EXPERIMENTS WITH CHILIAN SEED-POTATOES. 23 



scarcely have been ^vortli mentioning. As to the 

 quahty, some were cooked and found to be soft, 

 like the "American rose," but very white, and of a 

 fine delicate flavour. 



I said that in this plot there were two sorts, the 

 red, and the dun or borage-leaved. When they were 

 planted I thought them distinct, but when they 

 grew I could see no difference in leaves or flowers, 

 or in the tubers when dug, so that j)robably the 

 first lot (1882) ^vas the same as the second (1883), 

 the difference of colour arising from a difference of 

 soil. 



I v^ill now give the results obtained by other 

 growers ; and here I express my thanks to all ^vho 

 have kindly co-operated with me in making these 

 experiments. The only thing I had to do ^vas to 

 furnish the seed, while they grew it and let me 

 kno^v the results. 



Mr. Matthew Rodger Latta, Carmyle, planted a 

 stone of the first kind and a few tubers of tlie 

 second in the middle of a large field of potatoes, 

 where they were treated like the rest. I saw them 

 on the 1st of September, and there was then no 

 disease on them, or, indeed, on any part of the field. 

 In November I saw the potatoes after tliey had been 

 dvig; and they had the same drawback as mine at 

 Innellan,— they were not full-grown. Mr. Latta 

 had not observed any of them to be diseased. 



Mr. Finlay Bell planted a similar quantity on his 

 farm at Monkton. The plants were straggling, the 

 tubers were numerous, but small, and their quality 

 so bitter as to render them uneatable. There was, 

 however, no disease. Mr. Thomas Howie, Orangefield, 

 Monkton, planted some of both sorts with the fol- 

 lowing results. There were plenty of potatoes at the 

 shaws, but so small that most of them went 

 through an inch riddle ; and as to the quality, Mr. 

 Howie says: "We boiled some for dinner one day, 

 but had to want potatoes for once as they were 

 not eatable." There were a few diseased ones 



