48 CUTTING AND PREPARING THE SEED TO PLANT 



cut without being healed over with lime. Therefore, i: 

 well covered with lime, the potato will be protected fron 

 disease germs to a certain degree. 



4th. Lime acts as a preservative. The seed pieces wil 

 keep longer when planted with lime than without it. 



5th. When cut potatoes are limed, a thick covering o: 

 new skin is made on the cut surface, and is stronger thai 

 the old skin. This keeps the seed from losing its strength 



6th. The expense is very small and no time is wasted 



Many growers believe that lime is a detriment to thi 

 growing of potatoes, but I am decidedly in favor of its use. 



I have tested growing potatoes with and without liming 

 when there are hard, black streaks reaching through th< 

 potato, this being the first stage of decay. I have taken tei 

 potatoes, cut each into four equal parts, and planted withou 

 lime, and ten with lime. Out of the ten tested without lime 

 three came up before the pieces decayed, and the other sevei 

 decayed away before the sprouts came through. Out of th< 

 ten tested with lime, eight came up and looked a great dea 

 hardier than the three without lime. This, I think, shoul< 

 prove the value of lime in the growing of a profitable crop o 

 potatoes. 



It is always advisable to procure the lime to be used sev 

 eral days or weeks before cutting and planting time, and ai 

 slake it. Since the starch in the potatoes absorb the lime 

 the cut tubers will be burned if the lime is too new ; that is 

 if not well air slaked. 



In slaking the lime, I always spread it out in thin layer; 

 so it will be exposed to the air. Several weeks* time is need 

 ed to slake it well before using. However, the time depend] 

 greatly upon the weather conditions. The test in determin 

 ing whether or not it is well air slaked is to pour a littli 



