i9o6.] Cooking Quality of Potatoes. 



47 



are of interest. He states that the season of 1905 was par- 

 ticularly favourable to the growth of roots of a character such 

 as a factory would desire, viz., a root well matured and not of 

 large size. Hence one would expect the roots in such a season 

 as 1905 to be rich in sugar, and this proved to be the case, as 

 the subjoined analyses show. In comparison with these results 

 are given some obtained in 1904, exemplifying the differences 

 which season will make : — 





Water. 



Sugar. 



Crude 

 Fibre. 



Albuminoids, 

 Ash, &c. 



1904. 











Sample No. i 



87-07 



7-92 



2-i6 



2-85 



No. 2 



88-09 



6-99 



2-06 



2-86 



No. 3 



86-85 



6 -80 



2-30 



4-05 



No. 4 



87-92 



6 -60 



r8o 



3-68 



1905. 











„ No. 5 





15-46 



4-94 





No. 6 





13-23 



4-19 





„ No. 7 





15-21 



3-92 





No. 8 



76-63 



14-99 



5-26 



3-12 



No. 9 (Mangel-beet) 



84-92 



8-22 



2-98 



3-88 



The samples examined in 1904 were grown near Norwich; 

 No. 5 (1905) was from a i4-ton--per-acre crop grown near 

 Ipswich, the seed being of the Wanzleben variety, and manured 

 with farmyard manure only ; No. 8 was grown in Bucks, and 

 No. 9 was a sample of " mangel-beet " from the same farm. It 

 will be seen how much higher was the sugar percentage in the 

 roots of 1905 than in those of 1904. But Dr. Voelcker observes : 

 " There can no longer be any doubt of the possibility of grow- 

 ing in this country in a favourable season beet containing a 

 good percentage of sugar, but it is equally certain that there 

 are many other factors that have to be taken into consideration 

 before it can be concluded that the production of beet sugar in 

 this country will be a commercial success." 



The importance of ascertaining the quality of potatoes by 

 actual cooking tests is becoming more recognised. In the 

 extensive series of experiments carried out 

 ^^of^^PotsSoes!^^ at Leeds University, trials of this descrip- 

 tion were included ; and this was also the 

 case in the potato experiments conducted during the past year 



