TEACHERS' LEAFLET NO. 20. 



A HILL OF POTATOES. 



I. P. KOBERTS. 



LANT a hill of potatoes. You can do it 

 in the school room. Plant in a box or a 

 flower-pot. Keep the box .warm, and do 

 not let the soil dry out. Plant whole 

 tubers and pieces of tubers. Plant pieces 

 of various sizes. Plant some that have no 

 " eyes." Plant shallow" — so that the tuber 

 is just covered with soil — and deep. 

 Watch the results. 

 All plants are abundantly supplied with means for reproducing 

 their kind : some by seed, so:ne by multiplication at the crown or 

 base or by roots, others by means of underground stems ; and some, 

 as the potato, have two or more means of reproduction. In its wild 

 or partially improved state the potato is abundantly supplied wdth 

 fruit, " seed balls," borne on the top of the stales. The seeds of 

 a single ball often will produce many varieties of potatoes and 

 they cannot be depended upon to reproduce the parent stock. 

 Farmers seldom attempt to raise potatoes from the seeds ; when 

 tliey do it is for the purpose of securing new varieties. Tlie 

 common method of reproduction is to plant a part or all of an 

 enlarged undergi-ound stem, that is, a part of the "potato" 

 or tuber. 



When the soil is reasonably porous and fertile, a strong root may 

 start at the seed piece and descend more or less directly into 

 the subsoil. In most cases, however, the roots spread laterally. 

 This is a good illustration of how plants may vary in their root 

 habits in order to adapt themselves to their environment. Notice 

 where the roots form on the plants you are growing. Few 

 farmers know where they form. Distinguish the true or feeding- 

 roots from the underground stems. Determine how many tubers 



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