112 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
to the trade any unmeritorious variety ; second, the very general 
truth that " those who follow the pioneer usually reap the richest 
harvest." In our own country we have many examples of this. 
One I mention : Mr. Ezra Miles, of Leicester, a humble but very 
successful raiser of seed which has passed into the hands of growers 
who have raised several of our leading sorts from it, notably 
' Great Scot.' The National Institute of Agricultural Botany has 
awarded Mr. Miles the first John Snell Memorial Gold Medal as a 
suitable acknowledgment of his fine work, from which he has reaped 
little pecuniary reward. I think it might possibly help such cases 
as this by awarding once a year a gift of ten or twenty guineas to a 
man who, like Mr. Miles, has done a useful work for horticulture, and 
who has remained in very humble circumstances as many worthy men 
are found to do. 
Mr. Chittenden, Director of the R.H.S. Gardens and Laboratories 
at Wisley, gave a resume of Breeding, Selection, and Development in 
Britain, which is familiar to most of us, but which wanted putting on 
record at such a conference. In 1831 Dr. Lindley submitted to the 
Royal Horticultural Society an account of an important series of potato 
trials carried out in their gardens at Chiswick. Mr. Chittenden 
states that from that report it appears that many of the best varieties 
were of American or Continental origin. One would not have thought 
so from Mr. Stuart's statements, but I suppose it is possible that some 
sorts got across to this country which did better here than at home. 
Another point brought out by Mr. Chittenden : some of the 1831 
varieties had as heavy cropping capacity as any' of the present-day 
varieties. That fact should tend to keep us humble. Here is what 
Mr. Chittenden says a little further on : " Though modern varieties 
are not better than the best of that day in yielding power, the general 
level of excellence is probably higher now than it was then, and sub- 
stantial advances have been made in other directions, if we may judge 
by illustrations and descriptions of older varieties that have come 
down to us." Note that further statement to prevent us patting 
ourselves on the back too much. 
Mr. Chittenden sets out clearly and accurately what present-day 
taste demands in a potato : 
1. Medium size ; mealy white flesh when cooked. 
2. For the special chip potato trade, varieties which take up 
comparatively little fat in the cooking (and, may I add, 
large in size for this trade, and thick kidney in shape). 
3. For caterers a potato that can be cooked twice without 
blackening. 
Mr. Chittenden says : " The blackening of the flesh on cooking is 
apparently not altogether a varietal character, but is dependent partly 
upon the nature of the environment in which the potato is grown, and 
the matter is not well understood." It would be a very great help 
if it were well understood. Some varieties are more prone to it 
