82 
Eeport of the Horticultubist of the 
Tests With Seed Tubers Selected from the Most Productive and Least 
Productive Hills. 
Garden Tests. 
In the year 1884 an experiment was commenced in the use of seed 
tubers selected with reference to the prolificacy of the hills that pro- 
duced them, an experiment that has been continued up to the present 
season*. In this report is presented additional evidence upon the 
subject. 
In the fall of 1886, the most productive and the least productive hill 
respectively, was selected from the yield of our entire list of varieties 
and seedling's of the potato, and last spring the largest and the smallest 
tuber from each of these selected hills, that contained more than one 
tuber, was cut to single eyes and planted by itself. In many cases the 
least productive hill contained but a single tuber. In others the 
smallest tuber was too small for cutting and was rejected, no tubers 
not large enough to make at least four single eye cuttings of fair size 
being planted. 
In the preceding table is given the yields, calculated on the basis of 
100 hills or eyes of 116 varieties and seedlings, and on the last page of 
this table is presented a summary, giving the average yield of all the 
varieties of which the conditions admit of comparison. Certain varie- 
ties produced no merchantable tubers in one or more of the plantings, 
while of others only two tubers were planted. Such irregular cases 
were not calculated in the averages. 
The averages secured in previous trials in the same experiment, as 
published in the reports of 1884, 1885 and 1886, are also appended for 
comparison with those of the past season. 
In considering the results of this experiment it should be remem- 
bered that the yields given are the yields, per eye planted, and not per 
tuber planted. This eliminates in great measure the influence of size 
in the tubers, because the size of single eye cuttings bears no necessary 
relation to that of the tuber whence they come. In order to avoid 
confusion in the use of terms, the most productive hill is spoken of as 
A and the least productive hill as B. 
From the averages given it appears that the largest tuber of A 
yielded most in every case; that the smallest tuber of the same yielded 
second; that the largest tuber of B yielded third, and the smallest 
tuber of the same, when such was planted, yielded least. This order, 
it will be observed, does not correspond with that of the size of the 
; See Reports Now York Agricultural Experiment Station, 1884, pp. 301- 
305 ; L885, pp. 201 -207 ; 1886, pp. 160-151. 
