FACTS ABOUT POTATOES. 157 



slowly and weak. The roots were often examined and it was seen 

 that the}' were not strong and numerous, like those from large cuttings, 

 and the vines were late and slow. They had to wait for new roots 

 to start out along up the stem. The yield was thirty-six bushels, as 

 against one hundred and three from good-sized two-eye cuttings 

 planted at the same time and under the same conditions otherwise. 

 Another row was planted with Early Howard cut to one eye, with 

 a cylindrical piece of tuber one-half inch in diameter and an inch 

 deep into the potato. The yield from these cuttings was fifty bushels 

 per acre, as compared with one hundred and thirt}'- four bushels planted 

 regularly. These small cuttings gave later ripening. Large cuttings 

 from large tubers seem to aid in producing early potatoes. These ex- 

 treme experiments seem to show that the more nutriment the vine 

 gets from the tuber or piece of tuber used as seed, the earlier and 

 more vigorous will be the start, and the better the yield. Each eye, 

 in my opinion, should have nearly or quite a cubical inch of potato 

 to push it at the start. Large tubers, of varieties like Beauty of 

 Hebron, that have few eyes, can be cut to one eye, so as to give that 

 amount, provided some of the eyes at the "seed end" are cut out sltkI 

 thrown away. But Pearl of Savoy and and Early Vermont and 

 many other varieties can hardly be so cut. One-e^'e sets, under 

 the very best conditions (i. e., if large and "mealy," and in best 

 soil and with best tillage), seem to yield larger tubers on the average, 

 I do not think they will yield so many bushels per acre as two-eye 

 sets. This year we shall test two-eye sets side b}' side with the same 

 cut in two, and with the same with one eye clipped out, and all the 

 substance of the piece left to push the other e^'e. 



DEPTH OF PLANTING. 



Empire State was planted at different depths with the Aspinwall 

 planter. Two inches deep gave fifty-six bushels per acre, three one- 

 half inches deep gave seventy-four bushels, and four three-fourths 

 inches deep gave one hundred and one bushels. The vines were 

 earliest and strongest where the machine planted deepest. The rows 

 were side by side, and were planted the same day, May 12th, the 

 same way, and all other conditions exactly alike. In a dry year and 

 in deep, mellow soil, deep planting seems best. Two inches is the 

 minimum, and four three-fourths the maximum depth of good work 

 done by the Aspinwall planter in our rattier soft, sticky soil. The 

 average depth at which the bulk of our planting was done was three 



