466 SOLANACE^ 



tion without any appearance of clamminess or wetness, 

 and should preserve a white colour even when cold, 

 (c) The yield per acre_ should be high. 

 {d) High starch-content is needed where the tubers are used 



for the manufacture of starch or in the distillery. 

 {e) Shallow 'eyes,' and few of them, are looked for in the 

 best quality, as those with deep depressions hold dirt, 

 and necessitate considerable waste of substance when 

 peeling is practised before cooking. 

 (/) Good keeping quality. 



ig) Trueness to type of tuber should be aimed at. Whatever 



form the tuber takes — whether round, kidney, or oval 



■ — the crop should be as uniform as possible in this 



respect, and tendency to super-tuberation should be 



avoided. 



Climate and Soil. — The potato succeeds best in a warm 



and comparatively dry climate, and is unable to stand frost, 



exposure to a temperature of freezing point for a single night 



being sufficient to destroy the stems and leaves of a young crop. 



The soils best suited to its growth are deep, sandy loams, 



lying upon porous subsoils ; stiff clays and undrained peaty 



soils, with excessive amount of moisture present, are almost 



valueless for potato culture, unless well drained and cultivated, 



and even then the quality of the tubers produced upon such soils 



is unsatisfactory, although the yield is sometimes high. 



Sowing. — New varieties are raised from true seeds, the 

 resulting tubers being propagated for three or four years before 

 a decision can be arrived at in regard to their usefulness. 



The main crops of the farm and garden are raised by planting 

 tubers ('sets'). Although large 'sets' almost invariably give 

 the greatest yield of crop, for economical reasons tubers about 

 the size of a hen's egg, and weighing about 3 or 3J oz., are 

 usually employed with good results. Small tubers produce weak 

 plants. The best results are generally obtained by planting whole 



