113 
The Potato. 
At a recent meeting of the Linnean 
Society, Mr. Arthur W . Sutton, of Read¬ 
ing, presented an interesting paper, on the 
Potato. It is a singular fact, said Mr. 
Sutton, that so far it has proved impos-; 
sible to identify the wild species to which 
we owe the innumerable varieties in com¬ 
merce, since the earliest evidences of its 
introduction into Europe, and particu¬ 
larly a beautifully executed coloured il¬ 
lustration dated 1585, and authenticated 
by Charles de l’Escluse, indicate that it 
was the already cultivated plant which 
was introduced, and not the wild and pre¬ 
sumably Chilian type. The .picture in 
question depicts exactly the flower foliage 
and fruit of the present average type, the 
tubers alone being smaller. Mr. Sutton 
.for many years has collected and grown 
all the known wild tuber-bearing species 
with a view to identification, but none 
agree 5 at all closly in their specific char¬ 
acters with Solanum tuberosum, the name 
given to the Potato by Linnaeus. The 
nearest is a species, anomalously named, 
as will be seen, S. etuberosum, or the 
non-tuber-bearing Potato, and it is this 
plant which has recently given evidence 
strongly pointing to its being the parental 
form of the cultivated varieties in spite 
of certain specific differences in the foli¬ 
age and habit, since not only does it pro¬ 
duce edible tubers indistinguishable in 
size and flavour from medium-sized com¬ 
mercial Potatos, but after 20 years’ 
sterility it - a length produced in 1906 
a seed berry, whence a batch of seedlings 
have resulted, which practically cannot 
be discriminated from a batch of ordinary 
Potato seedlings. This fact is the more 
remarkable as the seeds, of wild types 
yield, as a rule true offspring generation 
after generation, while those of culti¬ 
vated verieties produce mixed and vari¬ 
able progeny, and can only be propagated 
truly through their tubers. S. etubero¬ 
sum was nevertheless received. by Mr. 
Sutton from the Edinburgh Botanic 
Gardens as a wild species whose habitat 
unfortunately was not recorded, but is un¬ 
doubtedly Chilian. S. etuberosum has 
been growing at Reading year after year 
for 20 years, every year in close proximity 
to and under the same conditions as 
numerous varieties of ordinary Potatos, 
all of which have been subject to and 
suffered from disease season after season. 
In spite of this there has never been noted 
a trace of disease either in the foliage or 
in the tubers, S. etuberosum having with¬ 
stood infection and remained immune 
during the whole time. From this it 
would appear that a really disease-proof 
or disease-resisting Potato has at last pre¬ 
sented itself and yielded progeny which 
promise to admit of selective culture on 
wide lines. 
The bi-monthly show of the' Royal 
Hoticultural Society was held on Feb. 11, 
at the Society's Hall, "Vincent Square, 
.Westminster, from 1 to 6 p.m. 
Impatiens Holstii. 
The recently introduced scarlet Balsam 
lias already begun to vary by crossing and 
seed sowing. There are already rose, pink, 
purple, red and other shades among the 
seedlings. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 15, 1908. 
Savoy Cabbage. 
Amongst green crops for winter, these 
are important ones, especially when 
they are sown late in May, kept growing, 
and got out on good soil during this 
autumn. I have been impressed with the 
amount of large kinds seen in shops, both 
in London and other towns during Octo¬ 
ber and November. I am aware they 
have bulk, but for private gardens these 
large coarse heads at this season are to 
be condemned. Far better occupy the 
land with a good block of some good 
plain Cabbage, which is far more tender 
and more economical, seeing they grow in 
less time and are far more tender. All 
white Cabbages suffer from frost; Savoy 
is no exception. Nothing is more useful 
than a patch of that fine hardy kind, 
Ormskirk. at the close of November. I 
saw in a market garden many thousands 
when just folding in. The soil being rich, 
they were growing rapidly. My friend 
remarked to me that green stuff was a 
drag on the market this mild autumn, 
but these late ones would be valuable in 
February and March. In this state they 
stand almost any frost. 
A good kind for autumn is Universal, 
a small but most tender and good 
flavoured kind. In this respect I consider 
it suitable for small gardens. Tom 
Thumb is good if sown late and planted 
in good soil for the beginning of the year. 
Camberley. J. C. F., 
THE ROSE. 
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