456 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



plies and equipment conld be greatly facilitated and tlie eliiciency of 

 the work enhanced by the use of a small-sized motor truck. 



TRUCK-CROP INVESTIGATIONS. 



Potato invkstigations. — Rcsonrcli work relating to Irish potatoes 

 has been continued by Prof. William Stuart and Mv. W. V. Sliear. 

 The problems covered include (1) the development of new varieties 

 or strains of potatoes through breeding and selection; (2) testing 

 named European and American varieties to determine their disease 

 resistance and other characteristics; (3) cooperative disease-resistant 

 work witli the Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station; (4) coop- 

 erative dry-land and irrigation investigations; (5) the study of 

 factors influencing the development of tubers upon the potato 

 plant; (6) tests to determine the value of seed potatoes of the same 

 parentage when grown in various localities for use in the trucking 

 region; and (7) comparison of germinated and ungerminated potatoes 

 for seed in the trucking region. 



The study of the 20,000 seedlings of knoAvn parentage grown in 

 one of the important potato-growing sections of central western New 

 York from seed produced in 1909 showed a considerable number 

 that 'are very promising, not only as to general habits of growth and 

 development of tubers, but as to ability to withstand trying condi- 

 tions. In order to determine more fully their relative merits from a 

 commercial as well as disease-resistant standpoint, 10,000 of these seed- 

 lings were again planted at Honeoye Falls, N. Y., and Iloulton, Me. 

 The collection of seedlings grown from the seed crop of 1910 num- 

 bers 7,000. Preliminary tests indicate that it is possible to hold over 

 first-crop soutliern-grown potatoes until the following sprmg with- 

 out visible deterioration of vitality and clearly demonstrate the great 

 variation which exists in the potato. Varieties in the Arlington col- 

 lection, planted on the tuber-unit basis, showed marked variation in 

 behavior during the growing season and at digging time. The selec- 

 tion of healthy productive hills by the tuber-unit method is the most 

 effective means yet found for securing a uniform stand and large 

 yields. 



The collection of named varieties under test was supplemented by 

 the introductions of the trade during 1911 and by additional new 

 material, including 22 varieties from Galicia, Austria, selected for 

 their high starch content. The low starch content of American varie- 

 ties has been the subject of considerable comment and the object of 

 importing higher starch-producing strains from Austria was to de- 

 termine whether these varieties, when grown in America, would con- 

 tinue to produce tubers with high starch content. 



The absence of both early and late blight at Middlebury, Vt., has 

 caused the transfer of the cooperative work in disease resistance from 

 that point to Houlton, Me., in the hope that the new locality may 

 prove more favorable as to results. 



Cooperative investigations to determine methods of planting and 

 cultivation best suited to the respective localities were conducted dur- 

 ing 1911 at nine dry-land stations in the States of Nebraska, South 

 Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Colorado, Utah, Texas, Oregon, 

 and Kansas. A uniform outline for all stations was formulated, and 

 the work is being repeated this year at all the stations, with con- 

 siderable extensions in Nebraska. 



