Journal of Agriculture. 



[8 April, 1907 



SEED POTATO HOUSE. 



George Seymour, Potato Expert. 



In an article on " The Care and Preparation of Seed Potatoes," which 

 appeared in tlie Journal for November, 1905, it was stated that the best 

 way to keep potatoes intended for seed was, in the absence of cool storage, 

 to spread them out on a piece of firm drv ground under the shelter of pine 

 Or other evergreen trees. As such a spot is not alwavs available, the 

 necessity for a suitable place prompts me to again refer to the matter and 

 endeavour to furnish growers with a satisfactory solution of the difificulty. 

 On most farms the tubers intended for seed are kept in pits. This may 

 do verv well for hardv sorts and late-maturing varieties, but it is decidedlv 



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SECTION OF SEED POTATO HOUSE. 



injurious to the. early ones. I am satisfied more injury is done to the yield 

 of the crops bv the improper way in which seed tubers are kept than by 

 any other single cause, and that more benefit will be derived from a proper 

 method of keeping the seed than from a change of seed which has in many 

 instances proved disappointing. I feel sure it would pav every grower to 

 erect a structure, however rough, tO' keep his seed in. The result would 

 be a more even crop, with stronger and more vigorous plants, which play 

 an important part in the yield of a crop. The chief requirement is a cool 

 dry place where the tubers can be exposed to the light as much as possible; 

 the space should be sufficient to spread them out thinlv, the thinner the 

 better. The onlv thing to guard against is frost, and if this be avoided 

 when they are first spread out, there will be little danger, as they will soon 

 become green. Tubers kept in this way do not bud so quickly as when 

 piled together in a heap, and, when the buds do start, the growth is very 

 ■slow ; the shoot will be strong, and of a green colour. If s€fed for early 

 crops is kept in this wav, allowed to sprout, and planted when the ground 

 is warm, better results Avill be obtained than at present. The practice is 

 to plant in the middle of winter, when the soil temperature is low, with 



