30 Unprecedented Propagation of the Early Rose Potato. 



just the most susceptible state, and it suffered severely. A large quan- 

 tity could not be picked up and measured. Of those which were gathered 

 we had eighty bushels of large and sound tubers, besides several bushels 

 of sound late-planted seed, varying from the size of a Minie-ball up to an 

 English walnut. It is not fair to reckon these by measure ; for a bushel 

 will count by thousands. It was a disappointment that an experiment for 

 the largest increase of a crop from a given amount of seed should be dis- 

 turbed by disease. Still I am inclined to believe the present result is un- 

 precedented ; being nearly ten times larger than the hundred-fold of Scrip- 

 ture. 



For the sake of comparison, I tried cuttings of Goodrich's Early Potato. 

 Greatly to my surprise, they did not root readily ; neither did they develop 

 with any thing like the rapidity of the Rose. The trial was with but one 

 batch, and with only fifty cuttings, half of which failed for some reason. 

 With so narrow a limit of experiment, I cannot speak positively j yet it 

 would seem probable that the Rose is peculiar in the readiness to form 

 tubers. Any one who has had many plants must have noticed bulblets 

 forming on the vines above ground. Certainly it indicates marked pro- 

 ductiveness as well as earliness, and excellency in quality. I do not regard 

 my example as any indication of its liability to rot, though this may be 

 true of it. Certainly a variety so early and so tender should not be ex- 

 posed to the cold storms of autumn, especially in a growing state. The 

 sound tubers which were rescued show no disposition whatever to rot. It 

 is a fair question for consideration, whether this method of propagating the 

 potato can be put to practical use in other cases than the increase of new 

 and high-priced varieties. Upon this question I leave others to speculate : 

 but, upon a correlative question, I will express an opinion ; to wit, that the 

 tubers produced from cuttings are as perfect, sound, and vigorous as can 

 be obtained either from seed or I'rom the old tuber. W. C. Strong. 



Brighton, Mass, December, 1868. 



[The unprecedented success of Mr. Strong in the propagation of the" 

 Early Rose Potato last season has brought so many inquiries from all 

 quarters, that we hav€ induced Mr. Strong to send us a full and accurate 

 account of his operations, which we are happy to give our readers.] 



