24 



JOURNAL OF HORTIODLTXIBE AND COTTAGE QABDENBB. 



[ January 11, 1875. 



profitably and of better quality as an agricultural crop. Some 

 years ago I found myself in a dilemma as to the best sort to 

 grow in town gardens for general work, and was kindly re- 

 ferred by Mr. Penn to tbe Lapstone, the best-flavoured of all 

 Potatoes; and judging from results, it would appear to have 

 been one of that indefatigable cross-breeder's aims to secure a 

 good town-garden Potato, and in this he seems to have suc- 

 ceeded admirably with Rector of Woodstock, which has larger 

 tubers and is more fertile than the Lajstoue. Formerly I 

 used to grow Early Oxford in such situations, and found it a 

 very valuable early and yet long-keeping sort. I, however, 

 lost it, and have never again been able to get it true. Singu- 

 larly also the true variety does not appear to have reached the 

 Royal Horticultural Society. 



Of latish main crop varieties I have selected, as the best for 

 quality and appearance, Oxfordshire Kidney, rough-skinned, 

 and very good; Late Rose, large, and very prolific; Model, 

 very handsome and good ; Brownell's Vermont Beauty — of 

 which I received two varieties, one through Mr. Dean and 

 Messrs. Hooper & Co., said to be Messrs. BUss's type — a hand- 

 some, longish, and sometimes kidney-shaped sort, of a similar 

 tint to Early Rose ; the other from Messrs. Carter & Co. , a 

 handsome roundish variety, of a darker red in colour, and appa- 

 rently intermediate between Wood's Scarlet Prolific and Red- 

 skin Flourball, but which of the two is the true Richard I 

 am unable to determine. From the Chiswick Report of 1873 

 the former would appear to correspond with the variety tried 

 there. Both sorts were late with me. Scotch Blue, synony- 

 mous with Duncan's Seedling, is purplish-skinned, and another 

 good main-crop sort, and not so late in ripening. Prairie 

 Seedling and Willard's from Messrs. Sutton, also Red Fluke 

 from Mr. Dean, showed sufiiciently well to induce me to grow 

 them again. Regents, of which Gryffe Castle and the Dunbars 

 are the best. Flukes and Paterson's Victoria, or rather the 

 selection from that variety called The Queen, which is un- 

 doubtedly Al as a general-crop late Potato, cannot be dis- 

 pensed with by large growers. Red-skin Flourball, from 

 Messrs. Sutton, I have grown here for three years, the last 

 two in considerable quantity ; but on this soil it is coarse, 

 waxy, and liable to disease, and not so good for very late 

 purposes as Wood's Scarlet ProUfic. We have a very late sort 

 grown in this locality with numerous eyes, known as the Pink 

 Kidney, and it is undoubtedly a good keeper, but its flavour is 

 too strong to suit my palate. 



From the trials I have been unable to discover sufficient 

 distinction between Veitch's, Rivers's, and Myatt's Ashleaf, 

 Gloucestershire Kidney, King of the Kidneys, and Caversham 

 Defiance; and in rounds. Early Gem did not come up to King 

 of the Earlies. Amongst the Lapstones, which include Pebble 

 White, Taylor's Hybrid, Berkshire Kidney, Ashtop Fluke, and 

 Cobbler's Lapstone, I shall retain only the latter, as, if not 

 identical, they have all a strong family likeness. Belgian 

 Kidney, which has a distinct long tuber, and Wonderful Red 

 Kidney, being good in appearance and of fair quality, are 

 worth attention for exhibition. Rintoul's Early Dun and 

 Fortyfold are both Regents in type, the former said to be a 

 graft hybrid. Silver-skin, Excelsior, Dawes's Matchless, Webb's 

 Imperial, and Prince of Wales are very fine second-early kid- 

 neys, but watery, and apparently unusually subject to disease. 

 Amongst Americans, Extra Early Vermont seems very like 

 Early Rose, very prolific, and useful in a dry season like the 

 past, but usually unsuited to the English palate and climate, 

 except where mere quantity is a desideratum ; for this reason 

 I shall discard Peachblow and Bresee's Prolific and Peerless, 

 the two latter both very fine in appearance. Compton's Sur- 

 prise, the chief recommendation of which variety appears to 

 be its productiveness, I have not tried. 



We are, however, greatly indebted to our transatlantic friends 

 for an entirely novel strain. As a rule their Potatoes are 

 vigorous and rapid growers, and in a hot summer or dry climate 

 like that of most of the American States, where our firm- 

 fleshed small early sorts would probably be worthless for pro- 

 duce, their flavour is doubtless improved, and the growth less 

 luxuriant. The best seem to be Early Rose, said to have 

 originated in Alaska, and perhaps the parent of most of the 

 new American sorts. Late Rose, a selection from it, King of 

 Earlies, Brownell's Beauty, and Snowflake, these will be of 

 service to those who like a light-fleshed Potato, easy of diges- 

 tion, and will probably come in for cross-breeding purposes to 

 increase the fertility of our earlies. But for an Englishman's 

 Potato we must look to the advances made by the late Mr. 

 Faterson and Mr. Fenn. His Rector of Woodstock ought also 



to displace the Lishman's Potato, which appeared to be the 

 Early Shaw, a sort very much run upon in Ireland, and the 

 only one I met with at table during a fortnight I spent there in 

 August last in the south and west. It is a deep-eyed and waxy 

 second-early variety, of good flavour, but unprofitable where 

 Potatoes are jacketed before being brought to table. I never 

 saw a kidney Potato there, although constantly changing my 

 quarters. 



Of novelties to come — and they seem to be thickening — we 

 have Mr. Fenn's Early Market and Early White Kidney, both 

 of which are said to be first-rate, and have been certificated by 

 the Royal Horticultural Society ; also his Perfection Kidney, a 

 quasi-graft hybrid, the earliest and handsomest of the Lap- 

 stone family ; and The Favourite, a dwarf second-early variety, 

 of superb quality, and good for exhibition. These are being 

 sent out by Mr. Dean, of Ealing and Bedfont. From America, 

 Alpha (Pringle's), 12s. per lb. ! is said to be ten days earlier than 

 Early Rose, and both it and Messrs. Thorburn's Early Paragon 

 to excel their British compeers. Mr. Brownell's Early Non- 

 such and Eureka are pronounced as first-rate, and are likely 

 to be competitors for the Whitcomb prize of ?200 to be awarded 

 there four years hence for the best seedling Potato. In France 

 La Reine Blanche is stated to be excellent in quality and well 

 adapted for variable seasons ; and if we add to these Oattell'a 

 Echpse, Dwarf White, Early Dimmock, and Barron's Per- 

 fection, all certificated by the Royal Horticultural Society 

 during the past season, and Messrs. Lee's Early Hammersmith 

 Kidney, we have fourteen sorts — surely enough for the most 

 enthusiastic Potato-maniac to experiment on ! and what with 

 the prospect of International Potato Shows at the Crystal 

 Palace and in France next autumn, the noble tuber appears in 

 a fair way to become an enthroned dignity amongst vegetables 

 as the Rose is amongst flowers ; and at this rate some of your 

 readers may live to join a Potato Society, and to read the 

 Potato Chronicle. — Thomas Laxton, Stamford. 



SELECTION OF EOSES. 



I WAS much delighted with, and interested in, the Rose 

 tournaments or elections which were reported in your pages. 

 The wonderful manner in which certain Roses obtained almost 

 unanimous votes of confidence in spite of necessary differences 

 of climate, soil, and temperature surprised me; and I con- 

 sidered these lists very valuable to the amateur Rose-grower, 

 and perhaps also to the nurserymen, as indicating the sorts 

 likely to be in demand. But I confess the selections of Roses 

 made occasionally in your columns puzzle me. Taking a 

 selection of twenty Roses made in your issue of December 24th 

 by the Rev. W. F. Radclyffe, commencing " 1864, Achille 

 Gonod." I placed my own list of the twenty best Roses along- 

 side it, and was surprised to find the two lists had no Rose in 

 common. In this list, and in the amplified one in your paper 

 of December 31st, the Roses are probably not intended to be 

 placed in order of merit ; but the fact stated above suggests 

 to my mind that anyone asking for a selection of Roses should 

 state, first, proposed mode of cultivation ; second, climate ; 

 third, soil. I have purposely placed them in this order. Let 

 me, then, state my position to commence with. 1st, I am 

 cultivating in a high double greenhouse up the rafters, similar 

 to growing Viues (there were Vines there before). 2nd, Cli- 

 mate is the ordinary greenhouse, with suflieient heat to induce 

 flowering in March and .\pril. 3rd, The soil is the best turf- 

 mixture one can make, in slate boxes, between the wall and 

 pipes, but not touching the pipes ; and we give them some 

 pretty strong drink when we see the flower shoots. Now, I 

 want to know what Roses your correspondent would recom- 

 mend me ; and ploase to remember I am fearfully hard up for 

 a crimson. Meantime I will tell that I have given up two Roses 

 I bought marked climbing: Climbing Devoniensis, stock un- 

 known, because it would not climb ; Climbing Victor Verdier, 

 same offence, coupled with aggravated mildew. 



I give my most successful trials in their order of merit. 

 1st, Fortune's Yellow, magnificent flame colour, the finest 

 half-open buds I ever saw; 2nd, Marechal Niel, Cfiliue stock 

 from Curtis of Torquay, enormous flowers; 3rd, Reve d'Or, 

 summer- flowering yellow, very free ; 4th, Gloire do Dijon, 

 flowering now ; oth, Devoniensis (not marked climbing), on 

 seedling Briar, from Prince of Oxford. N.B. — Tbe above five 

 have reached from 15 to 20 feet long, with clean stem 4 feet, 

 (ith. Due de Magenta, apricot colour, about 8 feet. And I am 

 now trying the following : — 1st, Perle de Lyon, a splendid deep 

 yellow, but I think a doubtful ohmber ; 2nd, another Mareohal ; 



