SEED IMPROVEMENT MEETING. 219 



was until I tried to pick out a bushel of nice potatoes for ex- 

 hibition purposes. It then seemed that, whenever I foiuid a 

 potato that came up to my ideal in size and shape, in almost 

 every case I would find it bruised or cut. We must have a 

 radical change in our diggers. I do not know just how and if 

 I did, I would not tell you, at least until after I had secured a 

 patent. 



Special care should be taken in handling our seed stock 

 from the field to the storehouse. Many are careless, even using 

 barrels in which the nails are not properly clinched, and some 

 drop their potatoes from the floors of storehouses to the bot- 

 toms of the bins and this bruises them badly. We should remem- 

 ber not only that each bruised place may cause the tuber to decay, 

 but also that it furnises a hiding place for the black-leg, or 

 other disease germs, which will remain ready to appear the 

 next year. 



The question of selling and shipping our seed, is one in which 

 I am especially interested just at present, but Mr. Embree is 

 here to speak to you on this subject. He is much better quali- 

 fied to speak on this than I, therefore I will leave it entirely to 

 him. 



There are many ways in which seed stock may get mixed 

 and some Maine growers and shippers have not been any too 

 careful in the past, so that it behooves us as farmers of the 

 State to work together to produce and ship pure seed stock, 

 so that Maine may take the place she deserves, as the leading 

 seed potato state of the Union. 



A judging contest for men, on corn and potatoes, was held in 

 the afternoon, and also one for boys. 



In the evening a very interesting address was given by Dr. 

 Raymond Pearl on "What Plant Breeding can do for Maine.'" 



Dr. Pearl pointed out that the State of Maine in 191 1 in its 

 seven leading crops, corn, wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, pota- 

 toes and hay, had a valuation of $42,736,000, and that one per 

 cent of this amount would endow a seed producing and distrib- 

 uting farm with a yield of $25,000 annually. To give such a 

 farm $25,000 annually would cost but six one-hundredths of one 

 per cent of the total value of these seven crops, or six-tenths of 

 a mill for every dollar of value. 



