—- va Se 
ee ee ee 
Oe ee 
New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 165 
As appears from the table, in five plats the yield from the 
cuttings exceeded that from the whole tubers, while in the same 
number of plats the reverse was the case. In two plats the mer- 
chantable yield was greater from the cuttings, while the total 
yield was greater from the whole tubers. The sum of the 
differences shows an excess of merchantable tubers in favor of 
the cuttings of 784 pounds, while the total yields were equal. 
This indicates a slightly greater tendency of the whole tubers 
to produce small potatoes. When we take into consideration, 
however, the amount of ground covered by the experiment 
(one and one-fifth acres), it is evident that these differences are 
too small to be seriously considered. Two series of plantings of 
six-tenths of an acre each could hardly be expected to yield more 
nearly equal amounts, even if similarly treated in all respects. In 
1886 the result of a similar experiment showed a slight differ- 
ence in favor of the cuttings. The average of the experiments, 
however, does not warrant the conclusion that either method of 
seeding is more conducive to yield than the other. 
It is possible that the number and magnitude of the experi- 
_ ments are not sufficiently large to justify a final conclusion, but so 
far as their teachings go, we may infer that, under conditions like 
those of the Station, little or nothing is gained by using cut pota- 
toes for seed, while the labor of cutting and the greater market 
value of the larger tubers may constitute a positive loss. 
SPROUTED VERSUS UNSPROUTED SEED TUBERS. 
Object of the Experiment: To ascertain the loss in crop that 
results from planting sprouted tubers. 
A Plat HKaperiment. 
Last March, before the potatoes in the cellar had commenced 
to sprout, a sufficient quantity of seed tubers of medium size were 
selected to plant four plats of one-twentieth acre each. The 
tubers intended for each row were selected separately, and in 
order that each pair of rows might be strictly comparable, they 
were so selected that the number and weight of the tubers in the 
two rows were equal. The seed tubers intended for one row of 
each pair were then placed in a covered box in the office attached 
| 
