16 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1899. 



for a succession from first to last, the three named will give 

 perfect satisfaction. 



Judging the importance of any vegetable in its value as an 

 article of food to the world, we must accord to that grand old 

 vegetable, the Potato, a very high place. For is it not speak- 

 ing within bounds to say, that hardly a day passes but it is in 

 use upon the tables of the rich and poor alike? 



I do not believe that there is any other vegetable so univer- 

 sally grown by every farmer in the land, or which holds a higher 

 average in his crops, than the potato. 



The farmers of fifty years ago had but few varieties in culti- 

 vation. The old Long Red, Orange Yellow, Jackson White, 

 and Blue Nose, were the principal kinds then known. 



On the advent of the Early Rose Potato a new impetus was 

 given this vegetable. The unparalleled success of this new 

 variety, combining as it did earliness, great productiveness and 

 first-class quality, placed it at once at the head of all known 

 varieties. 



The great advance of this variety infused into the hearts of all 

 seedsmen an earnest desire to bring out other new kinds, which 

 should if possible surpass the merits of this wonderful variety. 

 Many new kinds were introduced, some of much merit, but the 

 Early Rose still holds the prestige of being one of the very best 

 in quality and productiveness. 



Among the many valuable varieties introduced since the Early 

 Rose, Beauty of Steben, New Queen, Early Essex, Clark's No. 

 1, Carman No. 1, and Carman No. 3, and Early Fortune are 

 the most desirable. As indicating the o^reat mao^nitude of 

 potato growing in this country, I received a communication a 

 few days since from a large Western seed firm, stating that they 

 sold the past year 87,500 bushels of potatoes for seed purposes. 



In some sections of the country Squashes are largely grown, 

 especially in the vicinity of large canning establishments, as the 

 squash ranks in the amount of product put up as one of the 

 largest. Quite an important point in growing squashes in our 

 section is to utilize the land used for earl}' cabbages, peas, and 

 early potatoes, in growing this as a second crop, planting them 



