MAINCROP AND LATE POTATOS AT WISLEY, 1916. 
135 
MAINCROP AND LATE POTATOS AT WISLEY, 1916. 
Ninety-seven stocks of Potatos were grown in the trials of late and 
maincrop varieties at Wisley 1916, including several varieties that 
had received Awards in earlier years for comparison with newer ones. 
Twenty tubers of each were planted on April 25 in rows 3 feet apart 
and 18 inches apart in the rows in well-dug ground heavily manured 
for the previous cabbage crop. The sets had been sprouted before 
planting. Almost all the stocks made good growth, and in many 
cases excellent yields were obtained. The cultivation was under the 
charge of the Superintendent, Mr. S. T. Wright, and Mr. J. Wilson. 
The soil of the Wisley Garden is well suited to almost all varieties 
of Potato, the only exceptions being those few varieties which are 
best suited by a stiff clayey soil. In comparing the yields in 
the records given below, it must be remembered that the quality of 
the seed has a great deal to do with the yield, and one of the chief 
factors governing seed-quality is the place in which the seed is 
grown. Indeed, the difference in yield between different stocks 
of the same variety from seed of the same size, treated in all 
respects in the same way and grown under precisely similar con- 
ditions, may be greater than that between a normally poor-yielding 
variety and a heavy-yielding one. This is well brought out in 
the present trial by comparing the yields of a variety of which two 
or more stocks from different districts were included, e.g. ' Arran 
Chief.' Of these there were three English stocks, one from the West 
of England giving 71 lb., one from Bucks giving 61 lb., and one from 
another locality giving 48 lb. Three came from Scotland giving 
79 lb., 78 lb., and 76 lb. respectively, and one from Ireland giving 
76 lb. The same kind of thing is seen by comparing the yields given 
by the two stocks of the Factor (Nos. 82 and 83) where the seed grown 
in Bucks gave only 58 lb., wh'le that from Scotland gave 89 lb. The 
superiority of the Scotch and Irish seed over most English seed is 
unmistakable, and while there are undoubtedly other factors at work 
which render the seed better or less good, and while doubtless also 
some districts of Scotland and Ireland are better for seed-potato 
growing than others, the fact that the seed used in this trial came from 
different districts prevents any exact comparison of the power of 
cropping being made between all the varieties included. The weight 
of crop given therefore shows only what may reasonably be expected 
from the varieties when grown from seed produced in the districts 
from which those grown in this trial came. Scotch-grown varieties 
may usually be safely compared with Scotch-grown and so on. 
The Fruit and Vegetable Committee examined the trial when the 
