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decided acquisitions, and have nearly replaced all the kinds 

 known previous to that time as standards. How vast a gain 

 these new varieties, from their greater productiveness, have 

 been to these United States, may be inferred from the fact 

 that an annual diiference of but a few bushels to the acre 

 makes an addition of millions of dollars in the agricultural 

 returns. Another fact bearing on the importance to agricul- 

 ture of encouraofing the originating of new varieties, is found 

 in the fact that, at the present day, most if not all varieties 

 appear to be so far weak in their constitutions that they dete- 

 riorate either in yield, quality, or keeping properties, earlier 

 in their history than was the case with the standard kinds 

 before the dread "potato rot" appeared. There being, there- 

 fore, this necessity for new varieties, it appears but wise that all 

 who make efforts thereto should be informed of such facts as ob- 

 servation and experience have to contribute. It is therefore 

 proposed in this paper to contribute a few facts, observations, 

 and reflections, bearing on this subject, to the end that efforts 

 to produce new seedlings may be more intelligently directed 

 than is often the case. 



If the various new seedlings that have become established 

 in the community by reason of their real merits, be classified, 

 it will be found that nearly all of them originated in a latitude 

 north of southern New York. If with this fact, we connect 

 one other, viz., that the natural home of the potato is on the 

 high, cool, table lands of South America ; and yet a third fact, 

 that taking any variety of the Irish potato, we find that, all 

 other conditions being equal, the farther north it is grown, 

 the better is its quality, I think we may conclude that to de- 

 velop the best results possible in raising new seedlings, the 

 experiments had best be confined to latitudes north of central 

 New York. If, now, we analyze this matter a little farther, 

 and classify the various new varieties that have become stand- 

 ards, and do this in the light of the number of seedlings 

 raised by seed cultivation, to each.new one of real merit ob- 

 tained, we shall find that by far the greater success has been 



