266 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The question of the best varieties of potatoes we have al- 

 luded to already, and shall dwell upon it but for a moment. 

 We desire however to say that too much praise can hardly be 

 bestowed on the Early Rose. It is good from July 4th till 

 the fourth comes again. It is hardy and productive. Some 

 object to it as not having sufficient flavor, but such persons 

 would probably object to pure spring water as not having 

 flavor. It is this absence of any very decided taste that 

 makes the Rose so acceptable to the multitude. Of the Gar- 

 net Chili we can only say that it has a most robust constitution) 

 and is the worthy parent of worthy offspring, the succeeding 

 generation excelling the preceding, as it always should. 

 The Early Goodrich was good in its day, but that day has 

 passed, the Rose as much surpassing the Goodrich as the 

 Goodrich surpassed the Early June. It is perhaps early to 

 judge of the King of the Earlies, but so far it does not seem 

 to merit its name. As a general rule it is not worth while 

 for farmers to raise too great a variety of potatoes. Amateurs 

 can raise and exhibit their two or three hundred varieties, 

 but we should prefer two or three to three hundred. It is 

 doubtless best to raise more than one variety, for it is a sin- 

 gular fact that one kind succeeds one year and partially fails 

 the next, and it is hazardous risking all our eggs in one bas- 

 ket. Men's tastes and judgments differ, and we desire no one 

 to pin hi s faith implicitly on our sleeve, when we say that 

 with our present experience we should not hesitate to plant 

 the Rose, Garnet Chili, Prolific and Peerless as our chief va- 

 rieties. This matter of varieties is one of no little importance. 

 The profit of a crop hinges on the variety much as the profit on 

 a herd of cattle depends upon the breed. If the Peerless con- 

 tinue to yield in the future as they have done in the past, the 

 114,775,000 bushels which Gen. Walker reports as the crop 

 of the United States for 1870, may easily be increased 50 per 

 cent, by planting the Peerless. 



How to plant is another question of some importance. We 

 formerly pla^nted in hills three feet apart each way, and this 

 is still the more common mode. It has the advantage of 

 allowing the cultivator to run both sides of each hill. We 



