12 BULLETIN 176, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



there are rather extensive commercial plantings of the first two vari- 

 eties. The Blue Victor is grown only as a novelty or for family use 

 at the present time. It matures somewhat later than either the 

 Pearl or the People's. 



Owing to the pronounced variation in the color of the tubers and, 

 to a lesser extent, in the color of the stems between the Blue Victor 

 and the other two varieties, it has been deemed advisable to divide 

 the group into two sections. 



Description. — Vines medium to large, strong, healthy and as a rule well branched; 

 stems dark green (in section 2 streaked with purple), more or less upright in early 

 stages of gi'owth, but gradually assuming a somewhat decumbent position as the vine 

 approaches maturity. According to Fitch, ^ the main stem of the Pearl should assume 

 a more or less horizontal position and the lateral branches an upright position. Leaves 

 medium to large in size, rather fiat, somewhat rugose, and approaching dark green 

 when well gi-own. Flowers white. Tubers medium to large, solid fleshed and heavy, 

 round-flattened to heart-shape flattened, usually heavily shouldered and broader at 

 the stem end. Under unfavorable conditions the tubers seem to have a decided 

 tendency to elongate and become less flattened. Eyes rather shallow, sometimes 

 protuberant, or in off-type specimens inclined to be deep with heavy eyebrows. 

 The bud-eye cluster in a normal specimen is shallow, while in an abnormal one it is 

 usually distinctly receding. When freshly dug, the Pearl has a distinct pinkish or 

 light-purple tinge around the eyes, partiqularly at the seed end; exposure to the light 

 or prolonged storage seems to reduce the color to such an extent that it is scarcely, if 

 at all, visible. Skin varying from a dull white or a dull russet or brownish white, in 

 the case of the Pearl and People's, to a deep violet-blue, with few, many, or no creamy- 

 white splashes, particularly around the eyes (as in Blue Victor). Sprouts have base, 

 leaf scales, and tips slightly or distinctly suffused with light lilac in the Pearl and 

 People's, while those of the Blue A^ictor are a vinous mauve. A comparison of Plate 

 XVII and of figures 1 and 2 of Plate XVIII discloses the remarkable similarity in 

 shape of the Pearl and Blue Victor tubers. 



As previously stated, the varieties belonging to this group are 

 classified as follows: Section 1. — Pearl and People's. Section 2. — 

 Blue Victor. 



11.— PEACHBLOW GROUP. 



The potatoes of the Peachblow group have in the past occupied a 

 very prominent place among the cultivated varieties, but at the 

 present time they are httle gTO\\Ti commercially outside of a rather 

 restricted area in Colorado and in a limited way as a late crop in Mary- 

 land and Virginia. Most of the older people of the present generation 

 can remember when the Old Jersey Peachblow was a popular home 

 and commercial variety, but, hke most other widely grown varieties 

 of its time, it seems to have had its day and is now rarely found, 

 except in the collections of the older amateur potato enthusiasts. 

 This group is characterized by the extreme health and vigor of its 

 vines. It includes some early varieties, but they are mostly late 



1 Fitch, C. L. Productiveness and degeneracy of the Irish potato. Colo. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 176, 16 

 p., illus., 1910. 



