196 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
November 27, 1886. 
been thoroughly diagnosed, and we know it fully 
in its worst aspects, yet its coming remains as 
much a mystery as does the probable date of its 
departure, should that desired event ever occur. 
Varying in its dread effects, more or less, 
according to seasons, some three or four years 
since, after several seasons of distressing mis¬ 
chief to the Potato crop, the Royal Agricultural 
Society of England, under the inspiration of 
Lord Cathcart, promoted an inquiry into the 
disease, into modes of checking it, and also into 
the desirability of originating new varieties 
which might possess absolute disease-resisting 
properties. That such work, fraught as it was 
with interest to the entire nation, should have 
been undertaken by a comparatively private 
society rather than by the Government through 
its costly establishment at Kew, is as creditable 
to the former as it is discreditable to the latter. 
However, the work was undertaken, and on 
behalf of the society, by none with greater zeal 
and industry than by that eminent horticultural 
and agricultural seed firm, the Messrs. Sutton 
& Sons, of Heading. We would premise 
further observations by saying that some 
kinds of Potatos—notably, Magnum Bonurn, 
Champion, Chancellor, and others—have been 
put into commerce of late years, which have 
undoubted, birt not absolute, disease-resisting 
powers, and the firm.just mentioned merits the 
warmest thanks of the nation for having been 
the pioneers of this good work, in putting the 
first-named kind into commerce ; for it is no 
figure of speech to say that the famous Magnum 
Bonurn has been a great instrument in con¬ 
verting previously lean crops into breadths of 
wondrous abundance. 
In spite of these benefits, however, it was 
felt of the first importance that the suggestions 
of Lord Cathcart’s committee should be carried 
out, and in so doing the Messrs. Sutton became 
the chief and most intelligent agents. The 
Hew authorities, through Mr. J. G. Baker, 
published descriptions of various undoubted 
tuber-bearing species of the Solanum family, 
including S. tuberosum—the assumed (and, 
doubtless, correctly so) parent of our present 
edible Potatos—S. Eendleri, S. Jamesii and S. 
Maglia; the latter a native of Chili, and 
believed, because coming from a colder region 
than S. tuberosum did, as most likely to give 
satisfactory results. Tubers, small and insig¬ 
nificant enough, seemingly, of what was said 
to be S. Maglia, were obtained from Ivew by 
Lord Cathcart, in 1883, and that nobleman, in 
March, 1884, furnished Messrs. Sutton & Sons 
with some tubers about the size of boys’ play¬ 
ing marbles. These were planted at Reading 
the same season, and grown with exceeding care 
under glass. It was late ere blooms, which would 
bear fertilisation, were produced ; but, finally, 
after much trouble in finding pollen-bearing 
flowers on some garden Potatos, flowers were 
eventually obtained from Mr. Robert Fenn, 
who had some on one of his Anglo-American 
cross products, a fine seedling, which he had 
named Antagonist—a longish white kind, rather 
rough looking, but of the finest table quality. 
"Without doubt, the Messrs. Sutton were ex¬ 
ceptionally fortunate in obtaining so useful 
a parent, because it possessed plenty of stout 
healthy pollen grains, and the cross in the case 
of the assumed Solanum Maglia proved to be 
eminently productive of seed. The assumed 
S. Maglia, it may be mentioned, as grown at 
Reading, proved to be very robust, and plainly 
evidenced characteristics almost identical with 
those seen in strong-growing Potatos. 
In 1885, the seeds saved from the cross were 
sown, and produced of tubers varying quantities 
per plant, from an ounce or two up to a couple 
or more pounds’ weight. Some of the seedling 
plants were also much earlier than others, and 
altogether the- influence of the pollen parent 
Potato was so manifest that the firm had every 
reason to'congratulate themselves on the marked 
success of their public-spirited efforts. Again, 
this year, the produce in tubers of all the seed¬ 
lings was planted, with very varied results, 
some giving but a poor yield, others truly mar¬ 
vellous results, in some instances showing an 
increase of a hundredfold, 1 lb. 5^ oz. producing 
120 lbs. 6 oz. of good tubers, as will be 
seen by the statistical details given on p. 199. 
In some cases the products are white, in others 
not unlike those of the Early Rose, in others 
roundish, and otherwise varied; some, indeed, 
both long and round, being quite handsome. 
Thus, as it were, in one single leap, simply by 
the application of the pollen of a firshrate 
modern cultivated Potato, we see created equal 
to what had been accomplished during nearly 
300 years previously. Those who, like our¬ 
selves, were last week favoured with a view of 
these new cross products, could not but admit 
that a wonderful amount of interest has charac¬ 
terised the efforts of this eminent and public- 
spirited firm; and that the show of tubers, as 
presented to us at the Reading Nursery, was a 
remarkable one, because it afforded evidence 
that not only had a great effort been made' to 
meet the suggestions of Lord Cathcart’s com¬ 
mittee, but also that the effort had resulted 
in marked success. 
If we again remark upon the fact that a 
work of this kind should have been, as it were, 
left to the public spirit of a private business 
seed firm to carry out, at least we have the 
satisfaction of knowing that it has been done, 
probably, far better than would have been the 
case had the Kew authorities undertaken the 
task. Still farther, the Messrs. Sutton & Sons 
readily grant all possible information, and with¬ 
hold nothing; hence it is that we are enabled 
to place the public in full possession of all the 
facts connected with tliis interesting and very 
important experiment. And now—thanks also 
to the frankness and fairness of the firm— 
we have to record an incident in relation to 
this matter which, whilst humiliating, is yet 
one v hich, in the end, may prove cause for 
congratulation. After all these three years 
of earnest labour, of anxious watching, and 
disinterested cultivation, it is found, on the 
authority of the Ivew people themselves, that 
the assumed Solanum .Maglia supplied by them 
to Lord Cathcart, and by that nobleman to the 
Messrs. Sutton & Sons, is but the progenitor of 
our present Potato, Solanum tuberosum ; and 
it may be said the firm have been only tra¬ 
velling over the old road again. Mr. Arthur 
~W. Sutton, who has been so earnest and active 
in supervising these experiments, not only drew 
Mr. Baker’s attention to the species he had as 
Maglia, and which Mr. Baker pronounced to be 
tuberosum, but Mr. Sutton went to Kew, and 
there saw for himself that he had been on the 
wrong track. Not only were tubers of both 
Maglia and tuberosum sought for and found— 
the former, after some searching, proving small 
and valueless, whilst the latter gave fair-sized 
tubers in abundance—but cuttings of each 
kind were brought away also, and these being 
struck in warmth, were potted singly; and 
eventually it was found that whilst those of 
the assumed Maglia—the real tuberosum, as 
it proved—both made tubers and ripened off, 
the Maglia did neither, but continued to 
grow; and so far from being an herbaceous 
annual, is evidently a greenhouse perennial, 
and, maybe, will need Hop-poles to sustain 
the plants if grown on in heat through the 
winter. 
These plants show very long intricate stolons, 
yet tuberless, to have been formed in the pots; 
but, at least, ample evidence has been afforded 
that, for all practical progenitive purposes, 
Solanum Maglia is valueless; and the con¬ 
gratulation referred to arises from the fact 
that, through an act of grave carelessness in 
a national and costly establishment,^and which 
concerned] a matter of the greatest national 
importance—whilst all the hopes of the Messrs. 
Sutton and Lord Cathcart, in a certain direc¬ 
tion, have been dispelled, they have at least 
been saved from disappointment of a more 
serious nature, as it is too plainly evident that 
any disease-resisting Potatos of the future will 
never have Solanum M aglia as a parent. 
It is obvious that the firm, feeling that some 
failure had thus attended their efforts, might 
have kept the results secret, and left the public 
none the wiser. That might have seemed a 
politic, but it would not have been a honest 
course to adopt; and with that candour and 
probity which has ever characterised the 
Messrs. Sutton, nothing has been held back, 
nothing kept secret. In spite of the disap¬ 
pointment which has resulted from the error, 
they are pleased beyond measure; they think 
their experiments, even though conducted with 
Sir "Walter Raleigh’s S. tuberosum, have been 
wonderfully successful, and so do we, and, 
therefore, offer them hearty congratulations. 
It is worthy of note that Lord Cathcart himself 
is not only positive that he sent the firm tubers 
of the kind received from Kew as Solanum 
Maglia, but also adduces corroborative evidence 
from his employes to that effect. Naturally 
the public will look for some enquiry into the 
way in which work, which so greatly concerns 
their welfare, is performed at the Kew national 
establishment. Me have been somewhat 
prolix, perhaps, in referring to this subject, but 
we conclude, as we began, by saying that 
what has been so well done at Reading by the 
Messrs. Sutton & Sons, forms by far the best 
and most useful national celebration of the 
Potato tercentenary. 
--- 
We regret to hear that, on account of serious ill- 
health, Mr. Edward Tidswell, who succeeded the 
late Mr. Wrench, as Treasurer of the Gakdeneks’ 
Eoyal Benevolent Institution, has felt it necessary 
to resign that office. His resignation was accepted 
with deep regret at a meeting of the committee of 
management, held on the 18th inst. ; and Mr. Harry 
J. Veitch, of Chelsea, was unanimously elected to the 
office. We congratulate the committee on their selec¬ 
tion, than which no better could have been made. 
Mr. Veitch’s unique position in the horticultural world, 
his admirable business qualities, his well-known 
sympathy with the objects of the Institution, and his 
personal influence with the craft eminently fits him 
for the duties of the office ; and we trust for many 
years to come another change will not be necessary. 
At the same meeting of the committee it was decided 
to make another addition of ten pensioners to the list 
in January next, six to be admitted without election 
according to rule 6, they or their husbands having 
been subscribers for fifteen years ; and four out of a list 
of seventeen candidates will be elected by vote. 
We understand that Mr. C. Haycock, lately gar¬ 
dener at Barham Court, near Maidstone, has been 
engaged as gardener to R. Smith, Esq,, Goldings, 
Hertford, and that he has been succeeded at Barham 
Court by his foreman, Mr. Woodward. 
It has been arranged that, during the ensuing winter 
session of the Manchester Horticultural Improvement 
Society, Mr. Booth shall speak about Chicago, its 
parks and boulevards ; Mr. Abraham Stansfield will 
offer some suggestions as to the best town trees ; Mr. 
Petch will have something to say about fruit trees, 
their selection and culture; Mr. Birkenhead will give a 
few thoughts on Ferns and their culture ; Mr. Forrester 
and Mr. Cashell will address the members on some 
of our common insects and garden aquatic plants 
respectively ; Mr. E. G. Hughes will speak about 
horticultural manures ; and at the final meeting of the 
session, Mr. Butterworth and Mr. Hadfield will read 
papers on the fertilization of plants, and clay soils and 
their improvement respectively. 
The Twickenham Chrysanthemum Show, held on 
the 17th and 18th inst., was one of the finest exhibitions 
that has yet been held there ; the collections of cut 
blooms, vegetables, &c., surpassing all previous displays. 
