EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 171 



Harvest. These are all of good quality, but not very productive. Ripen- 

 ing within a week of these sorts are Timpe's No. 4, which this year pro- 

 duced 157 bushels; Early Rose, 150 bushels; Early Ohio, New Queen, 133 

 bushels; Early Maine, 133 bushels; Early Puritan, 126 bushels; Putnam's 

 Early, 120 bushels; Timpe's No. 6, 113 bushels. Of the varieties yielding 

 over 100 bushels and ripening about August 1, are Clark's No. 1, Burpee's 

 Extra Early, Dandy, Delaware, Hebron, Early Oxford, Faust's 1889, Ft. 

 Collins No. 83, Gregory No. 2, Ideal, Lee's Favorite, New Queen, Queen 

 of the Yalley, Thorburn, Gregory No. 1, Morning Star, June Eating, and 

 Putnam's New Rose. All but six of these varieties were grown last year, 

 and as confirming the accuracy of the test, it may be noted that every one 

 of the above old sorts was in the selected list of last year, and that the 

 lowest yield of any of them was about 300 bushels. It may be stated that 

 the crop this year averages from 35 to 40 per cent, of what it was in 1889. 



There is but slight difference in the quality of these sorts, all being 

 good to very good, except, perhaps, Lee's Favorite, which is rather coarse, 

 and sometimes watery. 



Of the late sorts. White Elephant and Summit were most productive, 

 with Copper Mine, Brownell's Winner, Bannock, Empire State, and 

 Nameless No. 2 not far behind. Red Star, Arizona, President Lincoln, and 

 Dakota Red were also productive. None of these varieties are of high 

 quality, and although valuable market sorts, some others, better in quality, 

 might be selected for home use. 



The Wild Mexican variety has been grown here for a number of years, 

 and has greatly increased in size and yield. The eyes are rather deep, and 

 it is too coarse to be a valuable variety. 



The Solanum Jamesii has shown itself much less susceptible to im- 

 provement, and we have been able to detect no increase in the size, which 

 is about three fourths of an inch in diameter. 



CHANGE OF SEED. 



When potatoes are grown under favorable conditions they can hardly be 

 said to run out, and yet we have found it desirable to occasionally obtain 

 fresh seed. 



In the spring of 1890, we obtained from various parties seed potatoes of 

 some of the old standard sorts and of several new kinds. 



The New Queen was the only variety duplicated from our old stock, and 

 when the crop was dug this fall we found a gain of over 30 per cent in 

 favor of the northern grown seed. Our seed of New Queen was selected 

 from a crop that yielded over 300 bushels per acre. We were not able to 

 make any strict comparison of the other varieties, but we had growing 

 alongside of them other varieties that are usually fully as productive, but 

 this year the new seed seemed to make by far the best showing. We 

 believe it will pay every farmer to obtain fresh seed once in three years. 

 If one has a choice strain that he wishes to retain, it could be done by 

 placing it in the hands of some reliable party with a different soil, or bet- 

 ter yet in a neighboring state, and after two years receiving it back. 



Last year we tried a number of methods of planting, fertilizing, and 

 cultivating potatoes, and as a check on the results, the experiments were 

 repeated on a larger scale, and generally with three varieties, so that trip- 

 licate results were secured for comparison, As a rule, the results do not 

 differ materially from those of last year, except as they were affected by 

 the early drought. 



