SIZE OF POTATO SETS. 5 
end of the tuber gave an increase over 1-eye cuttings, the ratio 
between the two yi elds being as 1 to 3, or an increase of slightly over 
200 per cent. The second largest yield was from stem-end pieces, 
the increase being 127.4 per cent. Whole small tubers ranked third, 
3-eye pieces fourth, large whole tubers fifth, and 2-eye sets sixth. 
No information is given as to the reason for the poor showing made 
by the large whole tubers. 
Sturtevant (94) in 1882, after a careful study of whole seed and cut 
seed, expressed his belief that properly cut single-eye pieces were 
superior to whole tubers for seed purposes. 
Roberts (77) compared the relative merits of 1-eye sets cut from seed 
end to stem end with those cut from stem end to seed end and with 
whole medium-sized tubers. He obtained the largest yield from the 
whole seed. The sets cut from stem end to seed end gave the next 
largest yield. 
In 1886 Alwood (6, p. 70-71) reported the results of a comparative 
test of whole and cut seed in which the whole seed very greatly 
outyi elded the cut seed. He submitted the data shown in Table 1. 
Table 1. — Comparative test of whole and cut seed potatoes reported by Alwood in 
1886. 
Average yield of tubers 
(bushels) . 
Kind of seed. 
Whole seed 
Ordinary cuts, two eyes 
One-eye cuts 
One-eye reversed (cuts from the stem to the seed end) 
Investigations by Johnson (52, p. 7-8) at the Michigan station regard- 
ing the value of whole and cut seed seem to indicate that large-sized 
cut seed is superior to whole seed, at least when the comparison is 
made on the basis of merchantable tubers. In 1888 a further report 
was made by Johnson (53) in which results dissimilar to those 
reported in 1886 are noted. In this case the comparative merits of 
whole 3-eye, 2-eye, and 1-eye sets were studied. The results show an 
increase in yield uniform with the increase in the size of the set. 
GofFs studies of the size of sets extended over a number of years. 
In the first report (39, p. 150) whole tubers gave a larger yield than 
cut seed, but as no information is given as to the actual quantities 
of seed planted it is not clear whether the net yield was greater or 
not. The data given in the 1887 report (40, p. 87) are slightly in 
favor of halved tubers, the yield of merchantable tubers from the 
whole seed being at the rate of 447.5 bushels and that from halved 
tubers 454 bushels per acre. The total yield, however, was slightly 
in favor of whole seed, 538 bushels as against 533.5 bushels. In 
the 1888 report (41, p. 164-165) Goff's data show that the average 
of 12 tests with 1-eye, 2-eye, 3-eye, halved, and whole tubers were 
in favor of cut seed. The increase of cut seed over whole seed was at 
the rate of 78.5 bushels per acre. The 1889 report (42) shows a 
larger yield of merchantable tubers from 2-eye sets than from whole 
or halved tubers, but the total yield was greatest from whole seed. 
