SCIENTIL'IC COMMITTEE, JULY 17. 



Ixxxi 



Tuberous Solanums. — Mr. Sutton also showed a very interesting series 

 of plants of tuber-bearing Solanums, together with water-colour drawings 

 showing habit &c. 



1. Wild types of the following species raised from seed sown in March 

 1900, and planted in the open in May. 



(a) Solanum Uiherosum. the true wild type now cultivated possibly 

 for the first time in this country, raised from seed. The plants did not 

 exceed 8 inches in height. 



(6) Solanum verrucosuin, about the same height as the preceding, but 

 very different in habit. 



(c) Solanum 'polyadenium (Greenman), collected in September 1904. 

 A very hairy species. 



In all these three cases the specific types of Solanum have reproduced 

 themselves absolutely true from seed without any variation whatever. 

 This is the more remarkable because in no single case does the cultivated 

 potato of commerce come true from seed, and very seldom, if ever, does 

 any individual seedling raised from a seed-berry (often containing two 

 hundred seeds) from the' cultivated potato at all closely resemble its 

 parent. The seedlings from the above three types are all equally true to 

 the parent forms. 



2. Specific forms of tuber-bearing Solanums raised from tubers, with 

 illustrations of habit. 



(a) Solanum Maglia, as received about twenty years ago, and grown 

 since then in Reading. 



[h) Solanum etuherosum, as received about twenty years ago. 



(c) Solanum, a type or species known as 'Papa d'Amarilla,' bearing a 

 great resemblance to the type of S. tuberosum mentioned above. Mr. 

 Sutton had never known this variety to produce seed. 



{d) Solanum Commersonii, the type as grown at Eeading for several 

 years. 



3. Specimens of ' Blue Giant ' and of M. Labergerie's so-called 

 Solanum Commersonii 'Violet variety.' 



(a) The potato ' Blue Giant ' raised from tubers supplied by the raiser, 

 Herr Paulsen, of Germany. 



(b) The * Blue Giant * raised from tubers received from M.M. de 

 Vilmorin, of Verrieres. 



(c) M. Labergerie's so-called Solanum Commersonii 'Violet variety' 

 raised from tubers received direct from ^I. Labergerie's agent. 



{d) M. Labergerie's so-called Solanum Commersonii ' Violet variety ' 

 raised from tubers received from M. P. de Vilmorin, of Verrieres. 



The last four specimens showed the extraordinary effect produced upon 

 a crop of potatoes by the variation in soil or locality in which the tubers 

 producing such a crop were grown. 



The two specimens of ' Blue Giant ' and the two specimens of the 

 alleged variety of Solanum CommersoJiii differed from each other much 

 more than the specimens of 'Blue Giant' differed from the Solanum 

 Commersonii ' Violet variety ' of Labergerie grown in similar soil. Indeed, 

 these two alleged different varieties were practically alike in appearance. 



Malformation of Potato Flower. — Mr. Sutton also showed an inflores- 

 cence of the potato ' Up-to-Date,' in which one of the flowers had the 



F F 



