FIRST EARLY POTATOS. 
FIRST EARLY POTATOS. 
As is well known, Potatos may be arranged in a sequence of first early, 
second early, maincrop, and late varieties, according to the season at 
which they come to maturity, i.e. at which the amount of crop pro- 
duced is sufficient to justify digging, and the tubers in such a con- 
dition as to be palatable. No hard-and-fast Hne can be drawn between 
these divisions, and naturally a number of circumstances combine 
to determine the exact time at which any variety will be fit to lift. 
Apart from the question of variety, and the source of the seed 
tubers, the main factor is the locality, certain districts being notoriously 
suitable for the production of early crops, e.g. parts of Cornwall 
(especially the shores of Mount's Bay) and Devon, parts of Cheshire, 
Ayrshire, and many relatively small areas in other parts of the country. 
The demand for new potatos in the early part of the season is great, 
and the price they command high ; efforts are therefore naturally 
made to meet the demand. Unfortunately, the varieties mostly grown 
to satisfy it, namely 'Epicure,' 'May Queen,' * Ninetyfold,' and 
' Midlothian Early ' or * Duke of York ' as it is variously called, are 
none of them immune from attacks of wart disease, and no other well- 
known varieties combine the essential qualities of immunity from wart 
disease and early fitness to lift with high yield and good table quality. 
In some districts other qualities, such as size of tuber, habit of hauhn 
to permit interplanting with Brassicas, and so on, are looked upon as 
of first importance, and some efforts have been made to secure new 
varieties which combine these qualities. 
Few of the many new forms raised of late years have proved really 
first early, but the three that have made the greatest bid for favour 
up to the present are : ' Arran Rose,' ' Dargill Early,' and ' Broad- 
leaved Ashleaf.' Full descriptions of these varieties will be found in this 
Journal, vol. xlv. (p. 360). ' Edzell Blue ' has been classed with the 
first-early section in error ; it is not a first early, but should be regarded 
as a second early ; moreover, its deep-purple skin is against it as a 
market variety, for popular prejudice is all in favour of potatos with 
little or no colour in the skin and none in the flesh. 
With the object of comparing the yielding powers of these varieties 
with three standard first earlies, arrangements were made to grow 
at Wisley, in 1920, tubers of all six from stocks grown in 1919 in one 
locality, so as to eliminate as far as possible chances of error arising 
from the seed tubers being derived from different sources. By the 
kindness of Sir Matthew Wallace and Mr. McAlister, both of 
Dumfries, this was possible. Very even lots of seed tubers of about 
3 oz. weight were received before Christmas of each of these vaiieties 
from Dumfries and boxed to sprout. At the same time another set 
of seed tubers of the same varieties grown at Wisley in 1919 were 
