38 THE FLOEIST AND POMOLOHIST. [FEBRUARY, 
meritorious. Of late years quite a new and distinct class of Potatos has reached 
us from America, and to some extent superseded our old-established favourites. 
These American Potatos have certain peculiarities of character that constitute an 
almost distinct class. They are early in coming into use, and continue fit for 
use for a great length of time ; the tubers are mostly large in size and very hand¬ 
some ; the varieties may all be termed enormous croppers ; the whiteness of the 
flesh is remarkable; and in most cases they are very floury when cooked, and of 
excellent quality. On this point, however, there is some divergence of opinion— 
some soils and some seasons appearing to be more favourable for their develop¬ 
ment than others. The character of the haulm is also quite distinct, the foliage 
being large, broad, pale green, and ripening off early. We wish we could say that 
they are not subject to disease. Of the naore remarkable of‘these Potatos, we would 
specially mention the American Late Lose, a great improvement on, and not to bo 
confounded with, the American Early Eose of earlier introduction ; this is an enor¬ 
mous cropper, frequently producing tubers from 8 in. to 10 in. and 12 in. in length, 
and unlike most other large Potatos, the whole is of usable quality ; the skin is pale 
red or rose, the flesh pure white, very dry and floury, and, in our estimation, of excel¬ 
lent quality. Another Potato of the same character, but much earlier and of dwarfer 
habit, is the Extra Early Vermont; the quality is excellent. Vermont Beauty, or as 
it is now called, Brownell!s Beauty, is certainly one of the most beautifully-coloured 
red Potatos we have seen; it is of large size, and fine quality ; a second early, of 
fine dwarf habit; and a heavy cropper, producing all the tubers of fine large 
uniform size, quite close to the haulm. Of the white-skinned American varie¬ 
ties the more noticeable are Bresees Climax and Bresees Prolific, the latter a 
very beautiful variety, and both great croppers and of fine quality. We would 
also direct attention to the Red-shinned Flourhall —a new name for an old variety 
—onejDf the most remarkable and generally useful Potatos we have. 
We have, moreover, several English champions in the field who are reaping 
laurels fast. Mr. Fenn is again to the front with a host of new seedlings, 
all of purely English character, and possessing much of the blood of the fine old 
Ashleaf Kidney. In Alice Fenn, Early Gem, and Early White Kidney we have 
three very early, handsome, and heavy-cropping kidney Potatos, and one remark¬ 
able trait they possess over all other early Potatos, is that they are equally as 
good for late as early use. In Feni!s Early Market we have a most important 
addition to our early round Potatos ; it is very early, of good size, a great cropper, 
and of excellent quality. The late firm of Bell and Thorpe has also supplied us 
with a gi’oat variety of novelties of the character of the Fluke, the most remark¬ 
able of which is Model, a large, broad, flat, white tuber ; and Mr. R. Dean comes 
forward with Excelsior, a very largo, long, white kidney of the Dawes’ Matchless 
type, and of extra fine quality; and also Bountiful, the most handsome red 
kidney Potato we have. So much for Potatos, then, and for English versus 
American sorts. In the former wo have no doubt a finer quality, and tubers 
more suited for a gentleman’s table ; but in the latter we have undoubtedly far 
