POTATOES. 229 



into general use till a hundred years later. Now it is grown in almost 

 every country on the globe. 



The tubers of the wild plants range from a half inch to an inch in 

 diameter. The larger varieties known to commerce are obtained from 

 these by careful cultivation and selection of seed. Old varieties run 

 their course and give way to the newer ones. What was the general 

 favorite twenty years ago is to-day forgotten, and the best potatoes 

 •of to-day will be replaced with the better ones of tomorrow. While 

 preparing this article I found a small book on potatoes, written in 

 1870, and of the twenty or more kinds described and discussed not 

 one appears in the prize lists of to-day. They have all, as the saying 

 is, " run out." They have degenerated in that short time, and are no 

 longer profitable to raise. 



The demand for varieties to grow for market or for home use is 

 that they shall be of good quality, fine grained, regular shape, with 

 smooth skin and shallow eyes, and that they shall be not only large, 

 but productive. A potato having all these characteristics would rank 

 A 1. Many have one or more of these points in their favor, but few 

 combine them all ; and it is to find out and put forward just what 

 ones are the best that experiments have been carried on at the station 

 for the past two years. 



During 1888, 176 named strains were planted, and in 1889, 169. 

 Of these 169 only 64, about one-third, possessed the most essential 

 point — productiveness, and only 20 of these 64 were what might be 

 called prolific. These twenty kinds were tested by cooking in as 

 nearly a uniform manner as possible, and the results, with descrip- 

 tions of each I give as follows : 



No. 1. Pierson's Eureka, estimated yield 360 bushels per acre, is 

 an oblong, knotty, rough looking pear-shaped potato, with smooth 

 skin and deep set eyes. The "seed" end is the largest. Both ends 

 are evenly rounded. Four potatoes weighing 2.2 pounds cooked in 

 thirty-nine minutes ; were fine grained and mealy, anol seemed of 

 good quality, although the largest tubers are often hollow. 



No. 2. Bonanza White, estimated yield 310 bushels, is a rough, 

 much branched tuber, with deep eyes. Six small ones cooked in 

 thirty-seven minutes. All the potatoes were hollow, and though 

 mealy, of poor quality. This is a poor kind to raise for market be- 

 cause of the large amount of waste. 



