No. 98.] 69 
‘brought into requisition, and by means of a forcible spray the soil was 
washed away from the potato plant until its roots were left exposed. 
One root was found to pass 34 inches below the top of the ridge, or 
28 inches below the tubers, or 22 inches below the surface of the 
ground between the ridges. The roots were more fibrous, and 
branched deep in the ground than beneath the surface, and dimin- 
ished very little in size after attaining a distance of six inches from 
the stem. The soil was a very heavy clay, and the soil at the bottom, 
where the longest root stopped, was a coarse gravel, closely cemented 
with clay. But few roots passed within the area of the soil that would 
be disturbed by an ordinary hoeing. Under these circumstances we 
cannot think but that the difference of yield between the uncultivated 
and ordinarily cultivated rows was but accidental, especially as the 
cultivation which extended within the root range appears to have been 
disastrous to the crop. 
4. Seed ends and stem ends were planted April 18, two rows of 
each, the potato being cut in half, and each half being used in the 
opponent rows. « The yield was: 
Merch. tubers. Small tubers. 
Two rows (50 plants) seed ends -....... 54 1-4 lbs. 5 lbs. 
Two rows (50 plants) stem ends ........ 32 3-4 lbs. 5 3-4 lbs. 
_As we have previously shown, the yield of the potato depends 
greatly on the character of the seed. Had the seed used in this cage 
been simply the extremities of the potato, instead of the potato di- 
vided in the middle, the results might well have been expected to have 
been reversed. On June 12, we remarked that the stem ends were 
later in forming tubers than the seed ends. 
5. Potato skims are an iljustration of eyes cut shallow. ‘These form 
plants, and in very rich soil may furnish good yield. In our soil, 
however, the yields were but small, thus: 
Merch. tubers. Small tubers. 
Forty-four hills potato skins yielded .... 93-4 |lbs. ° 13-4 lbs. 
6. April 17, sprouts as broken from the potato tubers were laid hori- 
zontally within ridges, and covered two inches deep. Like sprouts 
also were set upright in level ground, the tops about one inch below 
the surface. On May 8, an examination showed these to be alive and 
putting up rootlets. The tips, however, in no case examined grew, 
but a new shoot appeared from the axil of a leaf scale. On May 17, 
vegetation appeared. On June 12, a number of plants were dug up 
and examined. ‘I'he sprouts laid horizontal showed small foliage, but 
the tubers, few in number, larger than those from any other mode of 
planting. ‘The sprouts set upright had also small foliage, and the 
tubers not as large as in the case of those laid horizontal. rom this 
date, our diggings exposed no progress, the formation and growth of 
tubers proceeding very slowly, and every other method but one proving 
superior. We cannot help thinking, howeyer, that in rich garden soil 
these sprouts would have given early tubers of excellent size. At 
harvest, September 21, the following yields were obtained: 
