Potatoes in my field have been seized by the disease in its most virulent form, giving out a nauseous smell, perceptible in an adjoining field;2C. Darwin, Farnborough, July 13.
Potato blight, caused by the oomycete (water mould) Phytophthora infestans, appeared in the British Isles in 1845, leading to the Irish potato famine of 1846 (Salaman 1985, p. 291).