his calamitous
time, though occasionally spoken of. He says truly, that the vitality of
the potato being at the top, where the eyes cluster, in preparing to
boil the meal of potatoes each day, the tops ought to be out off and
preserved for seed. In doing this, carefully and sufficiently, the
quantity of the edible portion of the potato lost would be the merest
trifle. He might have added, that the top is usually the least
nutritious, or "mealy" part of the potato, which would make the loss
still less. His third suggestion, he says, he received from a Sligo
miller. It was a plan to prevent extortion and high prices, should a
famine really come. It consisted in this, that a "nominal subscription"
should be entered into by each county, and that a committee of the
leading men of each county should be formed, having at their disposal
this subscription, should it be found necessary to call it in: that
these committees should, each, purchase, as they might deem it
expedient, say one thousand tons of oatmeal at the lowest present price,
holding this oatmeal over in stores till the next spring or summer, and
that then it should be retailed, under proper superintendence by a
storekeeper _for cash_, at a moderate profit, merely sufficient to cover
the storeage and salary of the storekeeper: that the committee should
raise money for the purchase of the oatmeal by their _joint notes_,
which the banks would at once discount; all sales of the meal to be
lodged each day in the bank to the account of the promissory notes
outstanding. On winding up the transaction the oatmeal would be at least
worth its present value; and if sold at a small profit, enough to cover
the expenses, there would be no necessity for calling in any portion of
the subscriptions; but should there be a loss on the sale, the
proportion to each subscriber, according to the amount of his
subscription, would be trifling. One good effect of this plan would be,
that these stores would regulate the prices of oatmeal in the market,
and would prevent the ruin of the farmers by extortioners and
meal-mongers, and insure to them, if they must unfortunately buy food,
_that_ food at a reasonable rate. Mr. Foster adds: "These three plans
will, if carried out, I feel assured by all that I have seen and heard,
insure, first, _the arrest of the disease in the potatoes_, and the
preservation of food for the _people_; secondly, _seed for next year_;
and lastly, if there should occur th