ON THE POTATO 



In other cases the vines were compact, in strik- 

 ing contrast with their straggling sisters. 



As to the potatoes themselves, some were quite 

 small, and the larger ones revealed the most 

 curious colors — ^bright crimson, scarlet, bright 

 yellow, white, black, and purple; the various colors 

 being sometimes intermingled in the same tuber 

 in the most curious way. Some were black from 

 skin to skin, others had a red center with an outer 

 layer of purple about a quarter of an inch thick. 

 Others were white or yellow, with purple veins 

 radiating from the center of the potato to the eyes. 



In yet other cases the flesh of the potato was 

 variegated with crimson and yellow, purple and 

 white, blended into every imaginable form and 

 figure; so that when the potatoes were sliced the 

 effect was grotesque and sometimes fascinating, as 

 the cut surface revealed landscapes, faces, geo- 

 metrical figures, cloud effects, varying kaleido- 

 scopically with each new slice. 



Notwithstanding the great interest of these 

 hybrids, I did not think them worthy of introduc- 

 tion, as they were curiosities rather than a prac- 

 tical commercial production. Yet it seems not 

 unlikely that a more extended series of experi- 

 ments in hybridizing and selection in which strains 

 of the Darwin potato are introduced might result 

 in a product of real value. 



[301] 



