502 



Potato Planting Experiments. 



need be little risk of a smaller crop from the use of cut 

 potatoes, provided due care is taken to retain the moisture so 

 necessary for the growth of the young shoot. It is obvious 

 that from considerations of convenience in planting, etc., 

 whole potatoes are to be preferred to cut sets. At the same 

 time, the practice of treating cut sets in the way indicated 

 above has been systematically carried out by several farmers 

 in Yorkshire. 



As regards the second experiment, it is usually the practice 

 with early potatoes, after lifting in summer or early autumn, 

 to expose those of " seed " size to as much sunlight as possible. 

 The potatoes are consequently greened, and it is often stated 

 that a better crop will be obtained by using " seed" that has 

 been exposed in this way than by planting potatoes taken 

 from a pit in spring. A test dealing with this point was 

 conducted last year, but it was also desired to ascertain what 

 influence, if „any, similar treatment might have on a late 

 variety. A number of potatoes of " seed " size, sufficient to 

 plant four rows, were exposed in the autumn of 1900, and 

 greened as effectively as possible. The potatoes were then 

 put into shallow boxes and stored in a cool shed, precautions 

 being taken to protect them from frost. A further number of 

 " seed' 5 size of the same variety grown in the same field were 

 " pied " in the usual way in autumn. In March these were 

 taken out of the " pie" before the buds had started to grow, 

 were put into shallow boxes, and exposed to sunlight during 

 the day alongside those that had been exposed in autumn. 

 At the time of planting on May 3rd, 1901, it was seen that the 

 sprouts of the potatoes that had been prepared in autumn were 

 barely J of an inch long, and were quite green, whereas the 

 sprouts of those that were not prepared until spring had just 

 started growing, and both the tuber and sprout were only 

 slightly green. The plants were first through the ground in 

 the four rows where greened tubers were used, and this was 

 uniformly the case in each row. For a time they maintained 

 this lead, but by the end of June there was no apparent 

 difference between the strength of the haulm from the 

 greened tubers and that from the ungreened " seed." 



The following table shows that when lifted a better crop 



