THE POTATO. 261 



enough in the selection of their seed. The common practice 

 is to sort at the time of harvest the large from the small, 

 reserving tiie former for the table and planting and feeding 

 out the latter to stock. In the sprir.g the potatoes are taken 

 promiscuously from the bin for seed, without reference to 

 their shape. If we should use the same care in selecting our 

 seed potatoes that we do in selecting our seed corn, we should 

 have less deformed and monstrous tubers, for the law holds 

 good in roots as well as seeds, that like produces like. There 

 is no question but that if we should select for planting, pota- 

 toes with wart-like excrescences upon them, and do this for 

 a succession of yeare, these excrescences would finally become 

 a fixed characteristic, and if on the other hand we plant only 

 smooth well shaped potatoes year after year each succeeding 

 crop will improve in form. We have as much faith in 

 thorough-bred potatoes as in thorough-bred Durhams. 



Formerly the doctrine was that if small potatoes were used 

 for seed — using the word in its common not its scientific 

 meaning — the crop would he just as good as thovigh larger 

 potatoes were planted. In favorable seasons the first year's 

 crop might not show any great deterioration, but let this plan 

 be pursued for a series of yeare and degeneracy will surely fol- 

 low. We have tried this to our satisfaction. An onion may 

 be made to grow in the shape of a cracker or of a globe, by 

 selecting flat or round onions year after year for seed till the 

 habit of growth has become fixed, or as we may say of animals 

 thorough bred. The same principle holds good with potatoes. 

 The product of oval-shaped seed inclines to be oval, round 

 produces round, small potatoes are the parents of small pota- 

 toes. In short, like produces like. He that would raise a 

 good crop must plant good seed. 



The results of our recent census prove that the potato crop 

 is worthy of all the care we can bestow upon it. None of the 

 common crops — tobacco excepted, which perhaps can now be 

 called common — raised in the northern states, show so great 

 a return in money value per acre as potatoes. The prevalent 

 opinion is that corn is king among crops and so it is taking 

 t he whole crop of the whole country, as the total value of the 



