1012. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
1133 
CUTTING POTATO SEED IN MAINE. 
Can yon tell me if the Maine potato growers plant 
whole medium-sized potatoes or not, about the size of an 
egg? Should the seed end be cut off or not? c. l. h. 
Connecticut. 
This question which you send me opens up the 
There are, occasionally, new seedling fruits pro¬ 
duced, most of them by accident, that are valuable 
and should be propagated and tested, and if they 
prove really worthy, placed on the market for general 
use. But the greatest precautions should be taken and 
a thorough understanding of the true value of any 
whole question of seed selection which is not in any and every new fruit should be had before any steps 
sense a settled question, nor is there a settled practice whatever are made towards its propagation, no mat- 
among the best growers. I think 
one-half of the commercial grow¬ 
ers in this State aim every year 
to use medium-sized seed tubers 
that will run from two to three 
to a pound, taking pains to have 
the potato free from nubs and 
smooth of skin. The selection of 
this size seems to be more owing 
to the fact that it is easily cut 
to run through the planter even 
by inexperienced cutters, than 
from any virtue in the size of 
the seed. Some growers plant 
seed the size of a hen's egg; this 
is especially true if a piece is to 
be late planted; but such planters 
do not continue this practice for 
more than one year, every year 
taking pains to have a few acres 
planted of large and vigorous 
stock from which the smaller are 
saved for the next year's seed, 
and this practice seems to have 
some very firm and decided sup¬ 
porters. In fact there are more 
cranks on the question of seed 
selection than one would suppose 
possible, and the man who this 
year is vigorously advocating one 
kind of seed selection, in two 
years from now will more than 
likely be just as vigorously advo¬ 
cating some other, and in each 
HOW THE POT EXPERIMENTS WERE HANDLED. Fig. 468 . 
l 
Paoli soil 
2 Five tons ground limestone 
3 Five tons ground limestone, inoculated soli 
4 Five tons ground limestone, nitro culture 
case will be citiiR some examnlp 5 Ten tons ground limestone 
e i & ^ome example g Ten tons ground limestone, inoculated soil 
7 Ten tons ground limestone, nitro culture 
8 Ten tons ground limestone, 409 pounds bone and potash 
9 Four hundred pounds bone 
of big yield to sustain his advo¬ 
cacy of the favored method. 
I suppose the commercial side 
of the seed question often de¬ 
termines the kind that is used. 
If, for instance, the crop happens 
to be coarse when dug, and lots 
of potatoes harvested that will 
weigh a pound or a pound and a 
half, and a low price prevails, in 
order to meet running expenses 
all of the medium-sized tubers 
are sold and the unsalable big 
ones used for seed. To my no¬ 
tion this is an excellent practice, 
for very large potatoes do not 
come from weak hills, whereas 
both medium-sized and small ones 
may come from poor plants. 
It is true, however, that an ex¬ 
perienced hand must be employe;! 
to cut these potatoes if they are 
not to be expected to bother the 
planter, and they will also cut to 
waste a bushel and a half or two 
bushels to the acre, which is de¬ 
cidedly against this kind of seed 
if it is to bought. Results seem 
to favor this kind of seed where 
it is practiced for a series of 
years in succession. 
I would say to your correspon¬ 
dent then, that the practice of 
using small potatoes here is not 
general, and never when they are 
produced from small seed stock. 
They are used uncut when used at 
all, generally speaking. A ma¬ 
jority use medium-sized seed on 
account of its ease and certainty 
of handling, while some years 
large seed is much more used 
than others. w. t. guptill. 
R. N.-Y.—Conditions in Maine 
are different from those in South¬ 
ern States, where second-crop seed 
is used. Mr. Guptill makes an ex¬ 
it) Four hundred pounds bone, inoculated soil 
11 Four hundred pounds bone, nitro culture 
12 Four hundred pounds bone and potash 
13 Four hundred pounds bone and potash, nitro culture 
14 Four hundred pounds bone and potash, inoculated soil 
15 Inoculated soil, Paoli soil 
1C Five tons agricultural burnt lime, nitro culture 
17 Five tons agricultural burnt lime, nitro culture 
18 Five tons agricultural burnt lime, inoculated soil 
ALFALFA PLANTS FROM FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD CUTTING. Fig. 469 . 
cellent point in suggesting a warning against weak seed. 
INTRODUCING NEW FRUIT. 
A correspondent states that he has a very choice 
seedling apple, and wishes to make an arrangement 
with some nurseryman to take the scions, propagate 
from them, sell the trees and divide the proceeds on 
an equitable basis; or he would sell variety outright, plan to consult some of the best informed pomologists. 
ter what may be its merits. There is great danger 
of the originator or discoverer of a new variety 
being prejudiced in its favor, and this is very natural. 
If he is not well informed of its true merits in com¬ 
parison with old and well-established varieties, it is 
exceedingly dangerous to have anything more than a 
test made of it at first. Indeed, it is far the better 
Fortunately, we have an officer in the U. S. Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture at Washington, where just such 
expert information can be had without any cost, even 
for the transportation of specimens for examination. 
If those who have new fruits will address the “Pomol-t 
ogist in Charge of Identification” at Washington, D. 
C., stating the facts concerning a new fruit and alsoi 
their wishes they will be furnished with boxes and 
franks for sending specimens by 
mail to him free of all cost for 
postage or anything else. At this 
office there are experts who can 
and will give the information 
needed to guide the originator or 
introducers of new fruits. They 
can be reliably informed of the 
character of the specimens sent, 
and comparisons will be made be¬ 
tween them and the standard va¬ 
rieties of the same season. This 
will save the originator and all 
concerned from the danger of 
spending time, effort and money 
on varieties that are unworthy and 
destined to bring disappointment. 
On the other hand, such varieties 
as are of real and enduring value 
will be advanced, and their owner 
assisted in bringing them before 
the public in a favorable manner. 
As to the matter of placing a 
new variety in the hands of a nur¬ 
seryman to propagate on shares, 
that is a very difficult and uncer¬ 
tain thing. There are many risks 
to be run by whoever under¬ 
takes to introduce a variety and 
finance such a venture. It has 
rarely paid anyone who has done 
it, and in most cases money has 
been lost, so I have been told, by 
those who have tried it. Occa¬ 
sionally a venture of this kind 
has paid well. A few years 
ago I was asked by the originator 
of a very choice seedling straw¬ 
berry in the Far West to advise 
him what to do with it, and hav¬ 
ing visited his place several times 
during the fruiting season, and 
felt sure of the value of the 
variety, I introduced its owner 
to a reliable and progressive 
nursery firm and assisted in mak¬ 
ing an arrangement for the 
propagation and sale that has 
since proved very satisfactory to 
both parties. A certain and quite 
reasonable sum was paid to the 
originator for the variety at the 
outset, he, however, being bound 
by the contract to furnish the 
nursery firm a considerable sup¬ 
ply of plants to start the propa¬ 
gation, which were paid for at a 
reasonable rate. The originator 
was also bound not to sell or give 
away any plants except to certain 
experimenters for testing pur¬ 
poses. The contract gave him 25 
per cent, of the net income from 
sales of plants, which was a very 
liberal provision on the part of 
the nurserymen. The terms se¬ 
cured are often less desirable. 
Sometimes new fruits are sold 
to nurserymen on the strength of 
the name of the originator, which 
is a most venturesome and unsafe 
proceeding. It has resulted in 
sore disappointment in many 
cases that I know of, and has 
brought disrepute as well, in the 
end, to both the originator and 
introducer. Nothing but the bare 
and intrinsic merits of any variety 
should be considered in a deal 
for its introduction or by the 
originator himself. Exaggerated 
opinions by him are somewhat ex¬ 
cusable, but he and all concerned in placing any¬ 
thing of the kind before the public should use every 
precaution to strip the variety of all but such state¬ 
ments as are undeniable and even unquestionable, if 
this is possible. h. e. van deman. 
The parcels post car is here. It is a SDecially con¬ 
structed automobile fitted for packages and capable of 
being heated. 
