THE POTATO 73 



than potatoes which have, in a way, exhausted 

 their vitality in ripening. For another thing, 

 again owing to the climate of Scotland being colder 

 and later than that of England, seed tubers taken 

 from Scotland to England for seeding purposes 

 are not usually so much sprouted as those in the 

 warmer south at the same time of year, and conse- 

 quently do not lose so much of their stamina and 

 vitality through the breaking of sprouts in hand- 

 ling. 



"But over and above these considerations there 

 is undoubtedly in the potatoes grown in the colder 

 and more bracing climate of Scotland some subtle 

 force which makes for greater constitutional vigor 

 and habit of growth than is characteristic of those 

 grown in the warmer and more relaxing climate of 

 England. 



"In 1903 Professor Seton, at the Yorkshire Col- 

 lege farm, carried out an experiment on this point, 

 and found that seed grown in Scotland, when 

 planted in Yorkshire, showed an increase of crop 

 to the extent of two tons per acre, and was much 

 freer from disease than the adjoining crop of the 

 same variety grown from native seed. Much 

 attention was attracted to these findings at the 

 time; but since then they have been very fully con- 

 firmed, not only by the experience of hundreds of 

 English growers, but also by scientific and careful 

 experiments at practically all the agricultural col- 

 leges in England. At the Cambridge University 

 farm Professor Middleton found that the crop 

 from Scotch-grown seed was so vastly heavier 

 than the crop from native seed of the same variety 

 that he was fairly staggered at the result, and half 

 inclined to doubt the accuracy of his own findings. 

 At the Northumberland County Council farm of 



