362 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



of their inherited vigor. Farmers can be persuaded to use this 

 method because it involves less change from their present methods 

 than any other. As the number of hills worked with is limited only 

 by the size of the field the chance of finding the very best strains is 

 increased. 



HILL-UNIT OR HILL-ROW SYSTEM 



Planting a short piece of row from the produce of each hill or 

 larger unit is the most accurate method for scientific work and for 

 farmers who have the time for caring for several hundred strains. 

 Field methods of cutting seed must be used as the results are more 

 reliable for farmers' use than where the tuber-unit method of quarter- 

 ing is used. With any strain the pieces must be of equal average 

 weight or the tests are worthless. From each strain a similar 

 amount, say one bushel to the short row should be saved for compari- 

 son. The whole of the produce of the best strains should be saved 

 to produce seed for the main field crop. 



PRACTICAL POINTS 



Before beginning seed selection a grower should first make sure 

 that he has the type and variety most suited to his climate, soil and 

 markets. Eastern city markets pay the highest prices for flat, round 

 to oblong white potatoes of medium size and good cooking quality, 

 smooth, without disease and free from second growth shown by 

 knots and cracks. Red varieties may be sold in summer. While 

 others may do well in some seasons the Rural type of blue-sprout 

 varieties do best from New England to Minnesota, including most of 

 New York and Pennsylvania. The Green Mountain or white-sprout 

 type is best in the cooler climate of Maine and northern New York, 

 and does well further south in cool and wet seasons. Burbank is 

 raised on the Pacific coast and the Pearl, under irrigation, in Colorado. 

 Irish Cobbler, Bliss Triumph, Green Mountain and other varieties are 

 raised in the north to be sold in the south for seed. 



It is necessary to test new varieties at least two years because of 

 variation between seasons and because they may have been kept un- 

 der different storage conditions. The seed selection can be begun with 

 all the first year and all but the best variety discarded 



Any score-card of points may be used in the selection of a type, 

 variety of strain according to the wishes of the grower. With most 

 of us net profit is the thing to be most considered. This may be pro- 

 duced in different ways. For early markets, extreme earliness pays 

 better than high yield on account of high prices. Quality and white 

 color are also less important than with the late main crop varieties. 

 Freedom from disease must always be considered unless like scab 

 it can be prevented by disinfection. High yield, good appearance 

 and table quality are almost always tlie largest factors in securing 

 the greatest net profit. 



Beginners should use spring scales until their eyes are trained 

 to judge the weight of hills with fair accuracy. At first a hill with 

 a few large tubers will appear to the eye to be heavier than one with 

 a larger number of the medium sized tubers that sell better. Large 

 size is a bad defect for city trade. There is some danger in trying 

 to work against the usual type of a variety as I found in trying to 



