POTATOES AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2404, 19 December 1881, Page 4

POTATOES AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE.

[From the “ Garden,” Ootober Ist.] Although the recent potato exhibition did not serve to introduce any special novelty with unusual prominence, it certainly did present a kind that has but lately been put into commerce, in stronger force than it has yet fallen to the lot of any other potato so recently introduced to be so represented. This was the Vicar of Laleham, a large, handsome, flat, purple round, and which was in all the competitions open to it more largely shown than any other. All exhibitors agreed in pronouncing it the finest potato of the year, and, but little subject to disease. Schoolmaster was in strong force, and next to the Vicar of Laleham the most largely shown, but it also had a class to itself, in which some thirty dishes wore staged. Next in order came Beauty of Hebron, Magnum Bonum, Grampian, International, Covent Garden, Perfection and Woodstock Kidney, Beauty of Kent and Badstook Beauty, all good kinds. The leading coloured kidney was Trophy, but this American sort though beautiful is about the worst of this family ever introduced. Beauty of Hebron and American purple are amongst the best. The season has largely favored American sorts, as they have enjoyed the unusual beat. In a year or two we shall have in such kinds as Mr Penn's new red kidney, certificated at Chiswick ; Messrs Lee and Son's Defiance kidney, a long, handsome, pale purple kind ; and Mr Bresee, sorts that will put : these inferior table kinds, such as Trophy is, entirely in the background. Amongst recently introduced white rounds Bedfont Prolific and Beading Hero were well shown and good, although differing much in habit and character. The new Pillbasket promises to take a good position. Mr Penn’s pretty red round, so fittingly named by him Berkshire Bose, was the only new colored round introduced worthy of notice. This kind will be a formidable rival to Bed Emperor, as it is handsomer, and is also a heavy cropper. The seedling varieties shown, though in some oases promising, all labor under the disadvantages that they do not show their best qualities till they have been several years cultivated. Amongst the most prominent white kidneys were Cosmopolitan (Dean), with a rough netted skin, and one which has been certificated at Chiswick; Kentish Invicta (Lett and Hart), a white form of Beauty of Hebron; Magnet, a handsome Lapstonelooking kind (Ross); and Lye’s Prolific (Lye), having long, smooth, handsome tubers. These appeared to be the most distinct and promising. Amongst white rounds, Mr Clarke, the raiser of Magnnm Bonum had Pride of the Market, a handsome Vie-toria-like kind. Mr Dean had the Lord Mayor, a fine Regent-shaped tuber that has been certificated at Chiswick. Mr Penn had several of his fine Anglo-American rounds, one of which was selected for the prize in the class. These were the chief distinctive kinds. It was noticeable that coloured kinds were but poorly represented in the seedling classes, the partiality for white skins shown by the public no doubt putting come check upon the production of colored sorts. It was not possible to avoid noticing the netted appearance of the skins of all English grown tubers. Those shown by the Scotch growers were nearly the only exceptions to this rule. With the roughness of skin this season is also noticeable a very distinctive improvement in the table quality of all kinds, and thus we find how much many sorts of potatoes aro contingent upon Bo;'soii8 for the development of good fl ivour end mealiness. The soil is one vast laboratory in which Nature creates her products, and if there bo more than usual heat there will be in the potato tuber at least more of nutritious properties than can be found when heat is lacking. Bough skins always mark some kinds more or less, but still more so is this distinction observable in various soils, and knowing that the rough skin means, as a rule, plenty of starch, we understand that the production of this important element in the tuber has much to do with soils and their constituents. Still, as the Sootch-grown potatoes show brightness and smoothness of skin, it is not at all in antagonism to good table quality and high flavour.