gPHE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 2^ 



THE DEMPSEY POTATO. 



Tliis new variety was raised by the President of tlie Fruit Growers' 

 Association of Ontario, P. C. Denipsey, Es(j., and through his kindness 

 it is offered to all the subscribers to the Horticulturist who prefer 

 t,o give it a trial instead of the grape vine, flowering shrub or apple 

 free. In giving the history qf this potato M^. Denijisey says : — 



"About tlie year 18G1 I planted a hill of tlie Early Eose potato in 

 a patch of Early Goodrich, carefully removing the stamens from all tlie 

 Howers of the former, and depended upon natural causes to fertilize 

 them. No other variety being near them, there must be a cross or no 

 seed balls would have l)een produced. The Early Ptose is not apt to 

 produce seeds on account of its ripening before the seeds mature. In 

 order to overcome this difficulty 1 employed water and stimulated it 

 occasionally until the seeds had matured. The seeds were planted 

 the following spring, and each plant grown for a time in a thumb pot, 

 then transferred to the open ground, giying each plant about two by 

 three feet, they were carefully cultivated. Tlie result was that many 

 of the tubers attained full size the first year. I had about two 

 hundred varieties giving more or less ]3roraise of excellence. Many of 

 the varieties had very tender foliage, Avere lig,ble to sun-scald and lose 

 their foliage before the tubers had rpatu'red. I commenced rejecting 

 any that did not come up as I thought to the then standard, whicli. 

 included hardiness of plant, full medium sized tubers, and to contain 

 veiy few if any small ones, to cook dry and mealy, not gummy, and 

 to be good in flavor. 



" In 1872 I had thinned them down to about one hundred varieties, 

 which I shqw.ed that fall in Hamilton. I was nearly two days con- 

 tending for space to exhibit them, and received very little encourage^ 

 ment for the enterprise. I have continued to reject, until I have but 

 the one variety left. 



" The Dempsey is a good strong grower, and seems to do well on 

 every soil, bi^t does best on heavy soils. It is a gpod cropper, not 

 being excelled l)y any table variety with nje in that respect. The toi)S 

 stand up well, rendering cultivation easy. It does not yeadily yield 

 to drouth; maintains its foliage green usually until frost, and usually 

 continues to grow until then. If planted early it does very well as an 

 early potato, but is not the earliest variety.-' 



I The writer has had an opportunity of testing this potato both 

 boiled and baked, and has found it to be pf expellent quality, mealy 

 g,nd dry. In form it is oblong, usually tapering towards the seed end. 

 The color is a purplish red, sometimes staining the flesh when cooked, 

 and the skin i.<5 often quite covered with russet. 



