February  25,  1904. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
171 
subject,  he  emphasised  the  increasing  demand  there  is  for  forcing 
vegetables,  the  knowledge  of  wliicli  is  very  essential  to  the 
gardener  who  wishes  to  keep  up  with  the  times.  The  varieties 
that  came  under  his  notice  were  Asparagus,  French  Beans, 
Cauliflowers,  Chicory,  Dandelion,  Cucumbers,  Mustard  and 
Cress,  Peas,  Seakale,  Ehubarb,  Potatoes,  Mushrooms,  and 
Tomatoas, 
Royal  Meteorological:  Natural  Phenomena,  1903. 
The  monthly  meeting  of  this  society  was  held  on  Wednesday 
evening,  the  17th  inst.,  at  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers, 
Great  George  Street,  Westminster,  Captain  D,  Wilson-Barker, 
president,  in  the  cliair.  Mr,  E.  Mawley  presented  his  “Report 
on  the  Plienological  Observations  for  1903.”  He  showed  that 
owing  to  the  mildness  of  the  winter  and  early  spring  wild  plants 
flowered  in  advance  of  their  average  dates  until  about  May,  after 
which  time  only  backward  dates  were  recorded.  In  no  previous 
year  since  the  present  series  of  reports  were  first  instituted  in 
1891.  have  such  spring  migrants  as  the  swallow,  cuckoo,  and 
nightingale  been  so  late  in  reaching  our  shores.  The  yield  of 
Wheat,  Barley,  Potatoes,  Turnips,  and  Swedes  was  somewhat 
under  average,  but  all  the  other  farm  crops  yielded  well,  espe¬ 
cially  those  of  hay  and  beaus,  which  were  unusually  abundant. 
On  account  of  the  wet  and  protracted  harve.st,  most  of  the  grain 
of  the  cereals  was  more  or  less  discoloured,  while  Potatoes  were 
almo.st  everywhere  much  diseased.  Throughout  the  country  this 
was  one  of  the  most  disastrous  year.s  for  fruit  ever  known ;  in 
fact,  the  only  crop  which  gave  anything  like  an  average  yield 
Mas  that  of  StraM’berries. 
Mr.  W^.  H.  Dine.s  gave  an  account  of  the  observations  which 
he  had  made  by  means  of  kites  at  Crinan,  off  the  M-est  coa.st  of 
Scotland,  during  last  summer.  'rhe,se  observations  were  carried 
out  by  Mr.  Dine.s  under  the  auspices  of  a  joint  committee  of  the 
Royal  Meteorological  Society  and  of  the  British  Association,  the 
Government  Grant  Committee  of  the  Royal  Society  providing 
funds  for  the  hire  of  a  vessel  for  the  purpose.  The  author,  after 
describing  various  improvements  M'hich  he  had  effected  in  the 
kites,  .stated  that  the  M^eather  last  summer  M'as  most  unfavour¬ 
able  for  kite  flying,  as  not  only  Mas  there  heavy  rainfall,  but  gales 
M  ere  of  frequent  occurrence.  On  one  occasion  a  thunderstorm 
came  on  suddenly  M’hen  the  kite  mus  at  an  altitude  of  about 
4,500ft,  but  fortunately  it  Mas  got  doMn  M'ithout  any  mishap. 
The  results  of  the  observations  shoM’  that  in  August  last  the  mean 
temperature  gradient  for  the  fir.st  o, 000ft  was  3.2deg  per  1,000ft. 
This  is  substantially  the  same  as  that  obtained  during  the  pre¬ 
ceding  summer,  although  the  conditions  of  Meather  Mere  very 
different. 
History  of  the  Potato. 
(Concluded  from  j}a(je  115.) 
Botanical  Character. 
The  Potato  first  received  the  botanical  names  M’hich  it  .still 
retains  from  Caspar  Bauhine,  and  not  from  Gerard,  as  previous 
M’riters  have  usually  considered.  Solanum,  its  generic  name, 
seems  nio.st  reasonal)h'  derived  from  solor,  to  assuage  or  com¬ 
fort ;  because  the  Nightshade,  M’hich  fir.st  received  the  name, 
M’as  knoM’ii  to  the  ancient  lierbalists  mIio  conferred  it,  as  a 
narcotic  plant.  Tuberosum,  the  specific  name,  has  reference  to 
the  form  of  its  roots. 
The  folloM’ing  are  its  specific  characteristics: — Stems:  From 
9in  to  36in  high,  soineM’hat  angular,  striated,  slightly  hairy, 
frequently  purple  spotted,  branched.  Leaves:  Interruptedly 
pinnate,  having  three  or  four  pairs  of  leaflets,  M’ith  .smaller  ones 
l)etM’een,  and  one  at  the  end  larger  than  the  rest ;  leaflets  some- 
M’hat  hairy,  green  colour  darkest  on  upper  surface.  FloMmrs : 
White,  someM’hat  tinged  M’ith  purple,  and  in  some  varieties 
cream  colour.  Frut :  A  round  berry,  size  of  a  small  plum  ;  light 
green  at  first,  becoming  darker  and  almost  black  as  it  rii^ens. 
Seeds:  Numerous,  small,  flat,  roundi.sh. 
The  Potato  belongs  to  the  pentandria  monogynia  class  and 
order  of  the  Linnsean  system,  and  to  the  Solanacese  of  the 
natural  arrangement.  The  baneful  Nightshade  (Solanum 
dulcamara)  is  the  type  of  this  group  of  allied  plants,  and  they 
all,  in  a  varied  degree,  partake  of  its  evil  qualities,  though 
often  under  a  fairer  form.  The  active  poisonous  principle  of 
ihe  Nightshade  is  known  to  chemists  as  solanin,  and  they  have 
detected  it  in  some  one  part  or  more  of  the  M’hole  group.  From 
every  species  of  the  Solanum,  Datura,  Cap.sicum,  Hyoscyamus, 
Nicotiana,  Petunia,  Brugmansia,  Atropa,  and  Mandragora  it 
has  been  extracted,  and  the  smell  of  many  other.s  betrays  their 
l)o.sse.ssion  of  the  same  subtle  poison.  It  is  no  just  cause  for 
alarm  that  the  Potato  is  the  relative  of  such  deleterious  plants; 
for  it  is  one  of  the  provisions  of  Providence,  the  M’i.sdom  of 
M’hich  is  ajjparent  even  to  the  limited  conception  of  man,  that 
in  this  M’orld  Me  should  have  to  learn  to  select  the  good  from 
its  a.s.sociated  evil.  The  viper’s  poison  and  the  viper’s  fat— 
the  sting  and  the  honey  of  the  bee — the  Tapioca  and  ArroM’- 
root  from  the  nio.st  poi.sonous  of  plants — are  only  other  examples 
of  the  same  le.sson  taught  by  the  facts,  that  the  berries  of  the 
Capsicum  and  the  4'omato,  and  the  tubers  of  the  Potato,  are 
M’holesome,  M’hilst  their  uncooked  leaves  are  slightly  deleterious, 
and  the  most  acrid  of  poisons  pervades  theiM’holo  frame  of  their 
congeners — the  Nightshade,  the  Stramonium,  the  Deadly  Niglit- 
, shade,  the  Henbane,  and  the  Tobacco. 
It  is  generally  considered  that  the  tubers  of  the  Potato  are 
a  portion  of  its  root ;  and  as  they  are  produced  beloM’  the  .soil, 
it  M’ill  probably  he  long  before  they  are  othorM’ise  regarded. 
The  appellation,  hoMever,  is  not  correctly  applied.  A  root, 
ju.stly  defined,  is  that  portion  of  a  plant  M’hich  imparts  to  it 
nourishment  from  the  earth,  M’hereas  the  very  contrary  occur.-; 
in  the  Potato  tubers,  for  those  derive  the  M’hole  of  their  nourish¬ 
ment  from  the  plant,  hut  yield  it  nothing  in  return.  M.  Decan- 
dolle  coincides  M’ith  Dunal  and  others  in  the  opinion  that  the 
tubers  of  the  Potato  are  in  reality  deA’elopments  along  the 
loM’er  branches  of  the  stem  buried  underground. 
The  truth  of  this  statement  M’as  demonstrated  by  the 
experiments  of  that  great  vegetaiile  physiologist,  the  late  Mr. 
Knight,  from  some  of  M’hose  experiments  the  folloM'ing  are 
extracted.  The  buds  in  tuberous-rooted  plants  beneath  the 
ground  M’ere  formed,  in  his  opinion,  exclusively  from  matter 
de,scended  from  the  leaves  of  the  plant  through  the  bark.  He 
states  that,  “  having  raised  some  plants  of  the  Potato  in  a 
situation  M’ell  adapted  to  my  purpose,  I  M’aited  till  the  tubers 
M’ere  about  half  groM  U,  and  I  then  commenced  my  experiment 
by  carefully  intersecting  M’ith  a  sharp  knife  the  runners  M’hich 
connect  the  tubers  with  the  parent  plant,  and  immersing- each 
end  of  the  runners  thus  intersected  in  a  decoction  of  logM  ood. 
At  the  end  of  tv’enty-four  hours  I  examined  the  state  of  the 
experiment,  and  I  found  that  the  decoction  had  passed  along 
the  runners  in  each  direction,  but  I  could  not  discover  that  it 
had  entered  into  any  of  the  vessels  of  the  parent  plant.  This 
result  I  had  anticii)ated,  because  I  concluded  that  the  matter 
by  which  the  groM’ing  tuber  is  fed  must  descend  from  the  leaves 
through  the  bark  ;  and  experience  had  long  before  taught  me 
that  the  bark  would  not  absorb  coloured  infusions.  I  now 
endeavoured  to  trace  the  progress  of  the  infusions  in  the 
opposite  direction,  and  my  success  here  much  exceeded  my 
hopes. 
“A  .section  of  Potato  presents  four  distinct  sub, stances :  the 
intornal  part,  M’hich,  from  the  mode  of  its  formation  and  sub¬ 
sequent  office,  I  conceive  allied  to  the  alburnum  of  ligneous 
plants;  the  bark  M’hich  surrounds  this  substance;  the  true  skin 
of  the  plant ;  and  the  epidermis.  Making  transverse  sections 
of  the  tubers  Avhich  had  been  the  subjects  of  experiments,  I 
found  that  the  coloured  infusion  had  passed  through  an 
elaborate  series  of  vessels  betAveen  the  cortical  and  alburnous 
substances,  and  that  many  minute  ramifications  of  these  vessels 
approached  the  external  skin  at  the  base  of  the  buds,  to  which, 
as  to  every  other  part  of  the  groAving  tuber,  I  conclude  they 
convey  nourishment. 
“  There  is  also  in  the  young  tuber  a  transparent  line  through 
the  centre,  Avhich  is  probably  its  medulla.  The  buds  and 
runners  sprang  from  the  sub.stance  Avhich  I  conceive  to  be  the 
alburnum  of  the  root,  and  neither  from  the  central  part  of  it 
nor  from  the  surface  in  contact  Avith  the  bark.”— G.  W.  J. 
Professor  ScMicli  on  British  Forestry.* 
(Concluded  from  page  136.) 
Average  Annual  Production. 
We  have  as  yet  in  this  country  very  feAv  data  which 
throAv  light  on  the  possible  average  production  of  the 
various  species.  The  matter  is  complicated  by  the  fact  that 
certain  species  grow  fast  from  the  very  start,  while  others 
grow  slow  at  first,  but  make  up  for  it  by  growing  faster 
later  on.  Both  in  Germany  and  in  France  the  collection 
of  statistics  on  the  question  under  consideration  has,  during 
the  last  twenty  or  thirty  years,  been  most  actively  prose¬ 
cuted,  so  that  a  great  mass  of  information  is  noAv  available, 
although  it  is  not  yet  complete.  We  have  now  tables  giving 
detailed  information  on  the  progress  of  Avoods  of  Beech, 
Scotch  Pine,  Spruce,  and  Silver  Fir  ;  provisional  tables  for 
Oak,  Larch,  and  some  other  trees.  The  best  available  data 
show  that  on  a  locality  of  average  yield  capacity  in  the  use 
of  each  species,  and  under  proper  sylvicultural  treatment. 
Larch  and  Ash  give  the  greatest  average  production  under  a 
rotation  of  about  seventy  years  ;  Scots  Pine  under  a  rotation 
of  about  eighty  years  ;  Spruce,  ninety  years  ;  Beech  and 
Silver  Fir,  120  years  ;  and  Oak,  130  years.  On  fertile  soil  the 
culmination  occurs  earlier,  and  on  inferior  soils  later.  If 
»  An  adilre.s.H  .at  the  Royal  .-Vgric-ultural  College,  Cirencester,  reprinted  from 
the  “North  Biitish  Agricultutist.  ’ 
