VARIETIES OF POTATOES COMPARED:

Otago Witness, Issue 2524, 30 July 1902, Page 6

VARIETIES OF POTATOES COMPARED:

THKIR YIELDS ASTD COOKING QUALITIES. Among the mo*. I important vegetable ciojm. i he potato ranks fivbt. Frequent inquine> die liearcl about varieties that flourivli.'d and were appteciated for their <_!opp:n^ and cooking qualities hut have long ,i<,'o gone mt of cultivation. The rea6ou for tlaa liaa beea izivejj freiLMavix: bz

experienced aud observant raisers and growers of the potato, who have discovered that any variety becomes exhausted, or its best properties degenerate, after a certain lapse ot time. This varies considerably in some vniieties ; their best characteristics become exhausted after being cultivated about 10 or 12 years, while other varieties retain their good properties from 20 to 30 year-;. It will therefore be readily understood why, in England and Scotland, in recent years-, every season several new varieties have been added to the already long list. The raisers have confidence in their good properties, knowing well that their merits will be subjected to crucial experiments and tests. Nor has the neces&ity for better varieties of eirlier sorts been overlooked, asL-ldved kidne3'S and other anuijtuuian varieties Laving been for years superseded by as early kinds, indisputably &uperior in production, and incomparably so in cooking qualities. There is weighty and abm'd;nt evidence that the once universal favourite potato in the colonies: — the Derwent variety — lias been for years gradually buf surely deteiiolating, notwithstanding the endeavours of skilled growers to pefpetnate their best chai acteristicr — namely, perfection of form, flavour and other cooking qualities, whether bulled, baked, or steamed. Derwents, a-v they were on the markets in abundance 10 or 12 yeais ago, are now impossible t)f attainment ;. instead, we have degenerate priduttions of coar«e, ill-slwpen, wasteful tub&rs. wet and waxy when cooked, becaufes they contain an undue proportion of water to staich. In fact, the lined man hmdly v ants to eat them at home, and the hired' girl objects to peeling them. The reason i«, as alie;.dy stated, that the Derwents, like othei varieties oi potatoes which Inve been in continuous cultivation for many ye-ir*. have regenerated, and their be'-t and most valuable chaiacterij-tics have boen e-\liiu c tod Farmeis have repeatedly procured seed from another place, having a very diffeient soil, so as to avoid raising plant- for n long suce'-sion of gener.itioiis under tie Mine conditions, but wirh01L . viil— 'lie degenera-c;, was again maniiVs.od ir t ht crop 1 - from the dunged seed. '1 ,» only a'tpniativi.. and it i.'- imperative. is io follow the ewmple of BritVh farmer". .Mid cultivate t>uch of the lei enth -raised utiv vyiietici of potato as will best suit paitiiular soils and conditions, bearing steadily in mind, however, that some varieties which do wt'l in one district or on a p.ailcular cla^s 01 lanJ, do not give anything like s Uo h good results where the conditions .irp widely diffeient. Henceforth, therefore, the farmer must ascertain for himself what variet.es will be>t s-rit his own local conditions and purposes. He will be greatly helped to form corre< I conclusions js to the comparative values of many <,f the r eceully-1.1 i-:d varieties by a study of some of the e.\peiimental test? to which, they hive bsen subjected in CJrc.ii Britain. One of the most convincing and complete of these that has come under our notice is summarised in a report by Professor Winter, of the University College at Bangor, Wales, in which particulars aie given of the growth, yield, and cooking qualities of about a score of varieties. We give the experiments in full, as the results appear to be of sufficient value to justify the details.

All the varieties were grown under practically the same conditions, aud with the s.ame dressing of manures —viz. : — 15 tons farmyard manure 3cwt superphosphate 2cwt kaimt per acre. The varieties grown, with the yields theiefrom, were as under: —

To make the experiments more complete, samples w ere forwarded to Miss Mann, of the Liverpool Training School of Cookery, who tested the cooking pioperties of the different varieties, and furnished the following leport thereupon: — "Butifch Queen, excellent, floury, white, and well flavoured ; Cigarette, not very satisfactory, d.uk, and not easily boiled, better when baked ; Sirdar, good bilkers, but break befoie s-oft when boiled ; Motor, good flavour when steamed, but bad colour except wlien boiled, white and Horny, good taste Up-to-Date. d.uk colour and too ,«w eet ; Flourb.ill, white rind Homy, but rather too sweet ii flavour ; Reliance (Sutton). inclined to break badly, but well coloured and flav< mcd ; Colo^cil, when boiled, have a lough flavour and bad colour, better flavour when steamed, but colour still bad; New Main Ci.<p. yellow in colour, not floury, but well flavoured ; Farmer's Glory, very black, and lather tuo sweet in taste; "Windsor Castle, white and good flavour, excellent ; Lord Dundonald, floury, very good, and good flavour ; Good Hope, flouiy, white, and good flavour, excellent when steamed ; lame, very good floury and dry, good flavour; General .Roberts, difficult to boil soft, break badly beffre softening, very w hite. and nice flavour, better when Fteamed; Reliance (Dickson), best when ! feojled^ ve-j; $Mskl_ t^ip >vhxa stewed^

do not bake at all well ; Scottish Triumph, ■stry white and floury, excellent flavour, " gccd either boiled of steamed; Reading Giant, very good flavour, but difficult to diy, and dark coloured; Charles Fidler, boil well, inclined to turn black soon, well flavoured, fcteam and bake very well."

Variety. Total Weight. Marketable. Sma'l. DLs<a ci Bri'h Queen L'lgsret'e .. Motor Vp to-Datt-l-'louib;tlt.. Lt c 1 i a 11 c t (Sntton) New Main Crop Far in er's Glory Willdjni Cattle . Lord Dun dcnalil . 3ood Hope Fame [i c d c r a 1 Roberts Reliance (bick-jjn "Scottish Triumph Reading Giant .. 1! h a r 1 ofo f Fioltr t. c lb 16 12 H| 19 5 «5 8 0 ICS 10 ]6 10] 14 13 S9| 13 8 42 9 16 53 8 12 42 7 19 77 16 18 71 7 4 21, t. c. lb iKJ 1!> 9! 17 6 90 7 11 0 ! 9 10 85 12 r. loi 11 13 7.)j ! 8 5 4i> (j 18 99 6 15 23 14 4 80 6 1 81 t. c. lb t c. lb 2 4 13, 0 B 19 1 7 41 0 11 4H 0 5 SO' 0 3 7H 0 17 1(19' 0 7 40 1 3 77 0 14 33 1 8 2 ' 0 6 60 1 10 23. 0 0 91 111 SO 0 2 5 0 14 33 0 10 21 213 103 None 0 17 63 0 4 101 0 9 86 0 3 30 2 0 95 0 3 7« 018 3 o 4 v 0 14 33 0 4 35 1 13 55, 0 5 35 10 2! 010 C 4 17 4 0 1 25 0 11 4(1 0 8 110 ' 8 16 515 1 13 18 J'ffl 8 4 23 9 9 5R If? 3 12 n 4 70 i 10 6 31 9 7 55 12 4 76 10 5 93 15 7 105 I 13 17 40 7 0 103 5 12 37 15 10 2 14 9 7o|