THE CANADIAN H0RTICULTTIRI8T. 



69 



clearly that in order to increase our 

 yield of potatoes, it is only necessary 

 in digging our crop to expose the hills 

 separately, and then before harvesting 

 go through aud select our seed potatoes 

 from those hills which show the most 

 abundant ci'op. 



The experiment also seems to indicate 

 that deterioration in a variety, whereby 

 a good variety tends to become less 

 and less profitable to grow, arises from 

 the entire lack of selection from the 

 point of view of the prolific plant, and 

 that to obviate this deterioration it may 

 only be necessary to yearly select our 

 seed from the more prolific hills, instead 

 of hap-hazard from the harvested crop. 



The importance of this experiment 

 perhaps justifies the massing of our con- 

 clusions in another table. 



TABLE III. 



From this table it appears first, that 

 the merchantable and the total yield 

 from the seed taken from the most pro- 

 lific hill, yielded in excess over the seed 

 taken from the least prolific hill ; second, 

 that the yield of the largest tuber from 

 the most prolific hill exceeded the 

 yield of the lai-gest tuber from the 

 least productive hill ; third, that the 

 yield of the smallest tuber from the most 

 prolific hill exceeded the yield of the 

 smallest tuber taken from the least 

 prolific hill ; fourth, that the smallest 

 tuber taken from the most prolific hill 

 exceeded in yield the largest tuber 

 taken from the least prolific hill ; fifth, 



that the largest tubers from the most 

 prolific and the least prolific hills yielded 

 more crop than did the smallest tubers 

 from the same hills. 



These differences in yield appear 

 more clearly if we arrange the figures 

 obtained in the order of their mag- 

 nitude without regard to variety, and 

 this leads us to table 4. 



TABLE IV. 



The question may arise whether the 

 smaller size of the cuttings from the 

 smallest tubers may not account for the 

 difference in yield. The smallest tubers 

 from the most productive hills, how- 

 ever, did not exceed in size the smallest 

 tubers taken from the least productive 

 hills, and hence our results must be in- 

 terpreted that the tubers from the most 

 productive hills possess more inherent 

 vigor than do those of the least pi'O- 

 ductive hills. 



While we can not regard a single ex- 

 periment as in any sense conclusive, 

 yet the evidence seems so clearly in 

 favour of using for seed only tubers from 

 the more productive hills of potatoes, 

 that we think we can not err in 

 commending this subject to the careful 

 consideration of potato growers, and we 

 would be very glad, this coming season, 

 to have tliose who are interested in the 

 subject make a trial according to this 

 method, and experiment for themselves, 

 and report the results, however they 

 may result, to the public. — E. Lewis 

 Sturtevant, Director. 



