1905. J DISEASES OF THE POTATO IN CONNECTICUT. I3I 



was greater than that devoted to any other crops except hay 

 and corn. The value of this crop was considerably over 

 $2,000,000, being surpassed only by hay and tobacco. In New 

 England the same year the State stood next to Maine in the 

 value of the crop, and in the United States it was the eighteenth 

 State in the value of its crop and the twenty-third in its acreage. 

 The average yield the past ten years has been 96 bushels per 

 acre. Except two years these average yields have been greater 

 than those for the United States as a whole. While New 

 York is considered a very important potato State, its average 

 yield during this time has been only 83 bushels per acre. All 

 the other New England States, however, surpassed this State 

 in the average yield during the past ten years, though during 

 the past five years our average has been equal to that of 

 Massachusetts, 'or 99 bushels per acre. 



The State lies just on the southern edge of the great potato 

 district, but to offset this it enjoys the best market situation of 

 any State in the Union, and it raises a good quality of tubers. 

 As stated before I believe we are so situated that we should 

 increase our acreage — in fact we are doing it. To do this 

 with profit, however, we should also increase the yield per acre. 

 There are three ways along which we may hope to accomplish 

 this latter result: 



First. While the best methods of planting, of cultivation, 

 and fertilization of the soil may be known, the chances are that 

 they are not followed in 25 per cent, of the potato fields of the 

 State. Director Clinton of Storrs gave you a paper along this 

 line last year. We can assume at the outset that the very best 

 methods are none too good for the agriculturist. Every farmer 

 is bound by the nature of his occupation to be somewhat 

 of an experimenter, and his own experience is the experience 

 upon which he must rely in the end, but he should always strive 

 to keep this experience up with or towards the best that his 

 locality and the country affords. 



Second comes the factor of seed selection. This may in- 

 clude selection of varieties, but I do not mean this so much 

 as I do the selection of seed free from disease, of good shape 

 and with a pedigree for yields. Neither do I mean such seed 

 as you have bought upon representations that it was of this 

 kind, but rather seed that you have raised yourself and by the 

 rigid application of selection upon approved methods you 



