Notes and Gleanings. 39 



be less. The Colebrook Seedling is a model in its form ; a smooth, egg-shaped 

 potato, with seldom an excrescence upon it. The State of Maine and the St. 

 Helena are looked upon with great favor, as is many a belle, mainly for their 

 good form. We may decry good looks in women or potatoes as much as we 

 please ; still the stubborn truth will remain, that good looks first attract the eye 

 and find a market. 



Other things being equal, we should give preference to an early and white 

 potato over the late and red. The early potato is most likely to escape disease 

 and frost, and comes into market when prices are high. Almost every season 

 we hear some say in July and August, '• We do not like early potatoes : they are 

 soggy. We prefer old potatoes through the summer." To cure all such preju- 

 dices needs only a few doses of Early Goodrich, taken at dinner-time. One dose 

 will generally suffice ; but a week's application is warranted to cure. As for red 

 potatoes, we Icnow no reason why they may not be as good as white ones ; neither 

 do we know any reason why a red man may not be as good as a white man : but 

 we all prefer to be white, and we all prefer white potatoes. 



Avoid a deep-eyed potato. There is great waste in buying them, as we buy 

 much air if we buy per bushel. In cooking, there is still further waste. Still 

 some of the deep-eyed potatoes are so good, that we can afford to pocket these 

 losses. The Garnet Chili is imperfect in this particular, but is too good a pro- 

 ducer, and too healthy and well flavored, to be discarded for this one defect. 

 Moreover, it is the father of the Rose, the latest wonder in the potato world, 

 which is selling for two dollars per pound. At the relative prices, we prefer the 

 old block to the young chip. 



We shall do injustice to our own feelings if we close this brief article on the 

 different varieties of potato without paying a tribute to the memory of the 

 late Rev. Chauncey E. Goodrich of UtiCa, N.Y., who for sixteen years studied this 

 subject most carefully, and left us a rich legacy in the results of his investiga- 

 tions. From some constitutional idiosyncrasy, Mr. Goodrich was unable to eat 

 potatoes himself; which fact makes his persevering labors in studying the habits 

 of the plant, and originating new varieties, all the more remarkable. As early 

 as 1S46, his attention was called to the potato-disease. The result of his inves- 

 tigations was the conclusion, that the causes of the disease of this semi-tropical 

 plant were the changes and intensities of the weather, the character of the soil, 

 and the artificial mode of culture. The constitution of the potato thus became 

 impaired, and transmitted its want of vigor to succeeding generations, each be- 

 coming more and more enfeebled. In 1848, he began importing from South 

 America, the original home of the potato, some of the native tubers, and, from 

 the seed of these, began reproducing new varieties. In all, he originated some 

 fifteen thousand seedlings. These he divided into seventy-four distinct families. 

 After four or five years' trial of the different seedlings, he rejected those whose 

 health, yield, and habits he did not like. Mr. Goodrich died in the midst of his 

 experiments, but not until he had established in *public favor the Garnet Chili, 

 Early Goodrich, Calico, Gleason, and Harrison varieties, which now stand at 

 the head of the list with all well-posted and successful cultivators. These vari- 

 eties can be planted with the expectation, that, under ordinary circumstances. 



