188 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTUllAL SOCIETY. 



till the first of June. The vines are of medium height, stout and 

 vigorous ; leaves medium, and of dark color. The tubers grow 

 compactly clustered around the base of the stalks, an important 

 consideration in digging the crop. This variety has been tested 

 the past season on widely varj'ing soils, and has in every case 

 given the same favorable results, producing a yield of from 300 to 

 400 bushels per acre." 



Alpha. — "Also raised by Mr. Pringle, the originator of the 

 Snowflake, from seed borne on Early Rose, and impregnated by 

 pollen of Sebec. It is a v<'ry early dwarf variety adapted to 

 garden culture and to forcing under glass : fit for the table ten or 

 fifteen days before the Early Rose. Tubers of medium size, 

 oblong somewhat flattened, with eyes but slightly depressed ; 

 color a clear white with the slightest tinge of red about the eyes ; 

 flesh very white, fine grained, dry and firm, and possessed of a 

 decided and excellent flavor. Stalks short and close jointed, sel- 

 dom exceeding a foot in height ; leaf broad, light green and shin- 

 ing above ; tubers clustered about the base of the stalk ; quality 

 first rate in every respect. A trial of these two varieties the past 

 season in England has proved highly satisfactory, a first class 

 certificate of merit having been awarded each by the Royal Hor- 

 ticultural Society of London." 



E. S. Brownell entered the following varieties, — Eureka, 

 Brownell's Beauty, and Early Nonsuch. 



Eureka was raised by Mr. Brownell in 1871. " This seedling- 

 resulted from a seed-ball grown on an Excelsior potato vine ; blos- 

 som fertilized with pollen from the White Peachblow ; vines of 

 strong and vigorous growth ; tubers of a good medium and uni- 

 form size ; shape elongated oval somewhat flattened, very symmet- 

 rical and uniformly handsome in appearance ; eyes few, exceed- 

 ingly small, and very nearly level and flat; skin white and fair; 

 season second early, medium or between very early and medium 

 late. It is one of the most productive in cultivation, besides being 

 an excellent keeper. Its flesh is exceedingly fine-grained, white, 

 and when boiled or baked, mealy and of excellent flavor, cooking 

 through uniformly vvithout any fault at the centre. It is considered 

 an acquisition among the white varieties and well worthy of further 

 trial in dift'erent localities." 



Brownell's Beauty. — Another of Mr. Brownell's seedlings, first 

 sent out in the Spring of 1873. " We know of no variety which 



