38 Notes and Glea7iings. 



Breeders have laid down the most prominent points of a good animal, by 

 which they are governed in awarding premiums and selecting stock, with as much 

 faith as a Churchman has in the Thirty-nine Articles of his creed ; and we pro- 

 pose to name a few characteristics of a good potato. In the first place, it should 

 be healthy. As a good constitution is the first requisite of a good animal, so 

 vigor is the leading quality in a potato. No other quality, and no combination 

 of qualities, will compensate for the want of this. We have never seen a potato, 

 that, for table-use, came up to the Carter ; but still few venture to plant this 

 variety, as its constitution is so impaired, either by age or abuse, that it cannot 

 resist disease except under the most favorable circumstances. The same objec- 

 tion, though in an inferior degree, lies against the Mercer or Chenango, and, 

 indeed, against many of the otherwise excellent table-potatoes. We remember 

 once hearing a cautious old bachelor say, that, in selecting a wife, he should 

 consider health as the i^rime quality. We were inclined to smile at his placing 

 the physical above the mental and moral in a wife ; but, as a potato has no mental 

 nor moral quality, we shall certainly place health as first among the characteris- 

 tics of a good variety. 



Next to health we rank flavor. Some may sneer at the idea of flavor in a 

 potato ; but every variety has a taste peculiar to itself, as marked as is the flavor 

 of the different varieties of apple. That potato is best, which, like pure water, 

 has little taste. Some varieties are bitter, like the waters of Marah ; and it is a 

 little singular that those who are addicted to the use of strong potatoes prefer 

 them to the milder kinds, much as those who are accustomed to drink the muddy 

 water of the Missouri complain of the pure spring-water of New England as 

 having no body to it. There is no accounting for tastes ; but there is no doubt 

 that an unvitiated palate prefers a mild potato, as it does pure water. The flavor 

 depends partly upon the soil where the potato is grown, and the manner with 

 which the soil is enriched. We have known the same variety grown in sandy 

 land, lightened with muck and leaf-mould, mild and agreeable ; while, grown in 

 clay enriched by sharp manure, it became strong, and even bitter. The Carter 

 is the standard potato for a mild, pleasant flavor ; the Jackson White, a seed- 

 ling from the Carter, is flavored much like its parent ; and the Early Goodrich 

 .commends itself in this regard to universal favor. 



Another characteristic of a good potato is its farinaceous quality. Possibly 

 we might become accustomed to a soggy potato, so as to prefer it to a mealy 

 one ; but it will be some years hence, and after long and self-denying practice. 

 Possibly the mealy quality can be carried to excess, so tliat the potato will fall 

 to pieces in boiling, and will not have consistency enough to be broiled or fried 

 in a second cooking. We have heard this objection made to the Dover. The 

 first edition of it is good, light as sponge-cake ; but it is almost impossible to 

 warm it over, and bring it on the table in decent shape. As the first cooking is 

 the more important one, and as the farinaceous quality is so desirable, there is 

 little danger of cultivators paying too much attention to its development. 



Form is another quality, to which all potato-growers should have an eye. A 

 deep-eyed, hunch-backed potato may taste just as well as a smooth, well-formed 

 one ; but there is great waste in cooking it, and the market value is and should 



