268 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



bushels per acre. It is probable that the average stand would be 

 nearer 18 inches than either of these two closer distances. 



In the third place pieces of larger size must be used to secure 

 a maximum crop. Farmers are in the habit of cutting pieces too 

 small and practically all the cutters in the world can be criticised on 

 this point. Moreover few of the planters are adapted to the planting 

 of pieces of such size as careful experiments have shown will produce 

 maximum yields. 



A careful series of experiments conducted by the league at the 

 Orphans' home farm the past season shows the following differences 

 in yield due to difference in the size of the seed. Skinned pieces which 

 consisted of merely two or three eyes with little more flesh than 

 you ordinarily have on a paring gave a yield of 22 bushels per acre. 

 One-eye pieces yielded 4.5 bushels per acre; two-eye pieces yielded 6 2 

 bushels per acre; quarters yielded 10.5 bushels per acre;, halves yielded 

 130 bushels per acre; small whole potatoes yields 139 bushels per 

 acre; small whole potatoes with the seed end, which contains a number 

 of small eyes, clipped off yielded 131 bushels per acre; large whole 

 potatoes yielded 158% bushels per acre. All the seed used in this 

 experiment as well as in those mentioned before were Early Ohios and 

 ■were planted on the 22nd and 23rd of April and given the same culti- 

 vation and other treatment throughout the season. This experiment 

 brings out very clearly the large advantage to be gained in the use of 

 good sized pieces. It must be understood that we would not recom- 

 mend the planting of whole potatoes but rather of halves or quarters 

 cut from potatoes of medium size. 



In the fourth place: No effort has been made on the part of the 

 farmers to determine the advantages from the use of seed selected 

 from productive hills. Sherman Bros, of Eagle, Colo., found during 

 the period of years extending from 1902 to 1910 that by selection 

 of productive hills they more than doubled their annual yield. This 

 was not merely a doubling of the yield one season over what it was 

 previously but during this period of years there was a gradual increase 

 until the yield in 1910 was twice what it was in 1902 and in no 

 intervening year was the yield lower than during the preceeding year. 

 Thus there was a steady gain throughout the whole period and they 

 bred up by this means types of potatoes that the writer has never 

 seen equalled anywhere. Results obtained at various experiment 

 stations corroborate those secured by Sherman brothers and the writer 

 firmly believes that the potato grower will some day realize keenly 

 that there is an immense advantage to be gained by the careful 

 selection of the most productive hills. With this idea in view the 

 Scott County Improvement League has selected seed from such hills 

 and expects to conduct a series of experiments along this line during 

 the coming year. 



In the fifth place: The growers of Scott county must sooner or 

 later take up the practice of spraying with bordeaux mixture against 



