THE POTATO ITSELF 293 



For as we went along the row, spading up one 

 potato hill after another, we found in each suc- 

 cessive hill a different type of tubers. One hill 

 would contain small potatoes of curious shapes, 

 another hill larger potatoes with deepset eyes; 

 yet another potatoes red in color, or with rough 

 or smooth white skins. 



But two vines bore tubers that were instantly 

 seen to be quite in a class by themselves. 



These were very large, smooth, white potatoes 

 excelling in all respects anything of their kind 

 that I had ever seen. 



The product of all the other vines but these 

 two could be at once discarded. At best they 

 only equaled the average potatoes of the Early 

 Rose stock from which they sprang. But the two 

 exceptional vines bore tubers that far outrivaled 

 even the best example of the parental stock. 

 Not only were they superior in size, but they also 

 excelled in symmetry, in whiteness, in unifor- 

 mity of size, and in productiveness. 



Among the twenty-one discarded potatoes 

 there were, indeed, a few that were not without 

 interest. One variety was red, and quite attrac- 

 tive, but most of the tubers decayed soon after 

 they were dug. So this variety was obviously 

 unworthy of further attention. Another vine 

 bore potatoes that were pinkish in color, and 



