EXPERIMENTS WITH CHILIAN SEED-POTATOES. 21 



II. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH CHILIAN SEED- 

 POTATOES— Report for 1883. 



BY THOMAS KING. 



[Read 18th December, 1SS3.] 



In November, 1882, I read before the Society a 

 paper giving an account of some experiments 

 made during the preceding season with Chilian 

 potatoes. I will now give a similar Report for 1883. 



You may remember that the object I had in view 

 was to find potatoes that ^vould resist the attacks 

 of Pero7ios2^ora infestans, the fungus of the potato- 

 disease, and that I thought this could be accom- 

 plished by importing seed-tubers from Chile, a country 

 never visited by the disease. Accordingly, in 1882 

 I had some sent to me from the south of Chile, 

 where the weather is somewhat like our own. I 

 received no name with them, but they were red- 

 skinned, and were said to be a good sort. 



They produced strong, healthy-looking plants, but 

 these were not disease-proof. In some cases they 

 perished almost entirely, and in others they were 

 but slightly, if at all, affected. One fact, at least, 

 was now clearly established : that plants raised from 

 healthy tubers, with no hereditary taint, might suc- 

 cumb to the disease if grown among diseased plants. 

 Still, I did not consider the trials conclusive on all 

 points, as they had been made under unfavourable 

 circumstances. Though the tubers had arrived in 

 good condition, they had been dug when only half- 

 grown, and were also too late in arriving. Some of 

 the lots were not planted till the beginning of June, 

 and the summer turned out cold and wet. 



The produce of this first lot (1882) was kept and 

 planted last spring; and, in addition to these, I re- 



