the Dublin morning papers , but the result—and a sufficiently alarming one itis—will be learned by the Mowing abstract , as given in the Freeman ' s Journal : —
' Munster . —The same sad tale conies from Munster _. From Tipperary , Clare , "Waterford , and Cork , the reports of September were favourable . Prom Tipperary and Waterford supplemental reports have been since for . warded of the most alarming character . " Ulster . —The reports from " [ lister are still more alarming , being more numerous , and nearly all unfavourable * most of tho early reports brought intelligence of tbe partial attack of the disease , andthe only supplemental reports that have been published announce the rapid progress of the malady . There are reports from various districts in six of the counties of Ulster . " Leinster . —The accounts presented by the ten reports from this province are all unfavourable with the exception of two , and these two bear date September 22 , Judging from the supplemental reports from otherplaces , we fear that had there been later reports from these two districts they also wouldbe unfavourable .
As the necessary consequence of these calamitous reports , the Dublin . ' retail markets arc rising fast . "The priceof the 21 b , loaf , " says _tliefrccmaii , — _* - Was raised yesterday a sum of one halfpenny . A similar increase of price took place the Monday previous , and within a few weeks wc have had a further advance . The consequence of this is , that we now pay -lid . for thc 21 b . loaf , which in the end of August last , wc could buy for _Sd . _^ Here is , therefore , on the article of _bfead alone , arise of 50 per cent , in price within a period of two months !
Dublin October 2 S . — -A report bearing date October the 23 d . has ( been received ' . from Galway from the Eev . W . Le Poor Trench , D ' . l ) ., rector of Killerenan , a member of the Tuam Society , October 18 ' . — " I deeply regret to inform you that the potato rot , so unhappily prevalent in the other provinces , has at length , manifested itself in this . A fortnight ago the crop in this parish was apparently perfectly untainted , hut now , alas ! all are complaining more or less , and at least one-third of the entire crop is already unfit for consumption . My poorer neighbours generally look to me for information and guidance in their agricultural difficulties , aud several have come within the last week to consult me as to tke best course to pursue under the present deplorable
emergency . I am of opinion that it would be more prudent not to dig out the crop except as wanted for me , hut to leave it in the ground , putting an additional covering of six inches of clay from the furrows , or where the land is to shallow to afford so much , of turf mould , over the beds , as a protection from frost ; then to dig them out as fast as the women and children of thc family can convert them into flour , a process familiar to every Irish housewife . I have likewise advised those who have oats or barley not to sell , but to send the grain from time to time to be ground into meal for the purpose of mixing in the proportion of one-fourth , or even one-eighth with tho potato flour , inor d ert o m a keitint o griddle cakes or stirabout .
The Condition Of The People Of Ireland. ...
THE CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND . ( From " The Times' Commissioner . " ) Limerick , Ocr . 23 . Without entering into any lengthened description of the city of Limerick , it will be enough , perhaps , to state , that it is a large , well-built , and evidently a thriving town . It possesses wide and straight streets —the first instance I have yet met with ofthis being the character of any town in the west of Irelandmany handsome public buildings , some manufactories of lace , gloves , and brushes , moat extensive flower mills , and a very large " pigfactory , " as it is called , at which about 1 , 000 , 000 pigs a-year are slaughtered _, fhe Shannon , which is here a magnificent river ,
passes through the town , which is built on either side of its banks , A handsome bridge , designed by Nimmo , and several other bridges , connect each portion of the town . A . good deal of shipping and small craft find sufficient commerce for employment , and the one dock which exists is very inadequate for the trade , A number of men are seen idling about the streets , who might , it is said , obtain work at is . aday , which they refuse ; still , however , an air of commercial activity and prosperity pervades the place . The brush factory employs about 300 men , who receive from £ 1 to 30 s . a-week wages , and many of the brushes are sent to London . When it is considered that 141 b . of potatoes may be purchased for 2 d , or 3 d ., according to the market , and that this is
the chief food , this rate of wages is high , as compared with that in most English towns . The lace factories give employment to about 1 , 000 girls ; thc _in-OBt extensive of these factories—that carried on by Messrs . Greaves—employs 240 girls , who receive on an average 3 s . 6 d . a-week each . Very beautiful lace is made at this factory , on an invention of the proprietors , for which they obtained a prize of a silver medal at the exhibition of Irish manufactures in 1844 ; it is similar in appearance to the finest Brussels lace , and her Majesty is said to have obtained several specimens of it . The " pigfactory , " andthe extensive flour mills of Messrs . Russell , also give a great amount of employment and encouragement to trade . The elove
manufacture is falling off . The town and county of Limerick have also obtained much celebrity for their pretty women . I had the opportunity _yesterday of being present at . a charitable bazaar held in the town , and certainly the number of handsome women and the female beauty assembled there , maintained this character , and fully equalled in these respects any similar assemblage which I have seen in any partof England . This affords me an opportunity , though it is scarcely worth while , to answer one slander which has been industriously propagated on every j possible occasion by "tlie Liberator , " as he is fantastically termed by his party , to get up a prejudice j against me , by asserting that I had accused the wo- j men of Ireland of being " ugly . " There are those i
with whom such an assertion may have a certain influence , and therefore it was made . The man , however , who . unblushingly dared to slander the women of England en masse , by accusing them of being unchaste , was the last man , one would have thought , to forget his own _clas _*? windows when he threw this stone , even had I made the broad assertion that " tho women of Ireland were ugly , " which I need not tell you I never did . In an early Jetter from Leitrim I drew a comparison between the appearance of the counties of Fermanagh and Leitrim , aud also of the people , the contrast in both respects having forcibly
struck me at the time . In one county was dirt , disorder , wretched poverty , and the rudest system of cultivation , a . & d the psopfej _fegtfe nwn and women , seemed ' generally undersized and plain- T n _Jermof nagh the _SOWltry was infinitely improved—there was generally cleanliness and order , and the people , both men and women , were tall and good-looking . It was " not convenient . " however , to "the Liberator " to state all this ; but by a process of reasoning , or rather broad unfounded assertion , which tells ' mighty well" before the audience at Conciliation Hall he extracted out of this that I had said , that " the women of Ireland were ugly . "
In my letter of to-day , I wish to draw your attention to an excuse which is almost universally made by the tenants for not improving tlieir land and cultivating it properly , and to show to them its folly . In conversing with the tenants in almost any part of Ireland where I have yet been , the usual complaints are against high rents , want of tenure , and want of encouragement on the part of the landlords . If you ask a tenant who is loud in these complaints , and who is evidently steeped in poverty , and who therefore apparently has truth to back him , why he leaves one-half of his farm undrained , untrenched , unimproved , and in the most wretched state of cultivation , you are quite certain to be met " with the reply , " Sure , who should I improve for ? My landlord _would-raise my rent directly , and if I could not pay it . he would turn me ont , and another would get mv
farm that I had improved . Sure , wouldn ' t I be ruining myself by improving , and only benefiting the landlord ? " Not only have I continually heard this from the tenants , butscores of times from the Roman Catholic priests , who , surely , ought to know better . Often and often I have tried to convince them in vain of the truth of that common sum in arithmetic , that " three and two make five ;"—tbat if the tenant by improving his land can make M yield a profit of £ 5 the acre where it yielded no profit at all before and taking them on their own ground , and supposing the woret , thatthe landlorddidimmediatelyraise then-rent from 5 s . to £ 2 an acre ; still if they put a balauee of £ 3 into their _pocketa by the improvement , t was clearly their advantage to improve , even though tliat which they seem so terribly afraid of should take place , and their hard landlords ( assuming them to be such ) should increase their rentals , and profit _^ bv the improvement . * '
The Condition Of The People Of Ireland. ...
It ma y be of advantage to point this clearly out , and to prove the fact by figures and evidence , jln one of my early letters from _Donegal relating toj a a piece of land at Pettigo , I showed that a niece of land which before was worthless , on being properly cultivated left a profit of £ 8 per annum on an average of three years . Deduct the most exorbitant rent you p lease , or which any landlord would have the conscience to impose , from this , sa y £ 3 an acre , still you hare the tenant putting £ 5 a-year into his pocket over and _abeve the rent , as the reward of his improvement , from land which before was worth nothing to him . In the second part of the evidence given before Lord Devon ' s Commission , page 168 , Mr . G . C . Wi .--. i- ' n lawn-, fnrnipr nf Ar- _) na . mona _. near Donegal . . . .-- . .
says , " I consider that the cost of reclaiming moor land , where limestone is abundant and a proper fall for drainage exists , would be repaid in every case by the second crop , " and he gives instances to prove this . Mr . AlexanderThompson , a magistrate and landed proprietor of Ballynahinch , in Galway , gives an instance of the cost of reclaiming an acre of mountain and deep bog land , and of the value of the produce the first year . He says ( ibid ., page 463 )— " The whole cost of an acre of potatoes which I am growing this year , the reclaiming , enclosing , open draining , manuring , and seeds , and everything else , is about £ 10 . I think I will have them got in for £ 11 10 s . the acre , including everything , " That acre of land he estimates produced ten tons of potatoes , " which ,
at 3 d . the stone , would be about £ 20 . " Here , then , was a profit of £ 8 103 . the first year . Suppose a tenant farmer had done this , and his landlard had put on the moat exorbitant rent because of the improvement—say £ 3 an acre—still the tenant would put £ 5 10 s . into his pocket , even though his landlord did thus raise his rent ; and without the improvement , even though his rent was but 5 s . an acre , he would scarcely realize any profit at all . " On passing through the county of Clare to this town I had the opportunity of seeing some judicious improvements wliich have been effected by Mr . David John Wilson , of Belvoir , on his estate , in draining and subsoiling , and in building for his tenantry a better description of cottage . This gentleman , though spending from £ -100 to £ 500 ayearin improvements , from £ 200 to £ 300 of which
IS appropriated to paying his tenants to drain and subsoil their lands at so much per perch , has found the greatest difficulty in inducing his tenants to change their old mode of cultivation . Every such step taken by any landlord is viewed with suspicion by the tenantry ; tliey look on it only as a means of increasing the vents , and never for a moment consider the benefits which they themselves will derive _, from it , even though their rents are increased . Mr . Wilson ' s plan , after thus improving a farm _cliefly at his own expense , is to add one-half of thc increased value to the original rent agreed on , as a repayment to him for the outlay ofhis capital , the othor half going to the benefit of liis tenants . In consequence , however _* of compelling his tenants to follow an improved system of cultivation , this gentleman has already received one or two notices that he will 6 c shot .
Whilst at Belvoir I obtained a calculation , which was derived from thc tenantry "themselves , as to tlio cost of improving an acre of moorland and thoroughly draining it with 30-inch drains at 21 feet apart , and cultivating it for four successive years in the manner in which the tenantry , according to the best of their knowledge , cultivate it , with potatoes the two first years and oats the two following , together with the produce , which according to their estimation . would be yielded , charging for the price of labour and for every expense , and estimating the produce at a low rate . The country around Belvoir is generally thin poor moorland . My object in obtaining this valuation was to show the folly of the excuse for apathy and want of exertion on tlie part of ) the
tenants , which I again heard here as elsewhere , — that the rent would be raised if they improved their land , and they would be no better off . I wislted also to take their own valuation and estimate , of both cost and produce , and their own mode of cultivation ( which _** every agriculturist will see at once is not the best ) , in order to prove on their own Bhowing , the inexcusable apathy of not improving , and the absurdity of their excuse . In the following estimate the price of labour is charged at the full rate : spread over a little time the tenant and his family would themselves be able to accomplish this labour , so that it would cost them nothing , and would in fast leave nothing but the cost of lime and seed to pay for ,
The outside rent of the moorland unimproved is , say 5 s , the * Irish acre ; and the tenants agreed that they could barely get this value out of it for rough grazing . I will now show what they agreed it would cost to improve it , and what the produce would be , accordiag to the general crops : — First year . —Draining , trenching , and bringing in the land , and sowing it with potatoes : — £ s . d . Paring and burning , 30 men or days , at lOd , 15 0 Digging and spreading ashes , 21 ditto , at lOd . 10 0
Seed , 160 stone , at 2 £ d . per stone , - . - 113 9 Cutting and sticking , 14 women , at fid . - -070 Trenching , & c „ 18 men , at lOd . - - - 0 15 0 Digging the potatoes , 3 C men at lOd . - - 110 0 Picking ditto , 6 women , at Gd , - - > 0 3 0 Lime , 40 barrelB , at 10 a 1 13 4 Drains , 160 perches , at 6 d . - - . - - 4 o o First year—Total expense of improving and ¦ cultivating - - - - - . £ 12 1 1 Produce of first year—12 barrels ( of 9 G _Btone ) of potatoes , at 18 b . 10 16 0
Loss first year - - - - - £ 1 il l This is charging for the labour at the highest rate , 8 d . per day being the current wages . Most of the labour the tenant might do himself , as much of his time is unoccupied , and then the expense would only be for lime and seed , of £ 3 lis . Id ., leaving him a pro fi t on his first year ' s crop , to pay him for his labour , of £ 14 s . lid . Second year . —Potatoes sowing- _is 3 . a . _Ee-digging , 12 men , at lOd . per man - . 0 10 o
Seed , 160 stone , at 2 _Jd . per stone - - - 110 0 Cutting , _& c , 14 women , at 6 d . per woman . 070 Trenching , 12 men , at 10 d . per man - - 0 10 0 Second spitting , 12 men , at lOd , per man « 0 10 0 3 we « _dings , 8 women , at 6 d . per woman . -040 Digging , 40 meu , at lOd . per man - . 113 4 Picking , 8 women , at 6 d > per woman . . 040 Total expense - - - - 5 8 < Produce of second year—18 barrels of potatoes , at 18 s . per barrel - 16 4 0
Profit secondyear . - - 10 15 _e Third year . —Sowing with oats-Seed , 12 stone , at 9 d . per stone . . ' -090 Trenching , 13 men , at lOd . per man . -0100 Cutting , 12 men , at lOd . per man - - - 0 10 . 0 Binding , 6 women , at ( d , per woman . - 0 3 9 Stacking , tfcc , 4 men , at lOd . per man » - 0 3 4 Threshing ' , 8 men , at lOd . per man * - - 0 6 8 Cleansing , Ac . . . . - . - o 2 0 Total expense - -. . . * ' g . Produce of third year— j 120 stone of oats , at 7 d . per stone - - » 3 10 0 Straw - > _-U 10 0
6 0 0 Deduct expense ... . 240 Profit of third year . ? . 3 16 0 Fourth year . —Oats-Extra expense over third year for digging stubbles - - - - . . 0100 For clover and grass seed . . . . 10 0 Total expense > . . - 314 0 Produce of fourth year—144 stone of oats , at 7 d . per stone . - 1 ' g Straw ¦ . J - „ o 0 7 4 0 Deduct expense - » » * » 314 0 Profit of fourth year . . ¦ 3 10 0 WPENSr ,
£ s . a . First year - - - - 12 7 1 Secondyear - - - - 5 8 4 Thirdyear - - - - 2 4 0 Fourth year - . - - " 14 © Total - - - - 23 13 5 rnonccE . First year - - » » 10 16 0 Second year - . - - lfi 4 0 Third year - - - - e 0 0 Fourth year - - - -740 Total - - - - 40 4 0 23 13 5 Total gain , for four years 10 10 7 Or £ 4 2 s . 7 _jd . average profit per acre each
year , _Tr . ... — - - - From this profit there will be to deduct rent . Now , take the tenants own argument , and suppose that for the first year he paid only Ss . rent for the unimproved moorland , but that the landlord , seeing the improvement and produce obtained , immediately raised the rent . Now , a fourth of the produce IS a fair rent ( see , on this subject more fully , tha evidence of the Earl of Mountcashel before the Land Commissioners , Appendix , Part III , p . 148 ) : therefore this improved land would bear to pay £ 1 rent . But suppose-the landlord was , in every respect , a hard landlord , and he raised the rent from Cs . the acre to 30 s . for the improved land , which is here a _\ ery high rent for such land , in fact , not obtained , then the result would be : —
£ s . d , First year ' s rent - . . , -050 Three following years at 30 s . » . - 4 10 0 County cess , poor-rates , and tithe rentcharge , _estimated at 4 s . per year - . o 16 0 n —¦ i ¦¦ i ¦ ¦ - 5 11 0
The Condition Of The People Of Ireland. ...
The account will then stand— 7 _^ Total profit for four years . . . lg Deduct landlord ' s increased rent and 7 _barges " 6 ll „ Leaving clear profit to tenant in four yeats _lo * _ij" _! Or £ 2 lis . 10 _J . each year per improved acre _^ sides paying him for his labour , ana this un d « _i ti ; most unfavourable circumstances that tho tenant I suppose—namely that the landlord will put upon * _, r an exorbitant rent as soon . as he has improved , w 3 proper cultivation and rotation ef crops a m „ J ? greater profit than this might be obtained . uct _- T n 1 -. fl- fl , ,,.. _, _l-0 _n-l _ . _^ —v _^
Now , this is an ordinary and every-day case . Th statement cannot be disputed ; the whole _calcu ] af is from the tenants themselves ; the rent UcuL !? high and the produce low , and yet the tenant aft being paid for every day ' s labour at the highest m * this unfavourable calculation shows he would _po-TiTi about £ 215 s . profit pcr acre for improving tlie _laM in spite of his bad landlord . But whilst his lund *' left unimproved , though he only pays 5 s . rent if pockets nothingat all . Now , simple calculation sW » this . __ Itis the farmer's business to make these cal cujations ; the farmers and the _schoolmaster" tna < l this very calculation for meshowing this result and yet with this result oftheir own showing before thpin
they were still unconvinced , and kept crying , " _y _^ . but the landlord would raise the rent , and who _shoutf we improve for ? " The only surprising thing is , that the priests , as men of education , should not sec this and point it out to the tenants if they are too stupid to see it themselves . What matters it to the tenants whether the landlord benefits or not by their _exef . tions so long as they themselves make a profit by it Now , let me point out to the tenants what would be another efl ' ect of their simply minding their own interests , and endeavouring to get as much produce out of their land as it will bear , and not caring whether the landlord or anybody else also derives a 1 rofit as well as themselves . They may depend upon ihis , that the landlord is more likely to do things io
their benefit if he sees tliem industrious , improving tenants , rather than if he finds them apathetic and indifferent , and seeking only to sublet the land to thc injury ofhis estate , which they ought to cultivate and improve . But the above calculation has shown that in the worst case they would reap a profit where they now get nothing . This year , unhappily , their potatoe crops , have generally failed . I am sorry to say that I was to-day informed by the priest of the parish of _Clonlca , in tlic barony of Tulia , the district in Clavo about which I have _jibt written , that the potatoes generally ave infected with disease , lie last week saw eight barrels of potatoes , or about five mouths ' provisions fora family , apparently sound , put into a _ p it , ami sixty barrels put into another ;> n . which ,. on Being opened to-day , hud not a barrel of available potatoes in either ; nearly the wholo of the potatoes wore found to be _diseiiscd and _ileeoiii'iosci ! , j ibis
accounts to me are most alarming . On digging the poiatoes generally throughout lhe dislrict they are found in the same manner diseased . A black spot on them spreads under the surface oi tho skin round the potatoe , and at length goes through to the heart of it , tlie whole substance becoming black aad de * composed . Some of the people have given up dig . ging their potatoes in despair , and it is most alarming to contemplate wiiat the result may be It is , however , certain that some steps will be required to be taken to avert the horrors of a famine . Tliis is a subject too immediately pressing and dreadful to work out an argument . But had these poor people cultivated and improved their , hind ns they mi ght have done , without stupidly refusing to improve because it would benefit their landlords , the extra profit in their pockets , which they would be certain , to have made , would be suiKcient to avert the severity of the calamity whicli they now apprehend .
It may astonish some English farmers to learn that tliese tenants told ine they were constantl y in the habit of getting nine successive crops of outs off this mountain land , manuring with lime only every third year , till at length it would grow nothing but a few weeds ; and that it is almost impossible without running the risk of being shot , to get them out of their old habit of cultivation alter this fashion . This , however , strongly points out the necessity of securing to the rising generation thc means of being taught agricultural knowledge . That knowledge _wifl dispel their present stupid and prejudiced notions , will , in fact , teach them the trade b y which they live , will secure them from -p eriodical famines , and in insuring them comfort and competence will benefit every class in the community .
Annness Of Tue Hlvckley Fnamkwoiik-Uwiii...
_Annness of tue _Hlvckley _FnAMKWoiiK-uwiiiEns 10 she Public in Gbnkiul . —The season of the year being at hand when the great mercantile houses of London , engaged in the hosiery trade , send their agents into this our market , who commonly make large contracts for manufactured goods , and aB a necessary consequence , buy up the labour of the Framework-knitters for long periods to come ; we feel ouraelves compelled by stern necessity , arising outof our duty to our wives nnd . families , to address you at this momentous time ; . ' with a cold * dark , and dreary winter before us , and famine around us , owing to the failure of thos « crops by which the poor are principally sustained , and the unparalleled low rate of wages paid in this district . In adopting
tnis method , in order to place our real position before the public eye , we utterly disclaim having any inten « tion or wish to disturb that harmony and good wil ] „ which ever ought to exist between masters and men ; but common justice demands tbat the situation of [ the Framework-knitters of this town , and its vicinity , should be fully known and understood . Could we assure ourselves that our present low prices were necessary , we would endeavour to be resigned to the hardness of our lot . Could it be shown that our sufferings were consistent with the arrangements of Divine Providence , submission would then become our duty . Did we believe that a small advance would militate against the interests ofour employers or the community , we would not ask for it . We will net
, offer an opinion of our own upon this subject , well I knowing- that the judgment of an interested party would weigh but little with wise and discerning men . We have repeatedly appealed to our employers during the last three years ( since the demand for our labour has been so abundant } for a small advance of wages , ? i ? W Ve as often ken told b y a great majority of them that our requests were reasonable , that they _tvere willing to give it , and that the state of the markets ivould justi fy it , " but it has never been realise * . Recently , w has heen recommended to make an effort to raise the prices of the Framework-knitters in Not . _tingJiamshire , thereby intimating that then a way would b e onened for an advance here . A letter was-, theirefore , instantly dispatched to a first-rate house of Nottingham , soliciting information relative to the rate ot wages paid by them ; the following reply has been received , which we have the _nleasnn-. V > f Uvinir
_SSSr- _£ _uV t ; ? _witer is a gentleman of higE standing of unblemished reputation , and of unimpeachable veracity ; the extracts are aa follows-. — Nottingham , September 24 th , I 8 _tf . . „ _22 re / _eired your letter and cannot but fed 22 " _fw the Framework-knitters of your town and neighbourhood ; we make no cotton stockings in Isottmghamshire lower than twenty-four e & m . and therefore your manufacturers meet with no _compel J ™ _i' ?\ ' ? _\ beBwe fwm any other _manufai . turera m _twenty-two Bages and _muler ; I do not tie therefore but they might advance the prices of those _lowgages . Wecharge 9 d . _perweeki 4 ntforSlnarw f _™ _$ iT _^ P _*" _m-the gusset , that is , shift lour-stitches and narrow two ; every other _partia ™ _S «» Plain , that is , shift three stitches and _«™ iT' ? P * » e finer sorts , which are 5 _erXnSa _Pkmthr 0 Ugh 0 Ut ;' thMe are P aid ls '
Mr . James Lsiob . The following scale presents a comparative view of vicinft _° _* J at Nottin e _^ d Hinckley and ita
NOTTIsfGHAM . Gage . j acijS , Length > _p _^ n / . . S - d . 30 hose ooi 10 a 30 half hose 102 fg _g 0 26 hose 124 2 pJ 8 9 2 G half hose 86 n \ ' _^ "Z i S _2 f . hose H 4 ;;;;; _, 2 _ci ? 9 24 half hose 82 u _\ 3 9 b jacks wider , leg l inch longer , Cd . extra . iN .. B .-. bome Hosiers give 3 d . more for the half hose , but they may be set en a lead or two wider . All sorts named are nan-owed one plain , except the gusset . Ihe Nottingham Framework-knitter pays 9 d , per week for his frame .
_HEKJKLET . Gage . v j aokBi Lflngfl | # Pr jcej s . d . 30 hose 125 24 7 S 30 half hose 98 12 i 4 9 26 hose 121 27 7 9 26 half hose 86 12 4 9 24 hose 111 27 ..... ' 7 0 24 half hose 77 to 70 ... 12 } 3 0 N . B . —All these sorts are narrowed two plain , with the exception of the twenty-four gage half hose , which have no _narrowingsin the _tjnsset . The Hinckley Framework-knitter commonly working inferior yarn , which is often equal to a loss of 5 per cent _, upon hia earnings , and is charged ls . and sometimes more for his frame .
These are facts wliich no man _livinffcatidisprove ; where then is the " competition from Nottingham , " or any other place *? all we ask is to be put upon a par with the wrought-hose Framework-knitters of that town ; were this the case , * and were our different sorts 01 work paid in the same proportion , and the same amount of rent charged for the frames , there would be an increased circulation of at least £ 75 per week , or £ 3 , 750 per annum , in Hinckley alone . James Leigh , Thomas Brooks , Thomas _Ausop * Hinckley , October 18 , 1345 ,
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 1, 1845, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns4_01111845/page/6/
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