10i;'..l PUBLIC DOCUMENT — Xo. 31. 11 



A VARIETY TEST OF POTATOES. 



E. F, GASKILL, 



During tlio last eigliteon years tlio agricultural department 

 of the experiment station has tested 371 varieties of potatoes. 

 This work has bronght ont many interesting facts. It will not 

 be possible in this article to go into all the details of the work, 

 but the general plan and some of the more interesting facts 

 will be given. 



General Plan. — There have been in all cases two trials, — 

 a preliminary test and a final test. The varieties selected each 

 year for trial have been those advertised by different seedsmen 

 and recommended to the piddic becanse of their superior merits. 

 Small amounts of seed have been obtained from these firms 

 and planted in one of our fields to produce seed for a second- 

 year tost. Thus for the second trial we have had home-grown 

 seed that has been raised and stored under precisely the same 

 conditions for every variety. During the preliminary tests 

 records have been kept, but all of our conclusions are based 

 upon results obtained in the second-year tests. 



We have included in each trial, for the sake of comparison, 

 some of the standard varieties, such as Beauty of Hebron, 

 Green Mountain, Early Rose and Irish Cobbler. 



Soil. — In most instances these trials have been made on a 

 medium loam with a gravelly subsoil, affording good drainage 

 and an ideal potato soil. 



Fertilizers. — A home-made mixture has been used, furnish- 

 ing the elements of plant food in alxiut the following propor- 

 tions : — 



Per Cent. 



Nitropcn 21/2 to AVo 



Plios])lioric acid. . . . . . . . . fi to 10 



Potash, 8 to 10 



