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POTATOES 



Hill Selection. The method of improvement known 

 as hill selection is conducted in the following manner. 

 Single potatoes are cut and the pieces from one potato only 

 are planted in a single hill. During the growing period 

 the characteristic vine growth is studied carefully and any 

 hills that show disease or improper vine growth are marked 

 and discarded. The hills showing uniform, healthy growth 

 are left to ripen and are harvested separately. There will 



Fig. 102. Only hills that produce uniform size potatoes should be used for seed. 



be a wide variation of the productive power of the individual 

 potatoes used as seed. The hills of potatoes showing large 

 yield of uniform potatoes should be placed in separate 

 piles. In this manner a few hills can be selected that have 

 much higher powers of production than the average. This 

 method may be carried forward for several years until a high 

 yielding standard strain of potatoes has been developed. 

 Quality as well as quantity is considered in hill selection. 



