JUNE 15, 1914 



THE IRISH COBBLER POTATO, AND THE SPORT- 

 ING HABIT OP POTATOES IN GENERAL. 



This spring, as usual, when I wanted 

 some choice potatoes to plant (especially 

 (he Red Bliss Triumph), I did not find any 

 in our locality. I would, of course, have 

 brought home some of that kind that grew 

 in Florida, but they would not have sprout- 

 ed in so short a time after being dug. I 

 have mentioned the seed firm of F. W. Gib- 

 bons & Co., of Boston, Mass., who gTow 

 potatoes, especially for planting in the 

 South, by the hundreds of carloads. I wrote 

 a friend in the employ of the firm in regard 

 to my wants, and he sent me some very 

 choice Triumph potatoes, and also included 

 some Irish Cobblers. Here is what he says 

 about the latter : 



Brother Root : — The Cobblers are as early as Bliss, 

 and heavier croppers; but they need heavier fertiliz- 

 ing than the late varieties, as they have to ripeu 

 their crop in two weeks less time than the late vari- 

 eties. If I can get my hands on an extra-fine strain 

 of Golden Bantam corn I will mail it. By passing 

 along among the farmers' wagons in August one 

 often finds a particularly fine strain of vegetable. I 

 saw a farmer with fancy Golden Bantam last sum- 

 mer, but failed to take his name and address. 



The Irish Cobbler is supposed to be a sport (origin 

 unknown). It is evidently a sport, not a seedling, 

 because the type is not fixed. You plant twenty true 

 to name; and when you dig them you will find some 

 have reverted to some one of the original parents, and 

 some in a field will have blossoms of different colors. 

 The buyer thinks he has been given mixed seed; but 

 it is simply some tubers that reverted, and conse 

 quently the careful Aroostook farmer keeps " rogu 

 iiig" out the varieties in order to hold the type 

 Now, the type is this ugly square-shaped deep-eyed 

 tuber with a deep cavity at the stem end, and ar 

 ugly, deep, puckered-up eye at the seed, and it very 

 much resembles a Naval ; but this type is very early, 

 and a heavy yielder. It must have good rich soil, as 

 it has to do its work in ten days less time than later 

 varieties of potatoes. 



Edwin E. Harrington. 



Maiden, Mass., May 21. 



P. S.- — Tou owe me nothing for this. I am now 

 and always shall be indebted to you for so much 

 good that I absorb from the last half of Glbaninqs. 



E. E. H. 



The above interested me greatly, for I 

 have been for years watching the tendency 

 of the different varieties of potatoes to 

 sport. For instance, for several seasons I 

 selected the hills of a certain variety that 

 kept green after the others had died down. 

 In this way I created a late variety from 

 what had formerly been an early potato. 

 In a like manner you can, by diligence, 

 build up in a few years almost any kind of 

 potato you want. The specimen of Irish 

 Cobbler alluded to is a large nice potato, 

 smooth and white, but with very deep eyes 

 — so deep, in fact, that the potato was most 

 ungainly-looking compared with the smooth 



481 



(GAEDENENG 



round Triumph potatoes, as shown in the 

 picture on page 317, April 15th issue. 



In many localities, I believe, the Irish 

 Cobbler is getting to be a great favorite as 

 an extra-early potato. 



I extract the following from the Florida 

 Groxcer concerning the Irish Cobbler. 



The Irish Cobbler is a good variety which is grow- 

 ing in popularity, and has the double advantage of 

 being a very good keeper and shipper. The price of 

 good guaranteed seed from any reputable house 

 varies of course a little, but may be taken at an 

 average of $1.75 a bushel, or about $4.50 a barrel. 



SESAME in the WEST INDIES; NOT ONLY A FOOD 

 BUT A HONEY-BEARING PLANT. 



Mr. A. I. Root: — It gives me pleasure to send to 

 you, under separate cover, some sesame. It is raw 

 seed. I hope you will make several trials of parch- 

 ing so as to get the best flavor. I like it best served 

 hot with a little white sugar. Eat and enjoy it. 



My stock is down to about a quart now, so I 

 could not fill many orders ; but, all going well, I will 

 plant in a week or so, and should have 500 lbs. in 

 four months. Our sesame patch is alive with bees 

 when in bloom. 



Judging from the sesame letter in Gleanings 

 (Mr. Thompson's) there are different varieties, to 

 say the least. Some peopie who have written me 

 from Texas describe the plant in a way that does not 

 fit mine. Our sesame shells itself out when ripe. 

 Pods open wide, and seed scatters at the least touch. 



When you get your sesame parched just right, 

 grind some very fine and try it in wheat-flour pan- 

 cakes. John M. Brewer. 



Columbia, Isle of Pines, W. I., May 12. 



RAISINS BY THE TON, ETC. 



Raisins are packed in great sheds, like corn in 

 the East. One of our neighbors often has 100 or 

 150 tons on hand at once. We have only a small 

 place, and our biggest raisin crop so far has been 

 about 14 tons. 



I wish every one in the country could read Our 

 Homes. I am clipping the item on cigarettes, from 

 New Zealand, and sending to my mother. 



We have voted our whole county dry excepting 

 Fresno and one oil town, Coalingo, and in doing so 

 drove three roadhouses out of existence in our vicin- 

 ity. We are only four miles from Fresno, and of 

 course they catered to the tougher element of the 

 city. 



Our women take the franchise sensibly, and are, 

 as a whole, more intelligent voters than the men. 

 We have on overwhelmingly large Armenian, Greek, 

 Italian, and some Mexican and other foreign popula- 

 tion. Our district school has 14 nationalities, while 

 they claim 31 for Fresno. This means civic and 

 moral as well as financial problems. 



Fresno, Cal. Cora Denham. 



CLAIMS RELATIONSHIP. 



Mr. Root : — I get Gleanings, and think it is fine. 

 Every man who is against the whisky traffic is my 

 brother. 



Woodville, Okla. E. L. Glimmer. 



Mr. Root : — I keep bees. I don't subscribe for 



Gleanings, but I often read it. Don't you think I 



ought to have a dasheen ? C. C. Miller. 



Marengo, 111., U. S. A. 



