CUTTING AND SEEDING POTATOES. 147 



stead of from ten to twelve inches for the same months in several 

 previous years. At the time, therefore, when the young plants most 

 needed water to make their growth, the}' got none, but were, instead, 

 subjected to the most intease dry heat. It soon became apparent 

 that this would tell disastrously upon the production of the crop, 

 but as all varieties and the different ways of seeding fared alike, 

 it was felt that the experiment might be profitabl}' completed. The 

 earl}' varieties naturally suffered the most, and this was apparent to 

 ever}' one who saw the exhibit. Abundant rains in August were of 

 great benefit to the late varieties, and these were mostly in vigorous 

 crrowth when it became necessarv to dig them for the Fair. All were 

 dug between the first and the twelfth of September. At this time 

 one of the early kinds (the Bermuda Pink Blossom, an important 

 potato) was still green and growing, and of the late (88) kinds, 50 

 were ripe, while 33 were more or less immature. 



The harvesting was carefully supervised by Mr Emery, one hill at 

 a time, and everything half an inch in diameter was saved. The 

 total product of every hill, when dry and clean, (but not washed,) 

 was weighed, all the tubers counted, the number merchantable 

 counted, and then the whole put away in a stout paper bag, plainly 

 marked, all the facts being recorded. 



For exhibition at the County Fair, the General Superintendent 

 kindly prepared an inclined table, especially suited to the exhibit, 

 one hundred feet in length, and occupying one side of the large tent 

 devoted to Farm Produce. On this table the potatoes for exhibition 

 were arranged in three rows, according to the different methods of 

 cutting and planting the seed. One hundred and twenty-eight (128) 

 varieties were shown, and the whole product of three hills of every 

 variety, that of each hill in a small wooden tray by itself. There 

 were thus 384 trays in all. The back row of 128 were from the 

 whole potato as seed, the middle row from the usual cutting, and 

 the front row from the siugle eye planted. Every hill or tray was 

 plainly marked with the name of the variety and the method of seed 

 planting. Examined from left to right, every row shows the effects 

 of the same way of cutting upon different varieties. From back to 

 ft'ont, in sets of three, the effects were shown of planting the seed 

 of the same variety in different ways. As a whole, the potatoes 

 were inferior in quality, although in several cases single hills pro- 

 duced from three to five pounds. But that was immaterial — the 

 exhibit was not intended as a show but as an object lesson, giving at 



