1378 The Vegetable Industry in New York State 



pile by its appearance usually will not deteriorate, but will often 

 improve on the same farm from year to year. Xot so with the 

 potato tuber or cutting. If one from a weak hill, with only one 

 or two potatoes, or one in which all the tubers were small, is 

 planted, there must be a deterioration, for there is no cross pollen- 

 ization from a strong plant to help it. This explains why varieties 

 of potatoes run out, and why people are continually seeking new, 

 strong seed. There are thousands of dollars expended every year 

 for potatoes to plant, many of which come from diseased stock, 

 and few of which are selected, except by external appearance. 

 Most of this money might be saved if the seed tubers were selected 

 from the most vigorous productive hills ; not so difficult a task as 

 might at first glance appear, for one can plant a small portion of 



Fig. 41S. — Showing Variation in the Yielding Capacity of Two In- 

 dividual Tubers Selected from Rural New Yorkers. 



a field expressly for this purpose, and by digging the potatoes by 

 hand can throw out all hills not coming up to the desired stand- 

 ard. I know two men, in widely separate parts of this state, who 

 had a few years ago — and, for aught I know to the contrary, have 

 now — the Early Rose as productive as when it was first intro- 

 duced, and they have used only their own seed, potatoes being 

 selected as above. 



A small or medium-sized potato, if it comes from a vigorous 

 productive hill, is a good seed, but the continued planting of small 

 potatoes will mean deterioration, for an increasing number each 

 year must come from hills in which the potatoes were all small. 



