130 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
A STANDARDIZED POTATO TRIAL. 
By W. Cuthbertson, V.M.H. 
In the autumn of 1916 I decided to carry out in 1917, if possible, a 
series of Potato Trials in different parts of the country on a better 
basis than that of any former trials. For a long time I had recognized 
that the Royal Horticultural Society's and all other Potato Trials 
had an unsatisfactory basis, in so much that the seed tubers used came 
from all parts of the country — from Devonshire to Aberdeenshire 
and from Ireland. 
At the Potato Conference at Ormskirk, under the auspices of the 
Board of Agriculture and the Lancashire Farmers' Association, in 
October 1916, I explained my scheme, and offered collections to those 
willing to assist. In the beginning of December I sent the under- 
noted letter to the following nine gentlemen, without whose help the 
work could never have been done, and to whom I feel deeply indebted : 
Professor Seton, The University, Leeds. 
Dr. Keeble, F.R.S., Director, R.H.S., Wisley. 
Professor Barker, University of Bristol. 
Mr. W. D. Davidson, Dept. of Agriculture for Ireland. 
Mr. W. Mauger (Mauger & Son), Guernsey. 
Mr. P. C. M. Veitch (Robert Veitch & Son), Exeter. 
Mr. E. J. Deal (Johnsons Ltd.), Boston, Lincolnshire. 
Mr. Sowman, Lancashire C.C., Hutton. 
Mr. G. T. Malthouse, Shropshire C.C., Shrewsbury. 
Mr. James Bone (Dobbie & Co.), Edinburgh, had charge of the 
tenth lot. 
Potato Trials. 
" Dear Sir, -With reference to the offer I made at the Ormskirk 
Conference, I now beg to say that I am in a position to send you twenty 
varieties of potatos, twenty sets of each, if you think you can find 
time and facilities to grow them next season. The seed has all been 
standardized by having all been grown in a market garden near 
Edinburgh last season. Previous to that, of course, it was all Scotch- 
grown stuff, but grown in different districts. I suggest that the 
twenty varieties should be grown in lines 3 feet apart and the sets 
placed 18 inches apart. This distance you may consider rather wide 
for early varieties, but it will enable you to better observe the characters 
of the plants. I would further suggest that the ground should be 
dug one spit deep now and manured with farmyard manure at the 
rate of 20 tons per acre. The question of artificial manure I am asking 
