1922.] 



The PRODrcTiON of Seed Potatoes. 



907 



the change, which is of value in planting on low ground, seed 

 which has been grown at a much higher altitude, the difference 

 in climate between the two altitudes being a strong factor. 



(6) Situation. — Undulating land is more suitable for the pro- 

 •duction of seed potatoes for the following reasons : — 



(a) Drainage is better (probably the land will be naturally 

 drained), and so potato crops are less liable to disease, e.g., 

 Corky Scab, which thrives on undrained land. 



(h) On undulating land potatoes are less liable to attacks of 

 Blight which spreads rapidly on low-lying flat land. This is 

 probably in a large measure due to the absence of air currents 

 which are always present in undulating country. 



(c) The sun, which is necessary for the formation of starch, 

 has the greatest effect in this respect on land sloping to the 

 south, and most arable farmers grow their potato crop on their 

 best-situated fields. On such land the hottest rays of the sun 

 (at noon) strike the ground obliquely, but later in the afternoon, 

 when the rays are cooler, at more of a right angle, and so 

 the heat of the sun throughout the day is moderated, and the 

 greatest possible amount of starch is formed without fear of 

 over-ripening. The reverse is the case on flat land, where the 

 rays of the sun are not so moderated during the day but are 

 more intense at noon and cooler in the evening. The whole 

 of district " A " in Cumberland is undulating, and very few, 

 if any, potatoes are grown on flat land. The same applies to 

 districts " B " and " D " to a lesser degree. 



(7) Common Diseases. — It may be safely stated that potatoes 

 grown in Cumberland and Westmorland are, as a rule, remark- 

 ably healthy and free from disease. Though such diseases as 

 Blight, Corky Scab, Black Leg, Mosaic, Leaf Curl, etc., are 

 often present as in most potato growing districts, yet they 

 are seldom severe enough to injure the crop to any considerable 

 extent, and frequently little trace of these diseases can be 

 found. 



(8) Capacity For Producing Heavy Crops. — County trials have 

 proved that with proper cultivation and manuring certain 

 Cumberland soils can produce as heavy crops of most varieties 

 of potatoes as are produced in other counties. 



(9) Accessibility of Markets. — Owing to present high railway 

 freights Cumberland growers have a good opportunity to build 

 up a seed business by offering their potatoes at a moderate 

 price to midland and southern growers who cannot afford to 

 buy Scotch seed. Cumberland growers would thus gTeatly 



