174 Our Farming. 



have one small and another large. When you get to the seed end , as 

 it is called, and have a piece of tuber left as large as your other 

 one-eye pieces, there will be a number of eyes on it. Generally a 

 cluster and perhaps a single eye off by itself. We clip off the 

 cluster of eyes, just taking off a shaving, and throw it away ; 

 then you have a good one-eye piece. Otherwise w r e found 

 that oftentimes more than one sprout would grow 7 two or three 

 weak sprouts, and a lot of small potatoes was the result. 

 Of course, if only one sprout grew it would be just as w r ell not 

 clipped. Do not throw the whole end away. The seed end 

 piece is better than the stem end piece. We sometimes reach 

 up and cut two eyes on stem end piece (first piece cut) if heel eye 

 seems very small. The plant from it is likely to be feeble in such 

 a case. 



We prefer to cut seed only as fast as we plant. It may come 

 out all right cut ahead, but does not always. Rolling in plaster 

 after cutting never paid us. It cannot be done when a planter is 

 used, as it tends to gum up the concaves. It is safe enough, we 

 find, to cut a day beforehand, storing the cut seed in bushel boxes 

 in a cool place, covered from the air, or wind, and sun. A man 

 without experience came to me once and said, " Now it is wet 

 weather and I cannot fit my land and have plenty of help idle. 

 Would you not advise that I cut my seed ?" I told him that with 

 all my experience I would not risk doing it. But he went back 

 and cut some 200 bushels, and made a miserable failure, getting a 

 stand that was not worth taking care of. He probably piled 

 the cut seed up in bulk so it heated ; but I do not know the 

 particulars, only the general result. 



As to varieties we must grow early or medium early ones, in 

 order to get them off for wheat. The early ones require rather 

 richer soil, I think, as they have less time to grow in. As to com- 

 parative yields of early and late ones, I think that for a term of 

 ten years I can grow as many or more bushels of early as of late. 

 Some years one will be ahead and some the other. It is not wise 

 to change because the season is against you one year. The season 

 may change and be against you again. I consider that a medium 

 early potato, such as early Beauty of Hebron, planted as soon as 

 ground is fit to work, gives me rather the best chance for a crop 

 and profit in this locality. We are thus able to get them off earlier 

 in the fall, during good weather, and they make most of their 

 growth before the spring moisture gets low in the soil, usually, 

 and get out of the way before there is much danger of blight and 

 before our driest, hottest weather. But, although we grow early 

 potatoes, we do not now sell them early, but store them in barn 

 and sell after we get our wheat in and before winter. Once in a 

 while there is a year when there is a chance to sell early, soon as 

 ripe, but not often now, since so many potatoes are shipped in 

 from the South. Years ago we sold right from the field largely 



