II32 Official Notices and Circulars. [feb., 



Quantity of Seed. — In carrying oat these trials 14 lb. of each variety- 

 should be planted on land which has been prepared according to the 

 instructions given below. 



Preparation of Land, — The land used in all allotment trials should 

 be bastard trenched. 



Manures. — The land should receive farmyard manure at the rate 

 of 10-15 tons per acre, and, preferably, to be applied in the drills at the 

 time of planting. 



Artificial Manures. — These should be applied as follows : — 

 Superphosphate,* 26 per cent. . . • • 4 cwt. per acre. 

 Sulphate of Ammonia . . . . . . i ,, ,, 



,, Potash,* 49 per cent. .. i ,, 



In making these suggestions regarding manuring, it must be borne 

 in mind it may be necessary to modify them in accordance with the 

 local customs and conditions. 



Varieties. — In 1920 it is proposed that the trials should be divided 

 into two main sections : — 



Part I. — Demonstration of the cropping powers of the well-known 

 immune kinds, such as : — 



1st Earlies. — Snowdrop, Dargill Early. 



ind Earlies. — Great Scott, Arran Comrade. 



Main Crops, — Majestic, Kerr's Pink, Golden Wonder, Tinwald 

 Perfection, Abundance. 



Part 2. — Early Varieties. — During 1920 it is considered important 

 to institute trials to test the earliness of cropping qualities of certain 

 early varieties. It must be realised that certain varieties are grown 

 and marketed as earlies, which are not really earlies, if regarded from 

 the point of view of maturity. *' Epicure " is a good example of this 

 It is a variety which " bulks " early, and can be marketed early, yet 

 if judged by its date of maturity, it is a second early. The same remark 

 applies to " Eclipse " or "Sir John Llewellyn." 



It has been maintained that " King George " is a variety which, if 

 treated as an early, will be ready for lifting quite as soon as " Epicure." 

 Last season, in many districts " Arran Comrade " matured earlier than 

 " Epicure."- It is, therefore, of the greatest importance that this year 

 this problem of earliness should be tested in a thorough manner in all 

 those districts where early potatoes are grown. 



Note. — ^The trials of early varieties are for the express purpose of 

 comparing the earliness of some particular varieties. To obtain reliable 

 results it is obvious that the seed of the many kinds must all come from 

 the same source, be treated in a similar way, planted on the same date, 

 and the crop given equal opportunities for development. The important 

 point is not merely the determination of a date when the crop matures, 

 but of a period when the crop may be profitably marketed. This is a 

 point that should be well considered. 



The instructions regarding supply of seed, manuring, etc., are the 

 same as for the cropping trials, but the varieties may be different, as 

 below : — • 



Varieties for 1920. — ^Three of the leading well-known first earlies 

 should be grown as controls with which the new varieties may be 

 compared. The three varieties which should be used for this purpose 

 are " Duke of York," " Ninetyfold," and " Epicure." 



* If other grades are used, such quantity should be applied as_ will provide 

 the same amounts of phosphate or potash as those indicated. 



