New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-08-21
PHENOMENA OF SEED POTATOES.

From tie initial results PLestlous OF ser es
Of potato experiments at Tia" New-lork state
Experiment station started tins season with sew
eral varieties IN different soils and under varied
circumstances rs to size of seed conditions Oh
planfins ere. u rector Sturtcva"t draw, these
interesting ouriu-ions. havug aug mp mills for eN-
animation from time to time after growth was
well established:
We found that at no time has there been any
definite relation between the appearance OF 'Ht
tops and the tub,r formation al in' ROCKS, al 30
time could ever feel certain thai abundance 'i
top meant abundance o. ealllueso ol lLoeI' OF lIA
~u.al tops meant deficiency Of tuhcr. AUS con-
cIuslou IS au interesting one, IN WOW eli
the fact that upon the manfred anu IN
uatulri pcitlons OF tie field planted witl
pearauce ol superiority OF tie manuieO over tie
uufuauurcG porHou. Judelr from tie tops alone
might SLY col, many al on Tlcj"I5 nave s'H. l"r
uHuiauused portion OF me Leld SHOWS de i"cd
Superiority over the mauuIcI portion. Oar earlier
dlr.iag, showed th- earliest ana largest lorn ZION
ut turrr upon tie plants derived iron th sDo'is
which were brlhth from TIE puialuD~ ana COW
cred a. seed. Ia.s TACT held good np 10 JuLe -
wien growth -ecu eI 10 cease am other plaats TOOK
tine precedence. Continued examination also gives
origin to tie following statements 81 Results. ia
every ease the eyr c1t small produced la'er inrm-
aiIon of tuber anG fewer anal smaller iuDris IMAM
other seed used. lu tie single ewes cur larger Sc
noticed an Increase In ratnr,~ anu prullhcacy over
90 eye cut small. IN tlc eve eut barge tut He. N e.
obtained the greatest rnifnra.f+ o. lalf ana tnt
&c In those cases where half potatoes split length
wise. used Us seed $50 uOt. .e Ia. Of Uniform
U5 ln the product oi the dlNcftuJ hile. ana eek
animation has shown that where the vegetatlng el
was shortened I'D lis depth, the yield was markedly
inferior 90 that produced from the CORE siondIh-
hair of the potato whore the velctatliC eve was
lett AT NJ fall depth. These observations Jed IN"
way toward q stuGy INTO the reasons which produced
a. Sc differences, ana opened the question Hcl neI
by the method of cutting the seed we could lniu-
ruce the results OF planting. We therefore. rv
soaking 81 ces OF pota Oes ID carinlne succeeded IN
brfrgIug out the interior structure through the
staining Of the tissue. This stiuctlE exhibited
the tubar rs a swollen STEM each eye beng Ter
minal bud oD Il branch the branches running into
"a central stem. We thus were able 10 assign a
difference in the character 81 the seed used,
whether cut with reference to the quantity ot
potato Substance or whether cut with reference To
securing length Of the stem lncI..ed within Tie
potato substance.
" " uoie uotatoes used as seed seemed to give rs
results winch were pulling. In some bills but few
ant forest Of shoots. For some time tA!s TACT
seemed to admit of explanation, but ODD atte npt
lug 10 destroy the vitality OF eyes by loiIng
water and observing that these injured eyes thIe"
up shoots IN great abundance, even 10 TIE iIlt "I
twenty-five shoots to an eye a. an extreme 10
seemed 10 rs a. If the injury to the eye OF the
potato either before OF during planting Wa-
sufficient to account for the great increase an
shoots and Il now seems quite rrol able that puta-
toes whose eyes are absolutely un.nlurrd rarely
develop more than two T. lour c\c,. "ui'e oihef
potatoes whose eyes have been injured ia part NAV
de,e Op a dozen or more eyes Wherever eye nfe
developed i'm excess lille the tuber formation NAY
be large. yet the resulting crop OF tuner' through
deficiency OF size. on ordinary land seems small
one interest," ina TACT connected with this expert
nnent OF pouring boiling water Upon pile OF pota-
toes is that 10 caused the formation OF STEMS un-
dergrouud stem, and tubers WITHIN the Substance
OF he lotato Should the result of these studies hr
verified the saving 10 the farmer IL seed through
the cutting tie seed potato IA rational way.
would not only be large al itself. pat would De
accompanied by probable increase ia the qudiity
am III the quantity Of hIs CROP