22 DISEASE RESISTANCE OF POTATOES. 



Interest in the possibilities of S. commers(mil has recently been 

 stimulated by the experiments inspired in Frasce by Prof. £. Heckel/' 

 who believes in the economic possibilities of this species when improved 

 by longer culture and perhaps by hybridizing, and has distributed it 

 quite widely in France with this end in view. One French horticul- 

 turist, Labergerie,* claims already to have succeeded in producing a 

 variety of edible qualit}^, large yield, and superior disease resistance. 

 This was seen growing in the grounds of Vilmorin-Andrieux &Co., at 

 Paris. This firm was not yet convinced of the practical value of the 

 plant, and since Labergerie refuses to send out any of these potatoes 

 for trial at present, judgment must be reserved. 



Returning to the consideration of the varieties of the common potato, 

 it is found that during the last decade increasing attention has also 

 been given to their comparative disease resistance. This has been well 

 sununarized by Prunet.^ The main facts developed are as follows: 

 Sorauer'^ in 1896 considered the evidence to date as showing that the 

 highest degree of disease resistance was possessed by Magnum Bonum, 

 the following showing some degree of resistance: Blaue Riesenkartofl'el, 

 Richter's Imperator, Athene, Reichskanzler. Rostrup,'' writing about 

 the same time from Denmark, places Magnum Bonum at the head as 

 a disease-resisting variety, with Richter's Imperator and Champion 

 as somewhat resistant. 



In this connection it is noteworthy that Magnum Bonnm has yielded 

 its place in. popular favor in Great Britain for main-crop purposes to 

 Up-to-Date and other varieties, even while holding its reputation on 

 the Continent. During the last decade these standard varieties in turn 

 have been "running out,'' and the demand in England for something to 

 take their place has stimulated potato breeders and seed specialists to 

 direct their attention very generally to the development of a disease- 

 resisting main-crop variety. The greatest efforts in breeding have been 

 made during the last four years, while speculation in the most promising 

 of the varieties produced has been at fever heat for the last two years, 

 during which time many new varieties, more or less disease resistant, 

 have been pushed to the front. There are now so many potato special- 

 ists in Great Britain breeding and handling varieties of reputed disease 

 resistance that it is impracticable to mention all. Archibald Findla}', 



«Heckel, E., Sur le S. rommersonii, Rev. Hort. de la Soc. d'Hort. et de Bot. des 

 Bouches-du-Rhone, No. 581, pp. 200-206 (December, 1902); also, Contrib. a I'etude 

 botanique de qnelques solanum tuberiferes, Ann. de la Faculte des Sciences de 

 Marseille, vol. 8 (1895). 



''Labergerie, M., Le Solanum commersonii et ses variations, Bui. Soc. Nat. d'Agric. 

 de France, March, 1904. 



''Prunet, A., Le miklieu de la pomme de terre. Rev. de Viticult., XVII, 66;?; 

 XVIII, 97 et seq.(1902). 



''Zeitsch. f. PHanzeiikr., VI, 284 (1896). 



eXidsskrit't f. Landbrugets Planteavl, 1895, 1896, 1897. 



