POTATO CULTURE. 63 



ence ; but I know it does yes, I know. Like begets like, to 

 a greater or less degree, although not always directly. As a 

 man sows, so shall he reap, has no footnote making an ex- 

 ception of small-potato planting. With such " seed " the 

 variety will run out sooner, and yield less meanwhile, as a 

 rule. Under very favorable circumstances there might be 

 no difference in a single year. But no man on earth has 

 better seed than my oft quoted friend J. M. Smith. On ac- 

 count of scarcity of a certain variety, he planted last spring 

 about two acres with small potatoes (not very small), prop- 

 erly cut, of his own growing, side by side with large seed cut 

 fine. Result, 25 bushels per acre less ; smaller average size ; 

 and this on rich land averaging bOO bushels per acre, and 

 with perfect cultivation. I tried some small potatoes whole 

 last year with worse results. Careful experiments settled 

 this matter for me many years ago. I tried it over last year 

 only from lack of better seed. Little potatoes littler, 

 weaker eyes ; littler, weaker plants ; a poorer start, a poorer 

 pocketbook in the end, every time. JSI otice, I say , u in the 

 end." I would be understood as saying the tendency, as a 

 rule, is toward deterioration. There may be exceptions. If 

 you should plant a whole small potato and only one stalk 

 grew up from it, it might be as good a hill as you would get 

 from a one-eye piece from a large fine tuber. Yes, under 

 some circumstances it might be better. But as a rule we 

 get several sprouts from the small tuber, and hence smaller 

 potatoes, and not as fine, as from one good stalk from one 

 good eye. If we cut the small potato, then we get such a 

 weak plant from the small eye, and little piece to feed it, 

 that we are behind again. But more will be said on this 

 point in the chapter on cutting seed. 



Selecting the best seed from the best hills at digging-time 

 paid me. I would still do it ; but we use a digger now. 

 When we dug with forks it was practical : it is not so now. 

 The best we can do now is to select the best part of the field 

 and pick cut the best potatoes from that place. This is bet- 



