The Bruce Potato, by Archibald Findlay for Sale in 1888
Potato Breeding is a job for "Gentlemen who are practical agriculturists"
Newspaper cutting found in Archibald Findlay's book
We owe so much to the pioneering Victorian potato breeders.
Archibald Findlay is one example, a potato breeder extraordinaire from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
It was the Markinch man who produced the first blight-resistant potato, making the food safe from disease, and his varieties fed the troops and nation through two world wars, helping Britain become self-sufficient in basic food requirements during those times.
Archibald Findlay was a prolific breeder of potatoes, with many of his varieties being marketed between 1891 amd 1921. He wrote for journals and held exhibitions of his seedlings. His most famous varieties are Majestic, Catriona and British Queen. These are stil in production to this day!
Archibald Findlay's book “The Potato: Its History and Culture” is one of the most authoritative works on growing heirloom potatoes for home use. Written in 1905 by one of England's great experts on growing potatoes, this classic text details not only the origin and history of the potato, but also how it is grown. Included are also details on 40 varieties of heirloom varieties of potatoes that were grown in Europe during the early 20th century. This is still in print and is a must for all potato enthuasists.
Findlay moved to Lincolnshire and sadly was declared bankrupt when his place was flooded destroying his enire seed stock.
There is a plaque in his home town on Merkinch, Fife commerating the life of this remarkable potato breeder.
I recently received a wonderful email from a customer, Cynric Richardson, who had purchased a 1905 1st edition of this book. Imagine his delight when he found a newspaper clipping in the back cover; an article from the Dundee Advertiser 3rd January 1888 advertising "The Bruce." With his permission I have included it and his email here.
Arcibald Findlay states:
In offering my new Hybrid Potato "The Bruce" to the agriculture world...I will simply say that it has more good points than any other disease-resisting potato in cultivation....referring to reports received from gentlemen who are practical agriculturists.
What I mean by the best points of the plants is:
1st robustness of constitution to resist disease and ensure a vigorous growth of haulm so as to withstand say for 6 to 8 degrees of frost.
2nd great producetiveness under ordinary argriculture contitions - viz. from 10-15 tons an acre
3rd fineness of shape and solidity whether kidney, lapstone of pebble shaped; and
4th fine quality embracing fine colour, fine flavour, and dryness under all ordinary conditions of cookery.
Cynric's excitment about finding this was contagious and he certainly knows a thing or two about potatoes and their history. His email states:
I doubt many will have ever heard of this variety, but what a great name for a Scottish Potato! Archibald certainly knew how to market his potatoes and also how to charge for them. In 1904 he charged £25 per TUBER for “Mairsland Queen”! and still £25 for a pound in 1905. No doubt about it he was a ‘canny Scot’! Knowing the hard work and knowledge he put in to his endeavours I suppose he knew his worth.
Fantastic to think that folk would’ve paid so much for a tuber eh? But the dark side was that quite a few unscrupulous merchants would market the same seed Potato under different names and then claim them to be a ‘New Variety’. And so Findlay would’ve been very aware of this artful or crafty dealings. And let’s face it, with a White potato, who’s to know if it was the GENUINE article so long as it matured as it was purported to ie 1st, 2nd, or Maincrop, and was approximately the right shape round, oval, kidney, or long, and had the correct colour of flower!
His book is packed with articles from Scottish newsletters of the time reporting so many instances of this occurring, that it must’ve been a nightmare for Archie.
I roared with laughter when I read ‘word for word’ a lecture he gave in Glasgow to an audience of horticulturalists on the subject of raising new varieties and of those he’d created. When at the end one bright spark asked him exactly how he did it, he responded by in effect telling the person “you don’t imagine I’m going to give away a lifetime’s worth of hard earned skill & knowledge to you for nothing, and all in the space of a few minutes”!
Nowadays you, the consumer, are in a much better place, with testing done throughout the season, during harvest and storage as well as strigent rules that we must follow to ensure what is on the label is actually what you have in your order. If you grow a British Queen it will be exactly the same as the potato that Findlay bred all these years ago.
Thank you so much for sharing this, Cynric! We are looking forward to seeing how your British Queen get on this season.
(£25 per tuber.........hhhhhhmmmmm I could retire at the end of the season!)
Unfortunatley, we can't offer The Bruce. But we do grow some of Archibald Findlay's other Potatoes for you
British Queen Seed Potatoes
Price range: £6.95 through £57.00
Catriona Seed Potatoes
£7.90
Many thanks for this. I never knew Archie Findlay had published his wisdom, I have just ordered a copy to augment my small but growing solaniculturist’s library.
I wonder what will be in the cover of your copy! Enjoy your reading!