578 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



violet; flesh yellow, fine in texture, and of good quality ; shoot red. 

 Stems erect, stiff, more round than quadrangular, coppery red, and 

 from 2 to 2^ ft. high. Leaves rather scanty, and pale gray-green. 

 In the lower leaves the leaflets are often joined together so as to form 

 one broad rounded leaf-blade ; the leaves at the top of the stem are 

 often curled and wavy, with pointed leaflets puckered at the edges. 

 Flowers, white, numerous, in rather strong clusters, and hardly ever 

 producing seed. The haulms or stalks of this variety are remark- 

 ably slight and slender, and do not cover the ground beneath them. 

 This is a very distinct potato ; it was formerly a great favourite, 

 but, at the present day it has been superseded by more productive 

 kinds, although of superior quality and an excellent keeper. If 

 planted in April, new potatoes may be dug about the end of 

 August. In the neighbourhood of Cherbourg, where it is very 



extensively grown, the mildness of the climate permits of its being 

 planted in December, the crop coming in in June or July. 



Cardinal Potato. — Tubers medium-sized, oblong or almond- 

 shaped, very red ; flesh pale yellow, sometimes slightly streaked 

 with pink, firm and floury ; the shoot red. The stems are short, 

 thin, spreading, slightly violet, scarcely winged ; the leaves few, 

 small, light green ; leaflets of unequal sizes, oblong, rounded, not 

 much reticulated. The flowers are white, and fall off before they 

 open. A very productive variety, of excellent quality, the tubers 

 are regular in shape and keep well. A mid-season variety and a 

 healthy vigorous plant. 



Pousse-debout Potato. — Tubers almost cylindrical, narrowed 

 at the ends, from about 3J to 4 in. long, and between i and 2 in. in 

 diameter ; skin pale red, rather smooth, eyes faintly marked and 

 prominent ; flesh yellow ; shoot pink. Stems vigorous growing, 

 erect, branching, generally short, seldom exceeding from 20 in. to 

 2 ft. in height, and tinged with coppery red, as are also the leaf- 



Robertson's Giant Kidney Potato (natural size). 



