1Q22.] 



The Proditction of Seed Potatoes. 



903 



THE PRODUCTION OF SEED 



POTATOES IN CUMBERLAND AND 



WESTMORLAND. 



Major Oswald Eiley, 

 Ministry of Agriculture. 



It has long been recognised that the counties of Cumberland 

 and Westmorland, owing to essential climatic conditions, are 

 capable of producing seed potatoes of high quality suitable for 

 planting in the midland and southern counties. It is evident 

 that those growers who, foreseeing the inevitable spread of 

 Wart Disease throughout the country, are specialising in the 

 production of seed of immune varieties, are becoming alive to 

 this fact. A large number of growers in Cumberland received 

 the Ministry's certificate of purity for immune varieties in 

 1920; in fact, in cases of the more popular varieties 30 per cent, 

 of the total number of growers of immune varieties in England 

 and Wales were Cumberland farmers. In the near future there 

 is certain to be an ever-increasing demand for ' ' seed ' ' of these 

 varieties, and Cumberland growers would be well advised to 

 organise this industry at once and place it on a sound basis. 



An association of growers who could supply seed potatoes of 

 the best quality, guaranteed to be grown in the best districts in 

 Cumberland, would create a regular demand for their produce 

 in the south, and the southern grower would be able to obtain 

 first-class " seed " at a moderate price. From the point of 

 view of the national food supply and the productiveness of the 

 land, such a scheme might have a far-reaching effect, as with- 

 out doubt the present low tonnage grown per acre, especially 

 in the southern counties, is largely due to the use of poor 

 ** seed " or " seed " gTown under unsuitable conditions. 



The horticultural inspectors of the ^Ministry, in carrying out 

 the work of crop inspection, have been able to collect valuable 

 information as to the most favourable districts for raising seed 

 potatoes in Cumberland and Westmorland, but while it is 

 possible by means of personal inspection and observation to 

 form an opinion as to suitability or otherwise of any particular 

 district for this purpose, it is more satisfactory and convincing 

 to prove this by means of statistics of climatic conditions, com- 

 piled during a long period of years, and at the same time to 

 compare them with similar records taken in other potato grow- 

 ing districts which have already established a reputation for the 

 production of seed potatoes. 



