that shortly before, and about the time the disease appeared at
Aberdeen, "there was a succession of unusually dense fogs, followed by
great warmth."

In one of the Orkney Islands it was remarked by a farmer that "a very
dense fog rested in patches on certain parts of the island; at times it
was so defined, that the observer could point out the exact measure of
ground over which it rested. It hung low, and had the appearance of a
light powdering of snow. In passing, it fell down on his small farm, and
_he smelt it very unpleasant_, exactly like, he says, the bilge water of
a ship--a sulphurous sort of stench. After the wind rose and cleared off
those clouds or lumps of fog, there _remained on the grass_ over which
they had hung, as well as on the _potato shaws_, [stalks,] _an
appearance of grey dew or hoar frost. The next morning he noticed the
leaves of his potatoes slightly spotted_ ... Before ten days, not a shaw
was in his potato patch more than if it had been a bare fallow ...
_Everywhere through the island, the disease, after the fog, began in
spots and corners of fields_, and spread more slowly over
all."--_Observations on the probable cause of the Failure of the Potato
Crop, by David Milne, Esq., p. 37. Halliday Pamphlets_, vol. 1, 994.

[115] See post, p. 165.

[116] Public Letter of 25th of August.

[117] In the debate on the "Fever (Ireland) Bill," on the 18th of March,
Mr. Scrope said, "He must observe that he held to the opinion that the
first resource for the people of Ireland which should have been looked
to, on the failure of the potato crop, should have been the oats which
they themselves had grown by the side of their potatoes, and that the
burthen should have been thrown upon the Unions of taking care that a
sufficient stock of those oats should have been stored to provide
against necessity."

In replying to Mr. Scrope, Sir James Graham called this "a forced
purchase of oats which would be most injurious, by increasing the demand
for the article." Mr. Wakley addressing himself to that observation,
said "he would ask, was not England open to the same or similar effects?
Did not the guardians of the poor in this country make purchases upon
the spot? Surely, meat, flour, and other provisions for the workhouses
were purchased in the immediate neighbourhood of such workhouses--in
short, was not everything given in the workhouses obtained in the
immediate vicinity of them?"--_Hansard, vol. 150. Colum