494 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



to a mistake in planting the varieties upon plots which had been in potatoes 

 during the two previous seasons when the seed had not been treated. To a 

 smaller extent this is true of the seven following varieties planted June 10, 

 though the plots having been in potatoes only during the preceding season, the 

 damage from scab was not nearly as great. On the other hand a number of 

 these varieties have been tested three or four years, and even under the most 

 favorable conditions, have failed to give such a record as would commend them 

 as profitable varieties. For market varieties, those of the Carman type continue 

 to give the best yield, and of these Sir Walter Raleigh invariably gives the largest 

 percentage of merchantable potatoes. Dolsen, from seed kindly furnished by 

 N. Dolsen is a very promising variety of the Carman type. The skin is nearly 

 pure Avhite, with few and very shallow eyes. The tubers were very uniform in 

 size, and the variety with further selection will prove very valuable. The potatoes 

 are claimed to be very long keepers and were not sprouted when planted. Of 

 the Admiral Deicey ripened during the previous season, the white specimens were 

 selected for further propagation. The resulting crop was still slightly mixed, 

 but with further selection the variety may prove to be valuable. The yield of 

 the varieties is shown in the following table: 



Varieties. 



Northern Beauty 



PinCTce 



Pride of Michij.-in 



Honeoye Rose 



Up to date 



Pinkeye 



Wonder of the World 



Wonderful 



Harrington Peer 



Hurst 



Norther 



Rosy Morn 



Dew Drop 



Sir Walter Raleigh... 



Rose of Erin 



Carman No. 3 



Admiral Dewev 



Six WeeLs....". 



Northlight 



Doben 



Million Dollar 



Yield 



per 



acre 



in 



bushels. 



110 



90 

 113J 

 1231 



65 

 153i 

 160 

 100 

 190 

 1461 

 106| 



90 

 130 

 260J 

 240 

 2S0 

 200 

 120 

 2(i4 

 290 

 240 



COXTINUATIOX OF POTATO EXPERIMENTS. 



The experiments were the same as those made during the previous two seasons, 

 except that no cut seed was used. A one-half acre plot was used, the plot being 

 5 rods wide and 16 rods long, one-half of the plot, or 5x8 rods, being planted 

 November 6, 190;j, and the balance in the following spring. Owing to wet weather 

 at the beginning of June, spring planting was delayed until June 6 and was 

 finished June 8. Three rows of each of the four varieties shown in the follow- 

 ing table were planted for hilling up, and three rows for level cultivation, the 

 plot being thus divided into 24 rows 16 rods long, and the rows being nearly 3M; 

 feet apart. The subdivisions in the following tables represent therefore 3 rows 

 4 rods long, or 1-64 part of an acre. The generally diseased condition of late 

 potatoes wh'ich accounted for their higher price in 1903, made it necessary to 

 select the seed more carefully for fall planting, though the work being rushed, 

 the seed of the Rose of Erin which was planted last, was not selected with as 

 much care, and the stand as a consequence, was much poorer than that of the 

 same variety when planted during spring. The loss sustained from this poorer 

 stand was slightly more than offset by the gain from the better stand of the 

 other three varieties, and the principal gain consists in a larger yield of mer- 

 chantable potatoes due to the earlier ripening from the fall planted seed. The 

 largest gain, as shown below, was obtained from level cultivation as compared 



