73 



as the wholes; (b) to note if the eyes on the under side of the whole 

 potato materially increase the yield over the half i)otato planted with 

 the eyes facing outward or upward." Five hundred and forty Early 

 Rose potatoes, weighing 6 to 7 ounces each, were j^lanted in two lots of 

 270 each. Lot I, the wholes, was i)lanted in three rows and lot II, con- 

 taining 540 halves, in six rows. The total and average yields are given 

 in a table. 



'' (a) The half tubers produced a greater number and greater weight 

 of merchantable jwtatoes per hill than did the whole tubers; (&) the 

 whole tnber.s produced very nearly twice as many unmerchantable tu- 

 bers ^er hill as did the half tubers ; (c) the average weight of one hill 

 grown from a whole tuber was 19.5 ounces, while that from half tubers 

 was 10.4 ounces, or an increase per hill of 8.4 per cent by using whole 

 tubers for seed; {d) the size of the potatoes grown with half seed is 

 somewhat larger than those from whole seed." 



The following summary is taken from the bulletin : 



(1) The larger the potato planted, the larger the plant produced, and the more 

 abundant the harvest in tubers. 



(2) Other things being equal, the fewer the number of eyes in a pieceof seed potato, 

 or the smaller that piece of seed, the smaller the crop. 



(3) The larger the quantity of whole tubers placed in a hill for seed, the greater the 

 cost per acre of planting, and the smaller the profit on the crop. 



(4) Large and whole tubers produced smaller and poorer merchantable ones, than 

 did half or quarter tubers, or single eyes. 



(5) Large and whole tubers yielded appreciably more small unmerchantable pota- 

 toes, than did parts of medium tubers or single eyes. 



(6) Given, two potatoes of equal size, one planted whole will not yield so large nor 

 so good a crop as will the o'ther tuber cut into halves and each part planted in a sep- 

 arate hill. 



(7) The investigation, as carried out, suggests that, in view of the fact that the 

 whole tuber produced comparatively more small, inferior potatoes than did the halves 

 planted, the source of these inferior tubers may be from those ej^es located on the 

 under side of the whole potato planted. This because the eyes and shoots thus located 

 are repressed in growth to a certain extent, owing to the pressure upon them and 

 reversal of position. 



It is to be remembered that the above conclusions are the result of the investiga- 

 tions recorded and are based on nothing else. Neither in farm practice nor experi- 

 mental work do we consider that they will always find indorsement. Yet as the re- 

 sult of much experimental work with seed potatoes, it is confidently believed that 

 these conclusions Avill generally be fairly accurate. 



Trial of the Rural New Yorker trench system of potato culture. — This 

 is a brief account of an experiment with this system with Early Rose 

 potatoes on an acre of clay loam soil to which a ton of commercial fer- 

 tilizers was applied. The yield was 188J bushels of potatoes, which 

 were grown at a loss of $25.50. The author is, however, inclined to 

 attribute the smallness of the crop to the fact that the fertilizer used 

 did not prove available to the plants. 



Tests of varieties. — Seventy- four varieties of potatoes were tested and 

 the yields from whole tubers, halves, quarters, and single eyes recorded. 

 5519— No. 2 3 



