THE MAORI MESSENGER. Auckland, September 23, 1852.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume IV, Issue 98, 23 September 1852, Page 2

THE MAORI MESSENGER. Auckland, September 23, 1852.

Each successive arrival from Australia only adds to our astonishment at the enormous quantities of gold that continue to be raised, and at the thousands upon thousands of adventurers who an; pouring in from every quarter of tin; world to gather it. Well may gold be almmlanl when (here air sueli immense bands of rovetous diggers all in-

tent iipon ils acipLjition. Some few iiiom:!;; ago it was estimated lliat, al Mount Ah-v andor alone, there wei" upwards ol Ivi men thus employed; Liu! sinre III;:! , the large;! and lines! ship", erowded willi passengers, have been daily arriving ; and,

in all probability. the number of the gold seekers is by tliis lime much more than doubled. No wonder, therefore, tli:it gold !s|inill(l t'otitintii* It) !"' poured into Mt-1-bourne, :ui<l llial tlicy who witness and lliey who are loltl «>!' such iniginy :u-i iimui!:iliens should ))(■ dazzled by contemplation of the alluring treasure. Il is lilllo'wondcrlo lind every otliiM- source ol'Australian industry and Australian wealth ahandon-d lor the maddening I"*' of gold, when we find numbers ol' our own fellow colonists forsaking their peaceful homes and throwing away the means ol' rational independence to encounter l!ie mist ries. the |.i vations, and the disappointments of ihe gold digger's lot. Il is vei'v hue thai immense heaps of gold are constantly licit:;,- delivered al Sydney and Melbourne. It cxeiri. es a wonderful inlluence over the inclination to calculate the prodigious Milne ol' llio-r heaps; Imt il' the toil, the anguish, the !o--s ol'health, strength. and oi' lite, with which the various little earnings ol the ill,11(111 or 100,01)1) men who have conlribnie I lo form those heaps could only In- ::.sccriained, we should, wc doubt not. In: told such a tale of the moral, social, and physical horrors ol the gold dither's trade, as would lie apt lo appal the stoutest heart. One thing is suilicienlly obvious that, lor the present, the trade ol' gold digging has superseded il' not entirely destroyed every other source of Australian industry. I.vcrv ling day, therefore, only tin' more dearly proves that to the industry and energy or the New Zealand farmers the vast and accumulating inasscss of Australian population must trust for food. We have already said quite enough to incite our native husbandmen to extended and unremitting exertion. 'I he reward which il is in their own power to reap cannot he well over-estimated ; and our ino-l anxious endeavour has been, and shall be. to direct them, as far as we are able, in prosecution of the most successful course. There will not, \vi: incline to think, be a more extensive demand for any arlicle ol food than for potatoes. To insure a steady continuance of that demand, il w.ll l:e ol the last consequence: that the potato shall i.i: ol' sound and excellent ([utility. ' >nr glowers will do well lo bear in iniuil that they will have lo compete with the line potatoes ol'Viin Dicincn's I.and, aial with the disadvantage of a much longer pa-syge to test their keeping qualities. It is to be hoped thai some experience mav have been gained Iroin the heavv losses sustained by the total decay ol' potatoe s shipped from Auckland to California. Much of that loss was no doubt attributable lo llic grub ; bill still, much may also lie allriliuled to llic inferior quality and condition of the potatoes that wen: shipped. Il is quite true that in shipping potatoes to an Australian port, the duration of the voyage will not occupy one-lenlh of the lime, and that die beating and vegetation of the roots will he proportionally abated. Hut, still, as il ;s quite evident that we have a polalot: disease existing in ibis couulry, il becomes a matter of Ihe last importance to the farmer and the merchant lhal every possible effort should be made lo eradicate thai disease, and lhal we should strive by Ihe greatest care in rejecting bad seed to produce an article which shall not only be able 10 encounter Ihe risks ol' Ihe voyage, bill lo establish the reputation ol' the New Zealand polalo, upon an equal, if not a superior standard lo that of Van Dienien's [.and. To accomplish so desirable a purpose, we can discover no means so likely, as by producing a fresh and vigorous body of sets, by raising lliein from the seed. Even ill

tlio finest potato districts of A ail Dienion s l.aiul, tho root lias boon gradually deteriorating. Il lias been t'ouiul to lie diseased al the heart, and the flavour, quality, and power of keeping greatly impaired. " Il is a principle" (says an American writer) " thai plants, which are usually propagated from the bulb, root, or tuber, loose alter a time their proercalive or \i\ifying power, and il is necessary to resort to the original element lor seed " We are happy to have it iu our power lo transcribe for llie benefit of our iialhe potato growers, the plain and simple instructions for raising potatoes from seed. We urge them, as they value their own best interests, to prolil by those instructions; inasmuch as by raising the potato from its seed they w ill not oniv bo likely to obtain several varieties, but, what would be of infinitely greater importance, they may succeed iu introducing a potato far better adapted It) the climate of their country than those produced by the sols from which lliey have so long been accustomed lo propagate. "Without inquiring whether the rot which lias so extensively prevailed in the potato is owing lo the fact thai il is ciihi\atod from llto tuber, and noi bom the seed, il is true thai certain varieties of the potato do resist Ilio disease more than others. It is desirable lo ascertain whether new varieties raised from the seed are less liable to be attacked by the disease than old, and experiments should be extensively tried, ami llie results carefully noted.

" It becomes thereforcde.sirable to know-the liost mode of propagatingllie potato from the seed. For this purpose, select good, Isiirsi/.ed, ripe. poi:i!o hulls (or apples) from the best varieties of potatoes; <:i:l the ball open, and wash the pulp containing tin* jced in water, 11 ill it the seeds arc. entirely separated IVom llie pulp ami perfectly dean, llien strain them onl of the water and dry them ; examined with a microscope, they have the appearance of the seeds of (lie summer squash. Tlx; seeds should be started in a hot bed, so that the plants will he about three inches high when tlu: weather is so warm that there is no danger from frost. Tliey should then he carefully transplanted into warm, rich, and mellow earth, and set in drills '2 {, feet apart, and 10 indies from each other in (lie drills. The vines of the potatoes thus set by me in 181!) grew .-•.irons and thrifty, 5 feet in height, blossomed, and bore balls, IVom which 1 have now the seeds. Many of the pot-aloes attained a fair size, weighing in many instances sis ounces each, and were good edible potatoes. In one season I have thus obtained over one hundred varieties. For two successive years the potatoes raised from the seed have been in uo wise all'ecled by the rot, and if there was not a potato in America, 1 should not despair of having a tolerable supply of good edible potatoes the first year from llie seed. The common impression that three years are necessary to propagate potatoes from the seed is erroneous, and 1 impute the rapid growth and large size in the instance alluded to, lo llie perfect mode of saving the seed, and to high and judicious cultivation." Wood ashes, in addition to a rich mould, are exceedingly valuable fertilizers of a potato crop. We have thus furnished our nnt've readers with a knowledge of the means ot improving their potato crops, by which we trust, al the time the apples arc formed on the growing potato, they will not fail to prolit. It is only by incessant industry and untiring perseverance that nations can hope to he great and prosperous.