126 BOARD OF AdRICl'LTURE. 



are the best. In planting new varieties, to economize seed we cut 

 the i)ot:itoes very small, and to secure a large crop the soil is pre- 

 pared in the best possible manner ; and then because we get a larger 

 crop than from heavy seeding on a soil not well prepared we jump at 

 the conclusion that single eyes are the best. IJut if we had planted 

 the single eyes and given them no better treatment than we did the 

 large pieces, the crop would not have been half as large as that pro- 

 duced bv the heavy seeding. In most of my experiments I have 

 confined myself to land in the ordinary condition, such as is usuallv 

 found in the farming districts. This has been done because I have 

 believed that the result of my investigations would be of more value 

 than if the experiments were made on rich garden soil. 



As a rule we are too careless in our investigations, and do not 

 consider with care all the conditions which surround us. Especially 

 is this true in potato culture. There is no crop which we grow that 

 is so easily affected by the condition of the seed, the soil, and the 

 state of the weather. A potato to be in good condition for planting 

 should be kept during the winter where the temperature is very 

 even, and just cool enough not to chill it; and should always be 

 kept in the dark where the atmosphere is moist enough to prevent 

 the potato from drying. I have no doubt that in Massachusetts the 

 potato crop is reduced one-third by planting potatoes that have been 

 kept where it is too warm and dry. A potato that has sprouted at 

 (planting time so that the sprouts break off in planting will not, as a 

 rule, produce much more than half as large a crop as potatoes that 

 have been well kept, and have the eyes started only just enough to 

 show that they are in good condition. The condition of a potato at 

 the time of planting affects the crop quite as much as the size, pro- 

 viding it is large enough to give the 3'oung plant a vigorous start. 



Cut potatoes should not be planted immediately after being cut, 

 unless covered with plaster or some other material to shut the air 

 out and prevent bleeding ; the}' should be spread a few hours to stop 

 the bleeding and dry them off. 



There are certain periods in the growth of the potato when it is 

 seriously injured by hot, dry weather. This is when the tubers are 

 nearly half grown : sometimes a difference of a week in the earliness 

 of two fields side by side will make a difference of one-half in the 

 product. With us in Massachusetts, as a rule, the early potatoes 

 escape the hot period, and produce a larger crop than those that 

 come in one or two weeks later. But last year the hot, dry weather 



