Page 7 Advertisements Column 1

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 74, 9 December 1875, Page 7

A New Pototo Disease. — A new potato disease, which promises to be more disastrous by far than the old one, was announced in the * Journal of Horticulture/ as having made its appearance in the garden, of the Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick. Since then the editors of that journal have received so many communications on the subject as to show that this disease is so widely spread as to call for the greatest vigilance on the part of cultivators to pre-, vent it becoming general. Tt appears as yet to be confined to them. The disease,, which is a fungus, affects the haulm when it is about six inches high ; the leaves become curled, and growth ceases, the tubers never exceeding the size of iarge peas. Tt will be observed, therefore, that while with the old disease there was the chance of at least a partial crop, with this one there is no chance of any. As the nation is threatened with such a scourge as this promises to be, it may not be unreasonable to hope that Government will take the matter up .and adopt the necessary measures to * stamp it out'" while there is yet time, and avert what may prove to be a great calamity to the poor of these kingdoms."

The following tabular report has been sent, to us of a trial of reapers held at Thorn, Germany, on July 13, as arranged by the Agricultural Society at Thorn. The power required was ascertained by a dynamometer. T,he sentence of the -judges is expressed by points. Excellent,- equal 10 points; very good, equal 8 ; good, equ&l ;6 ; middlings equal 4*; indifferent, equal _2.j. bad* .equal. 0. For durability the points granted are to be multiplied t by 10 ; for power required; by 8 j width of cut, by 8 ; quality- of cut^ by 7;• of delivery, by 7> mechanical construction, by 6; cheapness, by i. A machine obtaining excellent in all qualities must therefore gain, 500 points.

Curious.— lt is an historical fact that during three .hundred; -and 1 fifty years that the Palace of the fuileries has been-a-royal' dwelling,? no ■ French sovereign has djed within its walls. In connection with' this fact another triay be,, mentioned. Ever since 1588 every French sovereign who ; has -made the Tuileries his. abode has. been .compelled," at some tiinr or other, to quit the shelter of its roof.