24 THE POTATO CROP. 



colour, whence it takes its name, is confined to the stems 

 and skins of the tubers. It has been long in cultivation, 

 and is chiefly valuable from being suitable for use between 

 the periods of planting and taking up the new crop. 



St. Helena. Stem upright and bushy, and about 2| 

 feet high; tuber roundish but irregular; colour whitish, 

 sometimes tinged with red; moderately mealy, good 

 flavour, and healthy. 



Stafford Hall. Stem erect and spreading, from 2 to 2J 

 feet high ; tuber rather flattened, round, or slightly ob- 

 long; colour dull red, approaching to purple ; very mealy, 

 excellent flavour, and very healthy. Introduced in 1827 

 by Mr. Ross, of Stafford Hall (Cumberland), who obtained 

 the Highland Society's medal for it. Rather a late 

 variety, grows well in strong loams ; requires to be pitted 

 for two or three months before it acquires its full flavour 

 and value, and then will retain them, and be fit for con- 

 sumption until the earlier sorts are ready in the ensuing 

 season. In Mr. Lawson's paper, in the Highland Society's 

 Transactions, " On the Comparative Merits of Varieties 

 of the Potato," this potato was found to have a higher 

 specific gravity, and to contain a larger proportion of 

 starch, than either of the other varieties seventy-three 

 in number which were examined. 



CLASS III. Browns Fancy. Stem spreading, about 

 2J feet high ; tuber slightly oblong and flattened ; colour 

 whitish ; medium size, medium flavour, and healthy. 

 They are excellent for storing, well adapted for cattle- 

 feeding, but of inferior quality for the table. 



Common Yam. Stem stout, and rather bushy, about 

 2i to 3 feet high; tuber large and oblong; colour dull 

 pink ; waxy, flavour indifferent, very healthy. This variety 

 is readily distinguished, on being cut open, from all others 

 (save the wild potato), by having a ring similar in colour 

 to the skin, and lying within, in a parallel zone. It is 



