9i6 Rural School Leaflet 



produced every year and are often sold at high prices. It must be remem- 

 bered that our standard varieties are the ones that have proved best out 

 of thousands. BHss Triumph, Early Rose, and Irish Cobbler are the 

 best early varieties. For late. Green Mountain and Carmen No. i do 

 best on Long Island, Rural New Yorker No. 2 in the counties near Pennsyl- 

 vania, and Sir Walter Raleigh in the northern part of the State. Gold 

 Coin is very successful in many sections. For trials it is best to get several 

 of the varieties that grow well in the vicinity. Plant in adjoining long 

 rows, measure or weigh products carefully, and repeat for two or more 

 years in order to find the best yieldcrs. So-called " blight-proof " varieties 

 should be avoided, as they are usually late in maturing and all yet tried 

 are undesirable in some particulars. 



Round or oblong and smooth white potatoes of good quality sell best, 

 so late varieties for the main crop should have these qualities. Some of 

 the best early varieties are red. 



Every one knows how different hills vary in yield from almost nothing 

 to several pounds. Sometimes this may be due to better soil or to larger 

 seed pieces; other hills may have been injured in some way; but often the 

 high or the low yield is due to the natural ability of the hill to produce 

 well. Separating these high-yielding hills from the rest pays better for 

 the amount of work necessary than does anything else in potato growing. 

 This must be done when digging. The hills should be dug by hand, keep- 

 ing each product separate, and the best saved. The next year the best 

 ones are planted in a special plot. The key to success by this method 

 lies in the fact that using large numbers of hills to start with gives a much 

 better chance of finding the best strains than if selection is made from 

 a few hills only. 



Many of the hills selected as best the first year are good mxcrely because 

 they had more fertile spots of soil or had in some way a better opportunity 

 to yield. In the second and succeeding years the seed from such hills 

 will drop back to its normal product, leaving as high yielders only those 

 hills that are such because of their natural superiority. 



If a more complicated method is desired, after the poorer hills have been 

 eliminated the hills may be bagged separately and an equal weight of seed 

 from each, perhaps two pounds, cut into an equal number of seed pieces 

 and planted in short rows. The products of these rows may be kept in 

 separate crates for planting the next year. Any one who does this will 

 be surprised to see how the progeny will resemble the parent hill in number, 

 shape, size, color, and tendency to diseases. 



Cultivation after planting has for its principal objects kilHng the weeds, 

 saving the water in the soil by preventing evaporation, and making plant 

 food available. Cultivation between the rows should be deep at first, 



