Jjnnaiy 27, 1870. ) 



JOURNAL OF HORTIGULTUKE AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



65 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



NOTES ABOUT POTATOES. 



UNBAR REGENT, with Walker's Early 

 Regent, Walker's Improved Regent, Pater- 

 son's Regent, Prince Regent, and nobody 

 knows bow many other aliases the York 

 Regent — the old true variety — is found 

 under ; it is one of the most useful of 

 Potatoes, combining heavy cropping, hard- 

 iness of plant, size without coarseness of 

 tuber, good cooking qualities, with full 

 flavour, and it is a good keeper. It is a 

 staple kind — unsurpassed for bulk combined with quality, 

 and is justly popular for field or market purposes. 



Other qualifications than bulk and fair quality are ex- 

 pected to be found in a garden Potato. Size is of some 

 moment, but it must not approach to coarseness ; the 

 tubers should be uniform, with few that are small and 

 unuseable. Appearance is all-potent ; a Potato suitable 

 for a gentleman's table must be very regular in outlioe, 

 have a good clear skin, and the eyes few and even with 

 the surface. Then it must not be " ead," but dry and 

 mealy, free from fibre, core, or discoloration of flesh, 

 and should possess a flavour so extremely delicate as not 

 to be distasteful to refioed palates. In growth it must 

 be dwarf, having stiff short haulm, and the produce 

 must ripen early. Of that type are Mr. Fenn's pro- 

 ductions — models of what Potatoes should be for garden 

 cultivation. 



Of late years many people have been smitten with the 

 disease of " Potato craze." Wonderful things were to 

 have been accomplished by Mr. Paterson's seedlings, but 

 only one of note is left — Victoria, unless, indeed, we ad- 

 mit the claims of Bovinia, the biggest and ugliest, and at 

 the same time most worthless of Potatoes. Then there 

 has been an invasion of American Potatoes, those intro- 

 ductions with which we have been favoured with of late 

 years. 



The object of all enterprise in Potatoes would appear 

 to be to increase size and quality, and justly so, for to 

 add size without corresponding goodness is to take a step 

 backward, which will require at least two steps to bring 

 in advance of the starting point. Now, we have in the 

 American kinds a bulk which cannot fail to Patisfy the 

 most hopeful aspirant ; but Potatoes to take with con- 

 sumers must have useful cooking qualities — mealiness and 

 good flavour. Which of the American varieties possess 

 these qualities? The earlies? None that I have tried 

 (and to those these remarks must be held to apply) possess 

 them in a degree approaching our older sorts. Early 

 Rose is certainly a prodigious cropper, but even in light 

 soils with high culture it is waxy, anl is neither pleasant 

 to look at nor tempting to eat. Extra Early Vermont is 

 very much superior to Early Rose, finer in form and 

 regularity of outline, and superior in cooking ijuality to 

 it, resembling our kidney-shaped earlies more than any 

 other American kind, also in good cooking properties, and 

 is besides very productive, but exhibiting no improve- 

 ment over Myatt's Prolific or Yeitch's Ashleaf, but rather 



No. 774.-VOL. XXX., New Sekies. 



inferiority, and it is needlessly extending names to 

 retain it. 



Of second earlies Brownell's Beauty (Vermont Beauty) 

 is a very heavy cropper, with strong short haulm, and 

 for so large a tuber is fine-looking, the eyes not being so 

 deep as in the old " Cups" or Red-skinned Flourball. In 

 quality second-rate will accurately satisfy its claims, 

 though as a baking Potato I am informed (for I cannot 

 appreciate a " roasted tater") that it is first-rate. Snow- 

 flake is a great advance in appearance, being very hand- 

 some and noble-looking, the eyes very little depressed, 

 wit'n a clear white skin, great regularity in the tubers, 

 large and even-sized, and in flavour and good cooking 

 properties running very close for equality our Dons, 

 Rocks, and Regents, " Dunbar Regent " not excepted, 

 whilst for cropping it is the equal of any of those. Its 

 size is too large for a gentleman's table, but for market 

 purposes it will no douljt put forth the claims, which are 

 justified by its merits. 



Late American kinds I have represented by Late Rose, 

 which is large, even in form, and shallow-eyed, a very 

 heavy cropper, and of good quality. It is a kidney, and 

 too long to have a good appearance at table. Excelsior 

 is a handsome flattish-round sort, not remarkable for 

 cropping, but possesses good cooking qualities. Willard 

 as I have it is a round-flatfish kind, of a very even useable 

 size, deep pink in colour of skin, and russetted, very white 

 in flesh, cooking well late in the season. 



Not one of those mentioned surpass our Foughs, Blues 

 (Skerry), Flukes, Fortyfolda, White Dons, White Rocks, 

 or Regents in those essentials of productiveness and quality 

 which meet acceptance with growers and consumers. Of 

 field or winter kinds I have a number which I must, 

 curiosity being satisfied, discard for want of room, expe- 

 rience having shown to demonstration that large autumn 

 and winter kinds in the highly-manured soils of gardens 

 attain to a size and coarseness prejudicial to their appear- 

 ance and use as compared with the same sorts grown 

 under the best stimulating culture of the farm, to which 

 they will be relegated. Snowflake, however, does not 

 exhibit the coarseness of other kinds, and will therefore 

 be retained. I v/ill now proceed to an account of Rector 

 of Woodstock, Early Market, and Bountiful. 



Rector of Woodstock is a second eorly, flattish round 

 in form, with a white slightly russetted skin ; tubers of 

 medium size, as even in size as they are regular in form, 

 boiling excellently, very floury and very delicate in flavour ; 

 it is a good cropper, ripening- off early, and is not liable 

 to disease. But this, like most of the second earlies, if 

 planted late succumbs to disease. It has a dwarf and 

 very compact haulm. 



Bountiful is a second early red kidney, is a very finely- 

 formed tuber, almost without eyes, very round for a 

 kidney, rather long and pointed, and is extremely beau- 

 tiful, and possesses when cooked great drjness, with a 

 peculiarly delicate nutty flavour. The haulm is short, 

 and produces a heavy crop of even-sized tubers. 



Early Market, a first early, flattish-round in form ; 

 eyes slightly depressed; skin yellowish, slightly russetted, 



No. 1126.— Vol. LV., Old Sebies. 



