POTATO CULTURE. 85 



Dry weather followed, and few came up. The skill to man- 

 age was not there ; or, perhaps, it was rushing hard work 

 and lack of thought. When I got around I had the piece 

 harrowed and sown with Hungarian grass seed. This is the 

 only time one-eye seed has failed on my farm. How easily, 

 from such an experience, one might decide against it ! But 

 the only trouble was, that whole seed was best suited to the 

 potato caliber of the man at the helm, and he planted fine- 

 cut seed. 



Five years ago we decided to again test one-eye pieces side 

 by side with two eye ones, thinking that possibly results 

 might be different now, after growing potatoes so long on the 

 same land. We are not trying to carry our point at all, but are 

 always ready for the truth and the best way, even if we have 

 some pet notions trod on. Fine large tubers were chosen 

 and cut, and the rows planted right through the field. I 

 confess I was a little anxious when Adam got them nearly 

 all picked up, and kept looking over that way, from where I 

 was digging. When he waved his hat and shouted, " Just 

 exactly the same ! " well, I couldn't help feeling just a trifle 

 glad. We dug one row at a time, and picked them up and 

 stood boxes on the row, so no possible mistake could occur. 



When a plant comes up from these one-eye pieces, of course 

 at first it is smaller and weaker than where large seed is 

 used ; but if it came from good seed, and is well cared for, it 

 will make use of all the available fertility there is in the soil, 

 and turn it into good even-sized tubers What more can 

 you ask for ? Of course, you can manure your crop with 

 potatoes, if you want to, by using large seed -and getting 

 some extra little ones. Pretty dear manuring. It takes 

 about 50 bushels of potatoes to give as much fertility as 

 there is in a load of good stable manure. A ton of potatoes 

 contains but $2.02 worth of fertility,, at market rates of fer- 

 tilizers. They are mostly water. But the extra food in the 

 mother-potato may be worth a little more to the plant than 

 stable manure, possibly, as a starter. 



