The Potato Industry or Colorado. 23 
be expected when a poor stand of weak plants is obtained. (See in 
this bulletin the division on the subject of Stands.) For Greeley 
and the San Luis Valley, where potatoes tend to degenerate after 
two or three years, the best seed is secured from the dry lands of 
Colorado, Wisconsin or Minnesota or the unirrigated districts in 
the mountains. This seed, when planted in the Greeley district, 
produces the most desirable seed for the succeeding year. 
Trueness to the Type of the variety in hand is an essential in 
selecting any kind of seed potatoes. While their previous history 
and other things* * must be considered in determining the value of 
any lot of seed potatoes, still, examination for trueness to type, 
tells us what we can learn from the potatoes themselves, just as in 
buying a horse, examination of the animal is a part of any proper 
purchase, although other inquiries are not to be omitted. 
Seed for the San Luis Valley. —In some parts of the valley 
there is trouble in securing good stands because of dry weather. 
In these places whole potatoes are usually planted. This makes it 
necessary to plant the small tubers. Where the tubers that go 
through a one and seven-eights screen at digging time are used for 
seed, the yield from year to year rapidly decreases, and the best 
practice is to change seed, securing that from the unirrigated lands 
of the State at least once in three or four years. 
Seed for the West Slope. —In the West slope districts, pota¬ 
toes may be used for seed year after year with little apparent de¬ 
terioration in the vitality of the plants. In fact no change of seed 
has been made on some places at Carbondale since the potato grow¬ 
ing industry was started thirty years ago. 
The Best Home Grown Seed is secured by selecting the tubers 
from the field at digging time. This should be done from the best 
hills rather than by selecting the best individual tubers. The char¬ 
acters that are transmitted by the tuber planted, are more apt to 
follow the characters of the parent plant than of the individual 
uber. Therefore, we should look to the vitality, productiveness 
and trueness to type of the whole plant. 
Hill Selection. —*The best method for securing seed is to go 
through the field at digging time with a fork and dig the plants 
that appear strongest and most productive. If the plant proves to 
be true to type and has the required number of tubers, with no 
scab or misshapen tubers, the better potatoes from the hill are saved 
for seed. If not, the tubers should be covered up to be dug later 
with the digger. Some skill and knowledge of the variety is neces¬ 
sary for this work. Where incompetent help is to be depended upon 
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*See Bulletin 17 6 . 
*This has not been successful in the Greeley district. See Bulletin 
No. 176. 
