Deecinbei'  17,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  58? 
Here  prospecting  commences,  and  the  card  says,  "  Satton  &  Sons, 
Reading  ;  ”  and  the  card  lower  down  says,  “  Sutton  &  Sons,”  and,  in 
fact,  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  Potato  Avenue  it  is  ”  Sutton  &  Sons  ” — 
their  exhibit.  Surely  Mr.  Arthur  Sutton,  who  is  here,  should  have 
something  to  say  about  Potatoes  ;  and  I  find  he  has,  or  rather  ha  .1 ,  for 
he  said  most  of  it  yesterday  in  the  lecture  he  then  delivered.  [This 
paper  was  substantially  the  same  as  that  given  before  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society  on  October  29th,  1895,  and  a  digest  of  which 
appeared  in  our  issue  of  October  Slst  of  that  year.]  But  he  says 
now,  “This” — patting  some  plump  beauties  on  a  plate — “this  is  the 
— the  Potato  for  Ireland.”  Its  name,  “  Windsor  Castle ;  ”  because, 
irrespective  of  its  noble  points,  “  it  is  ready  for  use  in  August,  and  is 
good  as  long  as  Potatoes  are  good  from  thence  onwards.”  Mr.  Sutton 
is,  I  find;  of  an  inquiring  mind,  for  he  has  been  somewhere  in  Dublin 
incognito,  and  asked  someone  about  their  Potatoes.  "Are  they  good?” 
“Yes.”  “And  what  do  you  call  them?”  “Sutton’s  Abundance,”  is 
the  answer  ;  but  a  military  band  in  the  gallery  seriously  discounted  the 
joke  twinkling  in  his  eye,  for  it  is  imperfectly  heard  and  detailed  here. 
prietary  seedlings  are  shown,  some  of  which  should  have  a  future  before 
them.  Here,  too,  is  a  fine  object  lesson  in  the  variety  “  Up  to  Date.” 
I  Samples  from  Bute  and  from  Messrs.  Dobbie’s  auxiliary  nursery  at 
{  Orpington  being  totally  distinct  in  character.  Why  should  “Up  to 
!  Date  ”  from  sunny  Kent  be  clothed  in  a  thick  rough  jacket  whilst  hia 
j  blood  relation  from  Bute  has  practically  nothing  on  but  the  most  deli- 
;  cate  skin  ?  There  is  perverseness  even  in  Potatoes.  The  courteous  - 
j  representative  is  about  to  discuss  the  matter  when  he  is  called  to 
I  “  attention  ”  by  the  approach  of  his  Excellency  to  inspect  the  Scotch 
j  contingent. 
The  old  Dublin  firm  of  Sir  J.  W.  Mackey  is  worthily  represented, 
and  one  becomes  more  and  more  impressed  by  the  fact  that  a  Potato 
I  show  with  all  its  apparent  sameness  possesaes  in  reality  a  great  variety 
i  of  character.  Mr.  Todd,  the  manager,  points  out  on  his  stand  twenty 
^  varieties  from  America,  which,  to  say  the  least,  are  of  fresh  interest ; 
!  amongst  these  two  varieties  of  the  Batatas  (Sweet  Potato)  are  included, 
I  very  artichoky  looking  in  shape  and  skin.  All  came  across  direct,  but 
I  one  is  not.  The  missing  link  is  one  called  “  Uncle  Sam,”  and  Mr.  Todd 
Up  and  down  Potato  Avenue  I  watidef  with  the  object  of  notedaking, 
but  amongst  200  varieties  as  handsome  as  Potatoes  can  be  I  can  only 
fall  back  on  the  few  whose  merits  pertain  to  the  curious,  and  these  range 
from  the  Pink*eyed  Blacksmith  to  Fir*apple  Red.  Mr.  Lashnm,  the 
head  of  Messrs.  Sutton’s  Potato  department,  runs  over  the  lot  with  me, 
and  lovingly  expatiates  on  the  good  characters  of  each  and  all ;  and 
what  character  there  is  even  in  Potatoes  as  much  as  in  humanity  1  Here 
is  “  Sutton’s  Best  of  All  ”  with  fat,  dimpled  cheeks  rolling  and  swelling 
up  to  the  eyes. 
From  the  far  North  come  Messrs.  Dobbie  of  Rothesay  with  an  inter¬ 
esting  collection  of  100  varieties,  and  they  are  able  to  represent  farther 
north  still  by  seven  varieties  from  Shetland,  and  curious  carbuncly 
looking  little  specimens  they  are.  One  called  “  Blackheart,”  judging  its 
character  by  appearance,  can  bo  nothing  else  but  a  blackguard  of  the 
great  Potato  family.  In  looking  at  these  unlovely  little  tubers  the 
feeling  arises  that  Ireland  is  not  well  represented,  though,  of  course, 
these  shaggy  Shetlanders  have  nought  to  do  with  it.  One  would,  for  the 
sake  of  comparison,  liked  to  have  specimens — average  examples — as 
grown  by  the  peasantry  of  the  West,  as  well  as  the  perfect  specimens 
shown  by  the  giants  of  Potatodom.  On  this  stand  some  promising  pro* 
mentions  the  matter  regretfully.  There  are  also  twenty  varieties 
from  France,  interesting,  too,  but  compared  with  home  produce  “  tot 
in  it.”  This  stand  further  embraces  some  100  varieties  of  Irish 
growth.  We— Irish— are  still  further  and  ably  represented  by  fine 
stands  put  up  by  Messrs.  W.  Tait  &  Co,;  McKenzie  &  Son,  Hunter 
and  Co.,  Lord  Powerscourt,  Lady  Mayo,  and  some  other  private  grower* 
I  have  contributed* 
1  Messrs.  Fidler  k  Sons  of  Reading  make  a  good  show,  and  from  the 
:  Cheshire  Horti-Agricultural  School  comes  a  collection  of  fifty  varieties  j 
I  Messrs.  Little  &  Ballantyne  of  Carlisle  are  equal  to  themselves  and  the 
;  occasion,  and  Mr.  Findlay  of  Markinch  further  exemplifies  North 
I  British  culture.  • 
!  Although  on  the  evening  of  the  second  day  the  limited  space  for 
visitors  was  fairly  well  occupied,  one  would  have  liked  the  pains  and 
labour  taken  by  all  concerned  to  have  been  better  appreciated  in  this 
direction.  “  Why  is  it  ?  ”  I  ask.  “  Where  are  the  people  ?  ”  “  Oh,  it’s 
the  cattle  show  at  Ball’s  Bridge  they  are  interested  in  ”  one  remarks, 
The  conclusion  I  arrive  at  is  that  the  beef  and  Potatoes  ought  to  have 
been  together,  as  the  Royal  Dublin  Society  should  have  ample  room  in 
their  spacious  premises  to  have  taken  this  grand  exhibit  of  Potatoes 
