26 The Colorado Experiment Station. 
evenly distributed, the potato should generally be cut legthwise 
first. Six ounce potatoes are usually cut first lengthwise, then 
twice crosswise of the tuber.* 
Gauging the Cross Cut. —It is best to make the stem-end pieces 
larger than the bud-end pieces. With the Pearl, this will nearly 
always insure at least one eye or bud in each or the stem-end pieces. 
Hand Cutting is the only practical way. A few potato cutting 
machines have been used, but these have never come into general 
use because machines cannot exercise discretion as to the size of 
pieces and the eyes contained in each. 
Cutting Racks. —The rack most commonly used, and which is 
the most satisfactory, is like the one shown in Plate VI. This is 
a slatted, sloping-bottom bin, with a frame for holding a sack open 
and a knife set at the rear side of the sack holder. The advantage 
in this is that the potatoes, when scooped into the hopper, are al¬ 
ways at the hand of the operator, and instead of holding the knife 
in the hand, both hands are available for work with the tubers. 
When one is accustomed to using this device, it is found to be much 
easier and faster than holding the knife in the hand. 
The Cheapest Cutting Device is made by driving a case knife 
into the end of a piece of board so that the operator may push the 
tubers across the blade of the knife. Many prefer to push the pota¬ 
toes in any case, and to drop them thus into the basket or sack. 
Do Not Cut too far Ahead. —Potatoes are best not cut more 
than twenty-four to thirty-six hours previous to planting. If they 
are left for any considerable time, the loss of moisture is so great 
as to seriously affect the stand. Similarly, cut seed potatoes in dry, 
warm, or windy weather must be covered on the wagon with a 
canvas and must not be left in the field or in the planter to dry out. 
It is found that the seed works better in the planters when the 
cut surface is allowed to become slightly dried before putting into 
the machine. 
Dusting Seed. —Many growers think that less disease occurs in 
the fields where the cut seed is treated with flowers of sulphur or 
air-slaked lime after cutting. Where this is done, a handful of 
sulphur or lime is scattered onto each basket of potatoes as fast as 
added to the sack or on the thin layer on the floor. This dries 
the cut surfaces so they are at least more readily separated and 
*Many growers have thought that the “seed end” eyes were not so 
productive as or differed from the stem end eyes. We find, however, no 
difference in their value. At the College, in 1909, two sacks of Pearl 
potatoes were cut so that the eyes from the seed end, the middle and the 
base of the tubers could be planted separately. So far as the most careful 
observation could tell, there was no difference whatever, between the 
lots, either in time of coming up, the per cent, of stand, the time of 
maturing, or the yield of these plots. 
