ARRAN VICTORY POTATO.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXI, Issue 2, 20 August 1925, Page 140

ARRAN VICTORY POTATO.

In 1921 the Agriculture Department obtained from England a small quantity of Arran Victory potatoes, a variety then lately introduced. It was claimed to possess good cropping and blight-resistance characteristics, and to be immune from wartdisease. Since then the variety has been well tested in co-operation with several leading potato - growers in the Auckland District, notably Mr. E. J. Bilkey, of Pukekohe. Hill, and his brother at Taupiri._. At the latter place it was grown on light, good-quality loam typical of the better? parts of the Waikato. Mr. T. H. Patterson, Instructor in Agriculture, Auckland, reports that in these trials Arran Victory has proved a consistently good cropper, and that it resists blight. The flavour and texture are excellent for the table. It is considered doubtful, however, whether the variety would become popular on the local market, which favours a white-skinned potato. - Arran Victory has a red skin, with a bluish tinge near the eyes.

Live-stock and Crop Statistics. This year's interim returns show a decrease in total cattlesoo,B32' head as compared with 3,563,497 in last year's final figures. Dairy cows taken separately, however, record a small ■ increasenamely, 1,320,203 from 1,312,589. ■ The area under turnips last season is shown as 452,956 acres, a decrease of 425 .acres ; but the mangold area increased from 9.989 acres to 15,047 acres. ■