574 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



in diameter; skin usually wrinkled, pale red; flesh white; shoot 

 white, with the point and base red. Stems erect, quadrangular, 

 winged, of a coppery red, from about 2j to over 3 ft. high, some- 

 times branched. Leaves medium-sized, composed almost solely 

 of large oval-acuminate leaflets, which are nearly always folded 

 gutter shape, and of a rather light, yellow-green colour. The main 

 leaf-stalk is rather deeply tinged with brown, especially towards 

 the extremity. Flowers very abundant, of a slightly lilac-rose 

 colour, in numerous clusters, and produced in succession for a long 

 time ; they very seldom bear seed. This is one of the good 



American Wonder Potato (natural size). 



varieties for field culture, and, although its introduction only dates 

 back about twenty years, it has already taken an important place 

 among the varieties which are grown both for the manufacture of 

 starch and for table use. It uniformly yields pretty well, as it 

 suffers little from the disease, and is not too late in ripening, the 

 crop being usually dug in September in the vicinity of Paris. For 

 table use, the flesh is considered to have the defect of being too 

 white and somewhat deficient in fineness of flavour. 



American Wonder Potato. — Tubers rounded, somewhat 

 irregular ; eyes deeply sunk ; skin rather smooth, violet-red ; flesh 

 v/hite ; shoot red. Stems erect, quadrangular, vigorous growing. 



