tatoes in this section are rotting to such an extent as to destroy nearly the whole crop." Again, one who is well qualified to form a correct opinion, writes: "This year, in many parts of the county, the crop is a total failure." An agricultural journal published in this State, speaking of the general crop, remarks: "This crop has suffered much in many districts, from the epidemic which seems to be overspreading this country as well as the old world." "Considerable attention is justly excited, from the prevalence of this disease." "Where it has not been affected by disease, the crop of the past season has generally been a good one." To show how greatly this disease has affected this crop, it may be mentioned, that it has been stated in the papers that the Shakers of New Lebanon, who were under contract to deliver 15,000 bushels, have been obliged to publish that they could furnish none. In view of all these facts, we are fully warranted in placing the decrease on this crop as high as one-third; and probably, were we to reckon those lost since they were gathered, we might put it as high as 50 per cent. The rot prevailed in New Jersey to some extent, but not so much in some sections as it did last year; probably the deficiency may not have exceeded 15 per cent. In the central section of the State, and bordering on the Delaware river, it is said to have been " 10 per cent. less, owing to the drought;" and in yet another portion, "20 per cent. less." The crop in Pennsylvania, though it does not seem to have been so greatly affected throughout the whole State by the rot, yet suffered severely from this disease, and also from the drought. In the vicinity of Philadel phia, it is stated to have been uncommonly good. In Chester county, it suffered much from drought, so that it is thought to be "not more than half a crop." In the rich county of Lancaster, also, it is said "there was a failure of one-half of the usual quantity, owing to the drought which prevailed." In Columbia and Luzerne counties, there was "a partial failure, on account of the rot." waters of the Susquehanna, the account is more favorable; and we are In the central counties, on the upper told that the increase was "20 per cent. over the last crop; there was but little rot, while last year there was a great deal." Somewhat lower down, embracing Dauphin and Schuylkill counties, the crop is stated to have been "one-third short;" the cause having been principally the prevalence of the rot. Towards the southwest, also, from the centre, the potato crop was "below an average." The crop, too, in Beaver and Washington counties suffered from the rot, so that it is pronounced to have been "less than an average." In the counties of Armstrong and Clearfield, the crop of potatoes, as appears from assessment returns, amounted to about 280,670 bushels, for the first, which is thought to have been a suitable crop. In the latter, nearly the whole crop was destroyed; and yet further to the north, and towards the northwest, the crop is said to have "increased one-third." From the best information, therefore, we can obtain respecting this crop in Pennsylvania, it fell off from 20 to 25 per cent. from that of 1843. In Maryland, the drought seems to have exercised a great influence in lessening the crop, so that by some it is pronounced to have been a total failure, and by others "a very indifferent crop; two-thirds short" of that of 1843. We have estimated it at from 25 to 30 per cent. decrease. The greater part of the potatoes raised, however, are the sweet potatoes. Great complaint is heard from Virginia likewise, respecting the effect of the hot weather on the potato crop there. In the central counties, east, in the vicinity of the Potomac, it is said "the crop in some neighborhoods was much affected by drought, but in others there was an average crop.' In the southern counties, bordering centrally on North Carolina, it is said that "both the Irish and the sweet potato were diminished 50 per cent., because of the dry summer. Further back, likewise, towards the interior, the crop is thought to have been "not more than half a crop," on account of " the drought. "In some other sections it was an average crop, as, in the northwestern part of the State, on the Kanawha, it is said not to have been as good as in 1843. The whole average decrease was probably from 20 to 25 per cent. The potatoes raised in North Carolina, and others of the Southern States, are mostly of the sweet kind, and hence the crop suffered less from the drought which prevailed there. The accounts given are, "average," "good," "very good." In the southern section, however, bordering on Georgia, it is said to have fallen off one-half. In South Carolina, in the region of Spartansburg, York, &c., the crop was very considerably lessened, and is pronounced by some to have been "not more than two-thirds of the crop of 1843," while in Pickens and Greenville, &c., it was "about the same" as in the former year. The Georgetown (S. C.) Advocate, in September, says: "Latter potatoes in this region will be a complete failure." It would seem probable that there may have been an average decrease in this crop of about from 10 to 15 per cent. In the central western section of Georgia, potatoes were a good crop. Still further north, it is said to have been 20 per cent. short of the crop of the former year, in consequence of the cold and wet in January and February, and the drought in March, April, July, and August. Similar statements, also, are made with respect to other sections of this State. The potato crop in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, is said to have been very good, a full average, which will probably vary but little from 10 per cent. on the former year, except in Mississippi, which last year fell off very considerably; in view of which, the better crop of this year (1844) would seem to require a larger addition of from 15 to 20 per cent. In the eastern section of Tennessee, towards the central, in a number of counties, the report as to the potato crop is said to have been "20 per cent. less" than in the year before. In the western section, also, near the central counties, it is stated that the decrease was equal to "one-quarter" of the crop, in consequence of dry weather. The crop, on the whole, therefore, seems to have done better. In the northern central portion of the State, it is said that they were "ripe and sound, and rather more in quantity than last year;" and, again, "there is a usual crop, and the yield abundant;" while in the southern central portion, in both kinds, Irish and sweet potatoes, there was also a small "increase." It is believed, therefore, that the average increase for the whole State was about 10 per cent. In Ohio, some sections of the State exhibit a falling off of the potato crop, which is attributed to various causes. Some variance appears respecting the fact whether the disease which has so lessened the amount produced or saved in other States prevailed in Ohio. Two intelligent informants hold diverse opinions on this point. We are inclined, however, to believe that it has partially made its appearance there, in the upper part of the State. The southern part of the State was entirely free from it. From the information received, we learn that in the Miami valley, in the southwestern section of the State, there was "not more than half a crop of potatoes, and these were of a poor quality." Somewhat further to the east, also, on the Ohio river, it is said, too, there was but "half a crop." In the southeast, embracing Perry and some of the adjoining counties, we are told that there was "a fair crop." Somewhat above this, towards the central part of the State, and including Stark and Wayne counties, the crop was a "good one." In the central counties of the State, (Delaware, Marion, and Richland,) the crop for 1844 "diminished" from that of 1843 "10 per cent." East of these, also, reaching to Tuscarawas county, the crop is described as having fallen "short of an average, perhaps 25 per cent." On the northwest counties, bordering on Indiana, we are told "potatoes have been extremely light, say half a crop, and most of them rotted since the gathering." Further towards the east, and central along the lake, there was perhaps "an average crop." Bordering on the lake, and in the vicinity of Elyria, a correspondent writes of the potato crop: "Not much more than half a crop, owing to the continued rains the last two weeks in August; they appear to have been drowned, so as to stop their growth." He adds: "There is, however, no appearance of the potato disease which is doing such mischief in New York; what we have are good. Some early fields were nearly out of the way of the rains, and have full yields; but the crop is probably not much more than half a one." Another very intelligent correspondent, writing from the southeastern part of the reserve, as late as December 7, 1844, says: "Our potatoes in this quarter are not diseased. Kinsman, in this county, is about thirty-five miles from the lake, and is the farthest south of any place known to me where the potato is defective in this quarter. The disease was not observed there until the crop was gathered and housed. It has since appeared to a limited extent. It was very common at Twinsburg, in the north part of the town, sixteen miles from the lake." On a review of the whole, we are inclined to the belief that there was a decrease of at least from 25 to 30 per cent. in the potato crop of Ohio for 1844. The potato crop of Indiana appears to have been better than it was in 1843. In the southeast, bordering on the Ohio river, it is said to have been an "average crop." In the central counties of the State, a "tolerable" one; while in a south western direction from this, towards the Wabash, they were scarce," the cause not mentioned. In the western central counties, bordering on the Wabash, the crop is stated to have been a "good one,' more than an "average crop," 25 per cent. "over 1843." 66 The same was the state of the potato crop in the northwest part of the State, as compared with the crop of the previous year. Taking, therefore, into consideration the deficiency of the crop of 1843, it appears probable that there was a gain of 25 per cent. over the crop of that year. The accounts of this crop from different parts of Illinois are quite diverse. In the southeastern section, on the Wabash, and back towards the interior, we are informed, that it was "a good crop." The same is the case with the western central counties lying along the Mississippi, where the crop is thought to have been "10 per cent. more" than in 1843. On the other hand, in the south western section of the State, it is said there was "not more than three-fourths of a crop, it having been injured by the same cause as the corn." In the northern central counties, also, as Putnam, Marshall, and others in their vicinity, it is stated that "potatoes were injured by the bad season, and about half or one third only of a crop was raised in the State." Of the region of Chicago, a correspondent, who is a good judge in these matters, says there was "a small crop, though the quality was good." We are inclined to believe, in view of the destructive rains, which have been noticed in reference to other crops, which flooded the bottom land in this State, that the potato crop was materially injured; and that, as compared with the crop of 1843, there must have been a falling off of from 15 to 20 per cent. We have but very little information respecting the potato crop in Missouri. In some places it is stated to have been an average crop. Along the Mississippi, Missouri, and their branches, it must doubtless have been affected by the rise of the rivers; and by the same comparison with the effect of the season on other crops, we feel warranted in concluding that there was an equal deficiency with that of Illinois. We should be glad, had we better data to base our estimate on. The deficiency will probably overgo rather than fall short of our calculation. The information which we have obtained respecting the potato crop of Michigan, in every section, represents it as better than in 1843. In the southeastern part of the State it is said to be "far superior to that of last year-perhaps 25 per cent." North of this, the report is, "a good crop on dry land; on wet land, poor; on the whole, about 30 per cent. better than last year, when, in consequence of the dry season, they were very poor." In the western part of the State, our informant says that the crop was "unusually good this year, and will yield more than an average crop." Probably, the average increase on the crop of 1844, over that of 1843, was fully equal to from 20 to 25 per cent. The crop of potatoes, also, in Iowa and Wisconsin, was good, and a considerable increase over that of the previous year. In the review of the whole country, it will be seen there has been an evident falling off; and although the disease, or rot, is not mentioned in a number of States, yet the crop itself seems to have greatly suffered. The whole crop, as given in the tabular estimate for 1844, is 99,493,000 bushels, which is probably too large rather than too small. The sweet-potato crop is evidently, on the whole, better than that of the Irish potato. Several agricultural papers, and other public journals, express the opinion, decidedly, that there is not more than one-third or one-half a crop in the whole country. We believe this to be too large a deduction, and yet we may have fallen short in our estimate of the full increase. We have endeavored to avail ourselves of the light within our reach. The experiment seems making, as to the raising of the sweet potato further north than before; and we see it stated that a successful trial has been made as far north as Oneida county, New York. This must have probably been owing to some peculiarity of the season; nor could the potatoes have been of equal richness to those raised in more southern latitudes. Considerable discussion has taken place in the agricultural journals, on the comparative advantages and disadvantages of hilling potatoes. Both have their advocates; but the result of experiments is apparently in favor of not hilling. Thus it is said that two unhilled rows gave five pecks, while two which were hilled gave only four pecks. With this, also, is somewhat connected the question, whether or not manuring of the potato should be in the hill. A writer in an agricultural the State. The southern part of the State was entirely free from it. From the information received, we learn that in the Miami valley, in the southwestern section of the State, there was "not more than half a crop of potatoes, and these were of a poor quality." Somewhat further to the east, also, on the Ohio river, it is said, too, there was but "half a crop." In the southeast, embracing Perry and some of the adjoining counties, we are told that there was "a fair crop." Somewhat above this, towards the central part of the State, and including Stark and Wayne counties, the crop was a "good one." In the central counties of the State, (Delaware, Marion, and Richland,) the crop for 1844 "diminished" from that of 1843 "10 per cent." East of these, also, reaching to Tuscarawas county, the crop is described as having fallen "short of an average, perhaps 25 per cent." On the northwest counties, bordering on Indiana, we are told "potatoes have been extremely light, say half a crop, and most of them rotted since the gathering." Further towards the east, and central along the lake, there was perhaps "an average crop." Bordering on the lake, and in the vicinity of Elyria, a correspondent writes of the potato crop: "Not much more than half a crop, owing to the continued rains the last two weeks in August; they appear to have been drowned, so as to stop their growth." He adds: "There is, however, no appearance of the potato disease which is doing such mischief in New York; what we have are good. Some early fields were nearly out of the way of the rains, and have full yields; but the crop is probably not much more than half a one." Another very intelligent correspondent, writing from the southeastern part of the reserve, as late as December 7, 1844, says: "Our potatoes in this quarter are not diseased. Kinsman, in this county, is about thirty-five miles from the lake, and is the farthest south of any place known to me where the potato is defective in this quarter. The disease was not observed there until the crop was gathered and housed. It has since appeared to a limited extent. It was very common at Twinsburg, in the north part of the town, sixteen miles from the lake." On a review of the whole, we are inclined to the belief that there was a decrease of at least from 25 to 30 per cent. in the potato crop of Ohio for 1844. a The potato crop of Indiana appears to have been better than it was in 1843. In the southeast, bordering on the Ohio river, it is said to have been an) "average crop." In the central counties of the State, "tolerable" one; while in a south western direction from this, towards the Wabash, they were "scarce," the cause not mentioned. In the western central counties, bordering on the Wabash, the crop is stated to have been a "good one," more than an "average crop," 25 per cent. "over 1843." The same was the state of the potato crop in the northwest part of the State, as compared with the crop of the previous year. Taking, therefore, into consideration the deficiency of the crop of 1843, it appears probable that there was a gain of 25 per cent. over the crop of that year. The accounts of this crop from different parts of Illinois are quite diverse. In the southeastern section, on the Wabash, and back towards the interior, we are informed, that it was "a good crop." The same is the case with the western central counties lying along the Mississippi, where the crop is thought to have been "10 per cent. more" than in 1843. On the other hand, in the southwestern section of the State, it is said there was "not more than three-fourths of a crop, it having been injured by the same cause as the corn." In the northern central counties, also, as Putnam, Marshall, |