AMEEICAN potatoes: CLASSIFICATION AND DESCEIPTIONS. 5 



Group 9. — Rural. 



Tubers: Broadly round-flattened to short oblong, or distinctly oblong-flattened; 



skin creamy white, or deep russet in the case of section 20. 

 Sprouts: Base dull white; leaf scales and tips violet-purple to pansy violet. 

 Flowers: Central portion of corolla deep violet, with the purple growing lighter 



toward the outer portion; five points of corolla white, or nearly so. 

 Group 10. — Pearl. 



Tubers: Round-flattened to heart-shape flattened, usually heavily shouldered; 



skin dull white, dull russet, or brownish white in section 1 or a deep bluish 



purple in section 2. 

 Sprouts: Section 1 — base, leaf scales, and tips usually faintly tinged with lilac; 



section 2 — base, leaf scales, and tips vinous mauve. 

 Flowers: White. 

 Group 11. — Peachblow. 



Tubers: Round to round-flattened or round-oblong; skin creamy white, splashed 



with crimson or solid pink; eyes usually bright carmine. Includes some 



early -maturing varieties. 

 Sprouts: Base, leaf scales, and tips more or less suffused with reddish violet. 

 Flowers: Purple. 



In deciding upon the name by which each group shall be known 

 an attempt has been made to select that of the variety which seems 

 most nearly to represent the group as a whole and which, at the same 

 time, is most widely known. 



In the group descriptions which follow an effort has been made to 

 give the general characteristics of the vines and tubers for the group 

 as a whole. It is realized, however, that in all probability the de- 

 scriptions more closely approach the characters of the variety fur- 

 nishing the group name. 



All descriptions of the color of the sprouts are based on the observa- 

 tion of tubers sprouted in a dark chamber. 



1.— COBBLER GROUP. 



The Cobbler group represents a class of early-maturing potatoes. 

 The Irish Cobbler is by far the most extensively grown variety 

 of this group, being almost universally raised for an early crop in 

 the Norfolk and Eastern Shore trucking districts of Virginia and 

 Maryland. It is also rather extensively grown in other trucking 

 centers and is gradually supplanting such varieties as the Triumph 

 and the Spaulding No. 4. Large quantities of Irish Cobblers are also 

 grown in northern Maine to supply seed for southern truck growers. 

 Plates I, II, and III illustrate different types of potatoes belonging 

 to group 1 . 



Description. — Matures early. Vines medium to above medium in size, with some- 

 what spreading habit of growth. Stems dark green, stocky, and rather short jointed. 

 Leaves large, flat, more or less flaccid, and a medium dark green. Flowers numerous, 

 rather large, light purple or rose-lilac; under intense heat the color may be practically 

 ■inexpressed. Tubers roundish with blunt ends, the stem end often being notched 

 uther deeply and giviiyj a shouldered api)earance to the tuber (PI. I, figs. 1 and 2). 

 I'^yoH modiuiii in iiiirnber, varying from shallow to rather deep, particularly in the 



