POTATO. 



193 



be applied, it should be well rotted. Raw stable manure is gener- 

 ally to be avoided, unless it can be applied a year in advance. 

 In applying manure, it is very important not to use that from 

 animals which have been fed on scabby potatoes, as such ma- 

 nure is liable to cause scabbiness in the crop. 



The Sets (commonly called "Seed.") — The tubers for plant- 

 ing should be sound and not sprouted — though if sprouted they 

 may do well; sprouting injures the vitality of the potatoes and is 

 harmful. We should regard the potato much as we do a willow 

 or other plant that grows freely from dormant cuttings if it has 

 the right soil conditions, for the tuber is truly a stem. Given 

 good sound seed potatoes for planting and good soil conditions, 

 it matters liitle how the sets are cut, provided that every eye 

 that grows is on a piece of potato large enough to nourish the 

 young sprout until it has a good rt)ot system and enough ex- 

 panded leaves to gather and digest its own food. In practice 

 the "sets" should have one, two or three eyes according to 

 whether the tubers have few or many eyes. Varieties with few 

 eyes such as the Rural New Yorker No. 2, should be cut to 

 about one eye to a piece, while those having many eyes should 

 have two or three to each piece. Very small seed pieces will 

 not give a full crop, consequently large pieces are desirable. The 

 biggest crops are not likely to come from the planting of whole 

 tubers, but such sets generally give a larger proportion of small 

 potatoes than cuttings made as recommended. The constant use 

 of small tubers for sets undoubtedly causes varieties to "run out," 

 and, although it is a practice that may be occasionally followed 

 without serious results, it should generally be avoided. 



Varieties of potatoes seldom retain their pristine vigor and 

 productiveness many years except in very favorable locations. 

 On some land, even with the best of care, they are apt to "run 

 out," and, as a rule, it is a good plan to occasionally get seed 

 stock from locations very favorable to the best development of 

 the potato or, at least, to change for seed potatoes grown on a 

 different kind of Ir.nd. 



In saving potatoes for seed, it is desirable to select them 

 in the field from hills having the largest number of marKetable 

 tubers, as there is then a tendency to fix this desirable quality. 



