3iS2November 18, 1866. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
445 
COMING EVENTS 
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Sheffield Show 
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POTATO EXPERIMENTS AT BEADING. 
S will be remembered by many of our readers, 
Messrs. Sutton & Sons of Reading conducted 
with great care last year some highly interesting 
experiments in raising Potatoes by intercrossing 
what was considered to be Solanum Maglia with 
a new variety raised by Mr. E. Fenn, and now 
named Sir Charles Douglas. The history of the 
experiments in question is briefly this. In 1883 
Lord Cathcart received from Mr" Baker of Kew 
specimens of the wild form of Solanum tuberosum under the 
name of S. Maglia. The produce of these tubars was sent 
by his lordship in March, 1884, to Messrs. Sutton & Sons, 
who raised plants from them, and the flowers being fertilised 
developed three berries filled with seeds. These were sown, 
and twenty-eight plants raised, the progeny of which was 
inspected, and the varieties described in this Journal on 
October 29th, 1885. It was also there stated that Mr. 
Arthur W. Sutton had succeeded in crossing S. Maglia with 
three varieties of admitted excellence—Reading Russet, 
Walker’s Regent, and Paterson’s Victoria. The progeny 
resulting from these crosses is now on view, together with 
the increase from the tubers of the preceding year, in one of 
the offices in Messrs. Sutton’s trial grounds. The collection 
forms what may be fairly 'described as a remarkable 
museum of Potatoes, the like of which is not to be seen else¬ 
where. 
The species and varieties on view are quite unlike the 
examples that are arranged at Potato shows, for apart from 
the pea-like tubers of some of the wildings the heaps of the 
seedlings take us back in imagination to a period anterior to 
the outbreak of the destructive murrain upwards of forty years 
ago. At that time the Potatoes generally grown in bulk for 
ordinary consumptive purposes were a rougher and hardier- 
looking race than now obtains. No systematic attempts at 
raising new varieties were then made, and those most exten¬ 
sively cultivated very closely resembled the kind sent by 
Lord Cathcart to Reading, and as there increased in size by 
cultivation. The similarity was indeed so striking that we 
had no hesitation in suggesting that the species grown at 
Reading under the name of S. Maglia was the progenitor of 
the present race of English Potatoes. We had before us, at 
the time of writing, figures of S. tuberosum, as prepared at 
Kew, and published in the Linmean Society’s Journal, 
and also of Mr. Baker’s figure of S. Maglia. The latter far 
more closely resembles the growth of the strong-growing 
English varieties than the former does ; and, as before ob¬ 
served, the so-called Maglia tubers as grown at Reading, to¬ 
gether with some of the seedlings, bear a striking likeness to 
the old rough reds of half a century ago. There appears, 
however, to be a doubt as to whether the tubers sent by Lord 
Cathcart to Reading were, after all, examples of the true S. 
Maglia. That they were obtained by his lordship under that 
name from Kew we have had sufficiently conclusive evidence, 
and we are fully satisfied that the Reading experiments have 
been conducted with such a zealous regard to accuracy that 
No. 334. —Vol. XIII., Third Series. 
no mistake has occurred there; yet the S. Maglia that we 
referred to last year as grown at Reading, and obtained from 
Kew, differs from what is admitted to be S. Maglia by the 
Kew authorities. This difference has been established by 
striking cuttings from the true Maglia and what we will call 
the “ New Maglia,” and carefully noting the results. What, 
then, is this “ new” Maglia ? What can it be but S. tuber¬ 
osum ? 
But it has been said, and doubtless with truth, that 
Darwin’s Potato or Bolanum Maglia is a coast plant, pro¬ 
ducing medium to large-sized tubers of good quality in moist 
ground, while S. tuberosum has its home on the hills, pro¬ 
ducing smaller tubers, described by most old authors and 
travellers as bitter. But now comes the question, Would the 
small tubers from the bills become larger and better through 
being grown in more generous soil near the coast ? Those 
sent to Reading increased in size at the least tenfold under 
cultivation; and this fact tends to support Mr. Shirley 
Hibberd’s theory, that the coast and hill plants are geo¬ 
graphical forms of the same species —S. tuberosum. Heriot, 
who was in the expedition with Raleigh when the tubers were 
collected that he brought to Ireland in or about 1610, has 
described them as growing in “ damp places,” and as being 
“ good for food either boiled or roasted.” Assuming these to 
have been of S. tuberosum, described as “bitter” on the 
hills, its quality must have improved in more fertile soil. 
The improvement in the two cardinal properties, size and 
quality, is thus accounted for, and Mr. Baker may still be 
right in his original statement as to all the varieties in culti¬ 
vation descending from tuberosum. 
Since reports to the contrary have been widely published, 
founded as they were on a basis that appeared perfectly 
sound, it becomes necessary to adduce the further evidence 
referred to as the outcome of the exhaustive experiments at 
Reading. This does not in the least detract from the 
importance of the work in question. It is going back to 
nature in search of the lost vigour of the Potato as the result 
of loose cultivation. So loose and careless was this previous 
to the disease period that there is little wonder at the break¬ 
down of the plant under adverse circumstances. Plants in 
nature are sounder in constitution than those are under a more 
or less artificial method of cultivation. It is by going back to 
nature that we find the strongest parentage. And if the impress 
of parentageis evidence of innate strength, as it is, then Messrs. 
Suttons are on [firm grouud, for assuredly the character of 
what may be termed the wild parent is far more pronounced 
in the seedlings produced than is that of the cultivated 
parent 'that was chosen in the experiments. The object 
sought i3 strength and hardiness of plants, combined with 
excellence of tubers. There is not wanting evidence of this 
being attainable. The tubers of the “ wild ” parent under culti¬ 
vation at Reading are good, even very good, but those of one of 
the seedlings when cooked and served proved still better, indeed 
excellent alike in texture and flavour. The results already 
obtained are full of interest and of promise. The great 
majority of the varieties have dark skins, more or less 
resembling the seed parent, though several are lighter, and a 
few nearly white, one being almost an exact reproduction 
of the pollen parent. They incline to be oval or pebble 
shaped, though some are nearly round, and all are heavy for 
their size; this, with a rough or crackled skin, being by no 
means a bad indication of good quality. It should be said 
that the pollen parent employed in crossing is a long kidney¬ 
shaped white tuber, rather rough in appearance, but chosen 
because of its superior quality. Mr. Fenn regards it as the 
best in that respect he has raised ; and as it was preferred by 
Sir Charles Douglas to all others, it is named in commemo¬ 
ration of that gentleman. 
The relative produce in 1885 from each grain of seed, 
and of this produce planted and lifted this year, is represented 
in the following table. 
It will be noticed that the increase in the crop of the 
No 1990--Voi. T.XXV, Old Series. 
