REPORT OF MR. R. ROBERTSON 



261 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



EXPERIMENTS WITH POTATOES. 



Twenty-five varieties of potatoes were grown in uniform test plots. The land was 

 a heavy clay from which soiling crops had been cut for the two previous seasons. 

 Barn-yard manure at the rate of 20 loads per acre had been applied in the summer of 

 1907. This was ploughed in tlie fall of that year, well worked up, ploughed again in 

 the spring of 1908, again worked up, and complete fertilizer (Bowker's Square Brand) 

 at the rate of 400 lbs. per acre applied. It was run in rows 30 inches apart, and the 

 sets planted one foot apart in the rows. The drills were harrowed down and rowed 

 up twice before the plants came up. Bordeaux mixture (mixed with Paris green) 

 was sprayed on three times during the season. 



There was no blight or scab, but a considerable quantity of rot. The potatoes 

 were planted June 13 and dug October 8. The yield per acre has been calculated 

 from the crop obtained from two rows each 66 feet long. 



The following are the yields obtained: — 



Potatoes — Test of Varieties. 



S 



1 



Name of Variety. 



Rochester Rose 



2 pjverett 



3 Ashleaf Kidney 



4 Money Maker 



5 Empire State 



6 Reeves' Rose 



7 Vermont Gold Coin. 



8 Vick's Extra Early . 



9 Oooley 



10 Early Manistee 



11 Hoi born Abundance. 



12 Canadian Beauty 



13, Carman No. 1 



14 American Wonder 



15 Dreer's Standard 



16 Burnabv Mammoth., 



17 Irish Cobbler 



181 Late Puritan , 



19 Country Gentleman . . 



20 

 21 

 22 

 23 

 24 

 25 



State of Maine. 



Uncle Sam 



Early White Piize 



Morgan Seedling 



Twentieth Century. . . 

 Dalmeny Beauty 



Total 



Yield 



per 



Acre. 



Bush. Lbs. 



448 48 



444 24 



424 36 



404 48 



391 36 



389 24 



380 36 



378 24 



376 12 



360 48 



343 12 



332 12 



314 36 



310 12 



301 24 



299 12 



297 00 



290 24 



277 12 



275 00 



272 48 



250 48 



239 48 



237 36 



226 36 



Yield per 

 Acre of 

 Sound. 



Bush . Lbs. 



448 48 



422 24 



411 24 



380 36 



380 .S6 



380 36 



378 24 



378 24 



376 12 



354 12 



323 24 



314 36 



314 36 



310 12 



290 24 



292 36 



297 00 



283 48 



251 48 



266 12 



253 00 



242 00 



226 36 



235 24 



224 24 



Yield per 

 Acre of 

 Rotten. 



Bush . Lbs. 



22 00 



13 12 



24 12 



n 00 



8 48 



2 12 



6 36 



15 24 



8 48 



19 48 



8 48 



13 12 



2 

 2 



12 

 12 



Yield per 

 Acre of 

 Market- 

 able. 



Bush . Lbs. 



319 00 



277 12 



308 00 



204 36 



257 24 



224 24 



28? 48 



255 12 



286 00 



286 00 



222 12 



173 48 



222 12 



189 12 



162 48 



173 48 



180 24 



178 12 



171 36 



178 12 



169 24 



198 00 



132 00 



176 00 



160 36 



Yield per 



Acre of 



Lnmarket 



able. 



Bush . Lbs, 



129 48 



167 12 



116 36 



200 12 



134 12 



165 00 



96 48 



123 12 



90 12 



74 48 



121 00 



158 24 



92 24 



121 00 



138 36 



125 24 



116 36 



112 12 



105 36 



88 00 



83 36 



44 00 



94 36 



59 24 



63 48 



Form and Colour. 



OblonpT, Dark, Pink. 

 Round, Flat, White. 



'1 II 

 Long, White. 



Dark, Pink. 

 Oval, White. 

 Long, White. 

 Flat, Round, White. 

 Oblong, Pink. 

 Round, White. 

 Long, Pink. 

 Flat, Round, White. 

 Long, White. 

 Round, White. 

 Long, Pink 

 Round, White. 

 Long, White. 

 Oblong, Pink. 

 Round, White. 

 Oblong, White. 

 Long, White. 

 Oblong, Pink. 

 Oblong, White. 

 Round, White. 



CLOVER EXPERIMENTS. 



Experiments were again conducted this season, to determine the gain, if any, 

 from growing clover with grain crops for the purpose of ploughing under the growth 

 of clover made during the season, for the benefit of future crops. The ground chosen 

 was the land on which similar clover experiments had been carried on for the past 

 three seasons. The soil was a clay loam in a fair state of fertility. Three kinds of 



