24 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



dead unless the soil is very wet, when early digging may be 

 advisable. 



Second — As to sprinkling lime or other disinfectant over the 

 stored potatoes, our trials have failed to show any lessening of 

 the rot by this practice. 



Third — Prompt drying of the tubers and storage at as low a 

 temperature as is practicable are both of importance in holding 

 the rot in check. 



In conclusion I wish merely to direct attention to another 

 matter than spraying. That is, the need of more interest in the 

 question of the relative resistance of varieties of potatoes. In 

 this respect lessons may be learned from the European potato 

 specialists. In America we commonly ask only about yield and 

 quality when selecting varieties of seed potatoes. To these the 

 Europeans always add a third question — as to disease resistance. 

 They have found that some varieties are far more liable to dis- 

 ease than others. We know that too, only we have not as care- 

 fully discriminated and catalogued them. Also, they find that 

 the disease resistance of even their best varieties decreases with 

 age, so they are paying their breeders large prices for the most 

 promising new varieties from year to year and they quickly 

 determine the relative resistance of each new variety offered. 

 Here we lose the best half of the possible life of a variety before 

 we prove its merits or admit it into general culture. There the 

 demand for disease resisting varieties is so clearly defined that 

 certain potato breeders have established national and inter- 

 national reputations simply because of their success in this one 

 line. We need to offer a like measure of appreciation to those of 

 our own potato breeders who will render us a like service. 



Finally, there they find that there is much difference as to dis- 

 ease resistance even with the same variety depending upon the 

 place of growing and the method of handling the crop and the 

 seed, northern grown seed being everywhere demanded as more 

 vigorous and disease resisting. Maine's rapidly increasing 

 reputation as a seed potato growing State is evidence that this 

 country is more and more awakening to the importance of using 

 onlv the most vigorous northern grown seed. But I trust that 

 Maine growers, and those of northern New Hampshire and 

 Vermont also, will soon be copying the methods of the Scotch 



