December 11, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
523 
“ I will only trespass upon your space to explain that the experiments 
which have been carried on during the past summer at Lord Cathcart’s 
request have had for their object the attempt (by cross-fertilisation with 
distinct and hitherto uncultivated species of Solanum) to infuse fresh 
blood into the Solanum tuberosum, the species to which all the varieties of 
Potatoes at jmesent in cultivation belong. 
“ The success which has thus far attended this operation in the case of 
Solanum Maglia encourages the hope that an entirely new race of Potatoes 
may result which shall be free from the attacks of the Peronospora 
infestans, from which the Potato crops of the country have suffered so 
greatly during recent years. 
“ Solanum Maglia was discovered by Darwin in the Chonos Archi¬ 
pelago, 44° to 46° south latitude, and is remarkable as choosing for its 
habitat low-lying marshy places near the coast, whereas S. tuberosum, 
from which the cultivated Potato springs, is a native of the higher Andes, 
where rain is almost unknown. 
“ In view of this fact, and that in a wet summer and autumn the 
Potato disease is invariably much more virulent, while in a dry season 
like the past its ravages are reduced to a minimum, it has been thought 
that the constitutional aversion of S. tuberosum to humidity has probably 
induced its susceptibility to disease. On the other hand, it is hoped that 
the preference shown by S. Maglia for a damp soil and moist climate 
may lead to its being a parent of a new race of Potatoes far more suitable 
for the climate of the British Isles. 
“With this object Lord Cathcart forwarded me some tubers of 
S. Maglia and another species called S. Jamesii, in March, and the 
enclosed is a report to his lordship of the first season’s work, 
“ Those who are interested in this question should read the two 
exhaustive papers which have recently appeared, one by Lord Cathcart, 
on ‘ The Cultivated Potato,’ in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural 
Society (vol. xx., part 1), the other by Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R.S., of Kew, 
read by him before the Linnean Society, and since published under the 
title ‘ A Review of the Tuber-bearing Species of Solanum.’— Arthue W. 
Sutton, Beading!' 
“ Report to Lord Cathcart. 
“ Reading, Oct. 20th. 
“ My Lord,—It gives me much pleasure to report to your lordship the 
results obtained by the cultivating and fertilising the varieties of Solanum 
which your lordship forwarded to me in March. 
“ Of the two varieties—namely, S. Maglia and S. Jamesii, there were 
respectively sixty-one and eight tubers. The former, S. Maglia, were 
divided at the time of planting into two sections—viz., section («) con¬ 
sisting of tubers having a pale-coloured skin ; and section (J) tubers 
distinctly red in colour. The S. Jamesii showed no variation whatever in 
colour. 
“ Knowing that Potato sets frequently fail to start if unfavourable 
weather follows immediately upon the planting, and being very anxious 
to obtain the most complete results possible, the tubers were planted in 
pots under glass as soon as received, and we were thus able to transfer 
to a carefully selected spot in the open ground the first week in June 
three plants of S. Jamesii, and forty plants of S. Maglia, sections (a) 
and (&). 
“Notwithstanding the pains we took, we found it impossible to induce 
more than three tubers of S. Jamesii to start, the remainder of the sets 
rotting in the soil, possibly owing to their having been lifted before quite 
ripe, or having been stored under unfavourable conditions during the 
winter— i.e., before they came into our possession. 
“ I may here mention that in addition to the S. Maglia and S. Jamesii 
received from your lordship I received from M. Blanchard of Brest a 
few tubers of S. Ohrondii (synonymous with S. Commersonii). These 
were treated in precisely the same manner as the others, and two plants 
were put out by the side of the S. Maglia and S. Jamesii on the same 
date. 
“ No difference could be seen in the two sections of S. Maglia, the 
foliage, flowers, and habits of growth being identical, and when a portion 
of the crop was lifted about September 5tb, the produce of the section (a) 
was not in any way distinguishable from that of (&), the majority of 
tubers in each case being of a deep red colour, but here and there a few 
pale and almost white, resembling those planted in section (a). 
“ All three species made rapid growth, but S. Jamesii and S. Com¬ 
mersonii showed signs of ripening off about the middle of August, although 
S. Maglia still continued growing. 
“ In its general character and habit of growth the S. Maglia might 
easily have been mistaken for an ordinary variety of S. tuberosum as 
eommonly grown in this country, although there were points in which it 
differed from any one of the recognised varieties. 
“ S. Jamesii was totally different in every respect, and to an ordinary 
observer would not have been considered a Potato at all. The height 
was only about 8 inches to 10 inches, the leaves excessively small, and 
the habit of growth not altogether unlike the S. Capsicastrum used for 
table decoration. 
“The S. Commersonii somewhat resembled the S. Jamesii, although 
it was more robust, and in every way more nearly approaching the type 
of an ordinary Potato plant. This also ripened off about the middle 
of August. But S. Jamesii and S. Commersonii we could easily recog¬ 
nise from the description and plates in Mr. Baker’s paper read before the 
Linnean Society. 
“ Each of the three species produced an abundance of flowers, the 
corolla in each case being white. It is an exception in cultivated forms 
of the Potato for the corolla to be white, it being generally of a purplish 
lilac tint, varying in depth according to the particular variety. 
“As the flowers appeared every possible care was taken to feitilise 
them with pollen from some of our best disease-resisting Potatoes, and it 
is gratifying to be able to report that in the case of S. Maglia we have 
obtained three fully developed berries well filled with seed. These I hope 
to sow next year, watching with great interest the development of the 
seedlings, and noting what practical result has been obtained by thus 
hybridising the two species. Both S. Jamesii and S. Commersonii resisted 
every effort at fertilisation, and this we were not surprised at, as there 
was so great a difference between these species and S. tuberosum, a 
difference more strongly maiked, as before mentioned, in the S. Jamesii. 
“ On September 5th a portion of the crop was lifted, and it was found 
that the tubers of S. Jamesii and S. Commersonii had not been materially 
altered by cultivation either in form or size. S. Commersonii was the 
least productive, our crop consisting only of five tubers. S. Jamesii, on 
the other hand, produced in one case as many as forty tubers from a 
single set, but the tubers were in most cases a little smaller than those 
planted. In the S. Maglia, however, the effect of cultivation was most 
marked. The tubers as received from your lordship were about the size 
of a pigeon’s egg, but the produce consisted of tubers quite as large as 
an ordinary Potato, and as many as eight to twelve tubers to each 
plant. A few specimens were cooked and proved to be of fair quality 
for table. 
“ If agreeable I shall be happy to forward for your lordship’s exami¬ 
nation specimens of the tubers, if your lordship will inform ms to what 
address you would wish them sent. 
“ I recently called on Mr. Baker at Kew, and he was greatly pleased 
that our first year’s work had been so far successful, as were also Pro¬ 
fessors Oliver and Dyer. 
“ The S. Maglia has not hitherto been known to bear a seed berry, 
and we may, therefore, attribute the present result entirely to the fact of 
its impregnation with pollen of the S. tuberosum. 
“There is no doubt, after the exhaustive paper contributed by your 
lordship to the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, 
and the publicity given to Mr. Baker’s lecture, that this a subject that 
will command increasing attention, and, with your lordship’s permission, 
I hope to forward to the horticultural press some account of the progress 
made. 
“Apologising for the length of this letter, 
“ I have the honour to be, 
“ Your lordship’s most obedient servant, 
“Arthur W. Sutton. 
“ The Eight Hon. the Earl Cathcart, Thornton-le-Street, Thirsk.” 
GLADIOLUS GANDAVENSIS HYBEIDS. 
The unusually mild autumn has enabled us to leave these 
in the ground much longer than can generally be done. This, 
together with the most favourable season for their development, 
is eminently satisfactory, for splendid corms have as a rule been 
produced even with the later-planted batch, while the majority 
of those planted early are larger than I have ever seen English- 
grown ones. This to some extent was anticipated even without 
the remarkably helpful season, as they received all the attention 
which was considered necessary in order to ])roduce good results; 
and the conditions under which they were grown—in all about 
1500 bulbs in upwards of 150 varieties—may be briefly summed 
up thus : Warm, sunny, well-drained position, deeply dug or 
bastard-trenched ground, a good supply of decayed manure, 
coarse grit about the corms, and occasional supplies of water 
during very dry weather. 
The position I consider of paramount importance, and after 
trying various aspects with certain well-known varieties I am 
more than convinced that a warm southern or western aspect is 
the best, and if gently sloped so much the better; indeed next 
season I intend planting most if not all of them in a sloping 
border about 10 feet wide with a fall of a foot or 15 inches 
towards the front, and I fully expect even better results, other 
things being equal. The previous preparation of the ground I 
hold to be most desirable, especially if wet and rather stifi:. 
With such no time should be lost in getting it ridged as roughly 
as possible to ensure the sweetening effects of wintry weather. 
The ground I have selected for next season’s planting, although 
moderately light and well drained, is nevertheless now turned 
over; but it will not be manured till the planting season, or 
owing to the drainage much of the goodness will be lost, which 
I hold to be most essential in the successful cultiue of the 
Gladiolus. At any rate I have been more satisfied at the result 
with than without manure, although some good growers urge its 
non-importance, and attribute some of the ills affecting the 
Gladiolus to its excessive use; but personally I am very sceptical 
on this point and act accordingly. Those promulgating that 
doctrine say that manure-fed plants never ripen their corms 
thoroughly, and consequently the latter fail to keep well through 
the winter and in the long run fail entirely. 1 quite believe 
that the instances of insufficient maturation are due mainly to 
late planting supplemented by selecting wrong positions ; if put 
in at the proper time, say early in March, in well-drained sunny 
