46 CUTTING AND PREPARING THE SEED TO PLANT 



eyes should be as near the center as possible. Do not cu1 

 too close to the eye. 



Some potato growers, particularly in the Eastern 

 states, cut out only the eyes and use them in planting. This 

 has been tried and will not do in California. As I have ex- 

 plained, the seed piece must of necessity have the strength 

 to force the sprout, thus increasing the yield. Those whc 

 practice using the eye alone for planting would get much 

 better results if, instead, they would use a large seed piece 



Some times when seed potatoes are high and scarce 

 the grower will cut the seed into very small pieces, making 

 his seed go farther. It does, it is true, plant a larger area 

 but when the yield is taken into account, he will surely see 

 his mistake. This is a common error, and is, indeed, a seri- 

 ous one. The grower tries to be economical by cutting his 

 seed into small pieces. The lack of results from the use oj 

 small pieces would more than justify the use of large pieces 

 The fact that the smaller pieces will plant more ground wil 

 also make the grower more work and will not produce anj 

 more tubers than the smaller plot of ground and largei 

 pieces. Again, the piece is liable to decay before the feec 

 roots appear. 



The discussion of the size of seed pieces brings up the 

 subject of the quantity of seed to use per acre. This de- 

 pends upon the manner in which the seed is planted, the dis- 

 tance of the hills and the rows, and the size of the seed 

 piece; also if whole or cut. I generally use from six tc 

 seven hundred pounds per acre in ordinary soil, but in ricli 

 soil not less than one thousand to fourteen hundred pounds 

 per acre. This, however, cannot be definitely stated. More 

 seed is used in rich soil because the seed piece must be 

 larger and each piece have more sprouts. If there is jusl 

 one sprout the new tubers will be too large. One sprout will 



