130 
•  Y  .  -  -r  -  *r  -  V.  . 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  August  7,  1902. 
A  Visit  to  a  Famous  Potato  Grower. 
In  connection  with  the  cattle  show  held  in  the  Bingley 
Hall,  Birmingham,  each  year,  there  is  always  a  consider¬ 
able  amount  of  space  devoted  to  vegetables.  Eight  years 
ago  I  assisted  in  awarding  the  prizes  in  this  section,  which 
was  remarkable  for  the  grand  display  of  Potatoes  staged. 
When  looking  over  the  exhibits  after  the  judging  was 
completed  I  was  astonished  to  find  how  frequently  the 
name  of  “  Wells  ”  was  attached  to  the  first  prize  cards, 
and  both  myself  and  colleague  declared  that  the  produce 
which  had  won  the  exhibition  such  distinction  formed  one 
of  the  remarkable  displays  of  the  popular  tuber  we  had 
hitherto  seen,  as  they  were  models  of  shape,  large  without 
being  coarse,  and  clear  and  light  in  the  skin.  Since  that 
time  Mr.  D.  H.  Wells,  of  Tysoe,  Ivineton,  Warwickshire, 
has  achieved  many  triumphs  at  Birmingham  and  other 
shows.  I  was,  therefore,  highly  gratified  to  have  the 
opportunity  of  visiting  their  Potato  grounds  a  few  weeks 
ago. 
Tysoe  is  no  modern  hive  of  bustling  industry,  but  a 
quiet,  ancient  village,  lying  beneath  the  shadow  of  the 
famous  Edge  Hills.  As  yet  the  “  iron  horse  ”  has  crept  no 
nearer  than  five  miles  from  it,  and  at  this  point  there  is 
only  a  single  line  of  rails,  and  between  the  company  which 
owns  it,  and  another  which  runs  a  great  trunk  line  near, 
there  seems  to  be  a  studied  disregard  for  the  convenience 
of  travellers.  Tysoe,  -  however,  possesses' splendid  natural 
advantages  for  horticulture,  as  the  soil, is  for  the  most  part 
a  deep  loam  of  medium  texture,  in  a  few  instances  some¬ 
what  heavier,  the  district  being  an  early  one.  With  the 
establishment  of  rapid  communication  with  other  parts  it 
must  become  a  great  centre  for  market  gardening.  I  must, 
however,  not  dwell  upon  generalities,  but  pass  on  to  the 
Potatoes.  Although  the  soil  is  good  it  is  not  to  that  alone 
that  success  can  be  attributed,  but  rather  because  it 
receives  that  thorough  culture  necessary.  Mr.  Wells 
believes  in  deep  digging.  He  obtains  a  special  spade  for 
the  purpose,  which  is  long  in  the  blade,  somewhat  narrow 
and  light,  so  that  the  workman  can  force  its  whole  length 
straight  into  the  soil.  Soot  is  the  principal  manure,  and 
heavy  dressings  of  this  are  applied  at  digging  time,  and 
again  before  the  Potatoes  are  moulded,  and  to  this,  in 
conjunction  with  well  worked  soil,  Mr.  Wells  attributes  the 
clear  skins  of  his  produce. 
I  have  always  been  an  advocate  for  giving  Potatoes 
plenty  of  room,  but  the  Tysoe-  exhibitor  goes  further  in 
that  respect  than  I  have  seen  anyone  else  go.  The  early 
varieties  are  planted  2ft  apart  each  way,  the  late  ones  2ft 
from  set  to  set,  the  rows  being  2lft  apart.  With  this  wide 
planting  there  is  plenty  of  room  for  the  air  to  circulate 
freely  around  every  plant,  with  the  result  that  the  tops,  are 
short-jointed  and  hard.  In  many  causes  they  are  strong 
enough  to  stand  perfectly  upright,  and  the  tops  of  most 
varieties  are  decidedly  shorter  than  when  grown  under 
ordinary  conditions.  Under  this  system  of  culture  all 
varieties  are  to  a  great  extent  disease  resisters.  Unlike 
many  other  cultivators,  Mr.  Wells  does  not  favour  the  early 
planting  of  late  varieties  ;  he  considers  from  the  beginning 
to  the  middle  of  May  to  be  the  most’  suitable  period, 
because  by  the  time  active  growth  above  ground  is  in 
progress  the  cold  weather  has  usually  passed,  and  the  growth 
is  regularly  continued  without  check.  My  own  opinion  is  that 
on  shallow  soil  earlier  planting  is  advisable,  because  during 
hot  seasons  growth  is  considerably  curtailed  unless  the 
plants  have  made  good  progress  before  dry  weather  sets  in. 
At  Tysoe  great  care  is  taken  in  selecting  tubers  for  seed. 
Those  which  are  the  result  of  secondary  growth  are  always 
rejected,  because  from  a  series  of  experiments  it  has  been 
found  that  such  late  formed  tubers  seldom  if  ever  ripen 
properly.  If  planted  they  often  start  strongly,  but  after  a 
time  the  tops  become  stunted  and  quickly  turn  yellow. 
When  crops  are  dug  these  “  secondary  ”  tubers  are  often 
just  the  right  size  for  seed,  and  Mr.  Wells  considers  that 
using  them  for  that  purpose  is  often  the  cause  of  unsatis¬ 
factory  crops.  He  also  finds  it  a  great  advantage  to  have 
at  command  soils  of  varying  degrees  of  texture,  because 
different  varieties  of  Potatoes  seem  to  vary  much  in  regard 
to  their  requirements.  Those  which  do  not  succeed  on  the 
medium  loam  at  Tysoe  usually  thrive  splendidly  when 
planted  on  rather  . stiller  soil,  and  vice  versa. 
Tubers  of  wondrous  size  are. often  obtained  from  plants 
having  extremely  short  tops  ;  nor  is  this  peculiarity  con¬ 
fined  to  the  present  season,  as  Mr.  Wells  informed  me  that 
the  finest  samples  of  Mr.  Bresee  he  ever  grew  were  obtained 
from  plants  whose  tops  were  not  more  than  from  9in  to  12in 
in  height.  All  over  the  country  Potatoes  have  this  season 
grown  very  irregularly,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  cold,  wet 
weather  experienced.  This  state  of  affairs  was  only  notice¬ 
able  in  a  few  instances  at  Tysoe,  being  the  most  pro¬ 
nounced  in  the  case  of  “  Ideal.” 
Mr.  Wells  speaks  very  highly  of  Telegraph  and  Express 
among  early  Potatoes.  He  also  considers  Sutton’s 
Favourite,  Beading  Russet,  Reliance,  Satisfaction,  Ideal, 
Edgcote  Purple,  and  Supreme  to  be  excellent  varieties  for 
exhibition  purposes,  as  well  as  for  the  production  of  heavy 
crops  for  general  purposes.  Motor  is  considered  the  finest 
late  variety.  Several  of  Webb’s  seedlings  are  this  year 
being  grown.  Nos.  1,  2,  and  3  appeared  to  be  growing 
exceptionally  strong.  No.  5  appeared  to  me  to  be  a  variety 
of  the  right  type,  because  although  the  tops  were  very 
strong,  they  were  upright,  and  we  certainly  want  to  get  away 
from  those  late  varieties  which  have  such  a  spread  of  top 
growth. 
So  far  I  have  only  been  able  to  judge  of  this  year’s 
prospects  from  the  appearance  of  the  growth  above  ground, 
but  I  hope  to  visit  Mr.  Wells  again  when  digging  is  in 
progress,  and  I  shall  be  much  mistaken  if  I  do  not  then  see 
highly  gratifying  if  not  sensational  results. 
Mr.  D.  H.  Wells  is  the  exhibitor,  but  in  reality  there  are 
two  brothers  connected  with  the  Potato  venture,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  say  which  is  the  more  enthusiastic  of  the  two. 
Working  together  in  perfect  harmony,  they  are  doing  a 
good  work  hm  showing  what  can  be  done  with  that  neglected 
commodity  “  land,”  when  energy  and  good  work  are  brought 
to  bear  upon  it.‘  To  each  I  tender  my  heartiest  thanks  for 
their  ready  information  and  kind  hospitality.— H.  D. 
- *.#.» - 
The  Ubiquitous  Microbe. 
A  corespondent,  signing  himself  “Docteur  Ox,”  strikes  a 
warning  note  to  readers  of  “  Le  Matin,”  and  explodes  a  popular 
fallacy  so  fondly  cherished  for  ages  past  respecting  the  virtue 
of  town  and  sewer  refuse  as  a  manure  for  the  soil  of  the  country. 
This,  he  states,  is  due  to  a  recent  decision  of  the  Minister  of 
Public  Works,  prohibiting  the  cultivation  upon  soil  watered  with 
sewerage,  of  vegetables  and  fruit  destined  for  raw  consumption. 
Is  sewerage  then  no  longer  the  most  perfect  and  inoffensive 
of  fertilisers?  And  the  soil  of  the  country,  is  it.no  longer  the 
purifying  filter  it  has  for  all  time  been  thought  to  be?  Vege¬ 
tables  cultivated  in  this' purifying  (?)  -soil  are  then  capable  of 
absorbing  microbic  germs  which  ought  not  to  be  found  there  ? 
Fifteen  years  ago  it  would  not  have  been  well  with  the  individual 
who  had  dared  to  pose  such  questions,  for  at  that  epoch  it  was 
duly  and  firmly  believed  that 
(1)  The  cultivated  soil  is  the  best  of  filters,  in  fact,  the  ideal 
filter,  since  not  only  does  it  not  permit  the  passage  of  microbes, 
but.it  destroys  them.  And.  as  ■  proof  of  the  fact,  the  water 
flowing  in  the  drains  of  Gennevilliers  was  so  pure  that  the 
members  of  the  official  commissions  partook  of  it,  and  declared 
it  far  superior  to  the  best  of  table,  waters. 
(2)  That,  moreover,  “  pathogenous  ”  microbes  did  not  get  on 
very  well  with  the  “  saprogenous”  microbes  which  polluted  sewer 
water,  and  that  these  delicate  and  aristocratic  mischief-makers 
were  unable  to  support  the-  sickening  promiscuousness  of  the 
vulgar  bacilli  of  putrefaction,  and  that  in  contact  with  these 
latter,  the  former  quickly  perished. 
(3)  That  the  rootlets  of  plants  are  also  the  elective  filters 
which  preclude  the  passage  of  bacilli  lurking  about  in  their  neigh¬ 
bourhood.  This,  moreover,  had  the  endorsement  of  eminent 
bacteriologists,  who,  themselves,  cultivated  vegetables  in  soil 
watered  with  sewerage,  and  upon  the  most  careful  examination 
failed  to  find  the  least  trace  of  microbes. 
Coming  from  a  Government  Commissary,  these  facts  seemed 
weighty  enough  to  dispel  the  deepest  rooted  misgivings  in  any 
who  may  have  entertained  them.  But  to-day  we  are  rudely 
awakened  to  the  disagreeable  fact  that  vegetables  grown  upon 
!soil  watered  by  sewerage  are  sources  of  danger,  and  should  not 
be  eaten  raw^  for  fear  of  microbes.  Truly  this  is  rather  hard. 
By  way  of  consolation,  however,  the  danger  for  the  present  seems 
to  be  limited  to  vegetables  which  grow  about  the  level  of  the  soil, 
such  as  Radishes,  salads,  &c.  Such  as  grow  at  a  distance  from 
it,  like  Tomatoes,  Artichokes,  Ac.,  do  not — at  present,  at  least 
