8 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



after year from the same stocks upon the same land, and had 

 become so degenerated as to offer an easy prey to the ravages of 

 the disease, and in wet seasons so precarious were the crops in 

 some places that the tubers scarcely paid for the lifting. Of late 

 years a better prospect has been opened up ; the life history of 

 the worst scourge, the fungus known to science as Phytophtliora 

 infestans, has been studied out, the cause of the disease is now 

 understood, and a remedy for this, although unfortunately not 

 the sole, but by far the most destructive enemy of the Potato,, 

 is, let us hope, within practical reach. In one district in the 

 West of England known to me the effects of the disease have 

 been already reduced to a minimum by constantly changing the- 

 tubers — that is to say, instead of selecting the tubers for planting 

 for the following season from the crop grown upon the spot, fresh 

 tubers are obtained from crops grown in another locality, the 

 results being better crops and less disease. These simple facts 

 are well worthy of the attention of all who take an interest in 

 the formation of labourers' allotments, for the main crop of such 

 allotments will surely be Potatoes year after year, and no men 

 have fewer opportunities of effecting the desired exchange of 

 tubers, or are more prone to continue selecting them from their 

 own stock, than those who are under the necessity of getting, 

 through the greatest amount of cultural labour in the least avail- 

 able time. 



Turning to tap-root vegetables, we find that thirty years ago 

 only three varieties of Beet were generally cultivated. Dell's 

 Crimson, introduced in 1869, has, under many synonyms, taken 

 the place of most of the older forms, while the Egyptian Turnip- 

 rooted has been a welcome addition to the sorts for early use. 

 Among Carrots the old sorts are still more or less cultivated, but 

 selections from some of the French varieties, such as the Early 

 Nantes, Gucrande, and St. Valery, are now extensively grown. 

 One peculiarity in some of the newer sorts should be noted — they 

 are of a uniform bright red colour throughout, and destitute of 

 the yellow core so familiar in the older kinds. Generally speak- 

 ing, the improvement in Carrots has tended towards the produc- 

 tion of earlier varieties, better shape, better quality, and greater 

 weight of crop. The Parsnip being of so much more restricted 

 use, naturally falls into a subordinate place, and the old sorts still 

 hold their sway. 



