The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-04-11
What Potatoes TO Plant
for Seed.

MIR. Jersey mas Deen experimenting
as to the effect of different methods of
seeding in planting potatoes. The first
trial was made to settle the disputed
point as to which end of the potato is
best for planting. The potatoes were
cut in two parts, so as to leave the eyes
in what we call the seed end in one
part and the large or stem end in the
other part, and before planting all but
two eyes III each piece were destroyed.
Ten hills of each were planted, every
other hill being planted with the pota-
toes from the seed end and every other
hill with the potatoes from the stem
end, two pieces being planted in each
hill and the hills forty inches apart.
AT harvest-time the product of the seed
and the stem end were kept separate,
assorted, weighed and record made.
Then potatoes for the next year were
selected from each and kept separate,
so that potatoes from the seed end one
year should furnish potatoes from the
seed end the next year. This expert
ment was under trial six years, with
results as follows: The single trial
showed that the seed end (six pounds
and two ounces) produced 40S bushels
per acre and the stem end Give pounds
and six ounces) produced 35S bushels
per acre. In the six years trial the
seed end yielded 2l3a pounds, while the
stem end produced only 1881 pounds.
1t is evident from this test that the seed
end is best. The young plant from the
seed end starts first and keeps in adj
vance till full grown. This indicates
more vital force in the seed end than in
the stem end. Another experiment
represents a trial with single eyes
against large potatoes. The trial was
made by selecting two potatoes weigh
ing about one-half pound each. From
each of these was cut one of the
strongest eyes, with very small piece
of potato attached to it. The two eyes
thus severed were planted in one hill
and the two large potatoes in the next.
The plants from the large potatoes
started off with great vigor, while those
from the single eyes started much later,
made much slower growth and the
plants never grew much more than half
as large as those that came from the large
potatoes. On harvesting the crop it
was found that the single eyes produced
two and one-fourth pounds of large
and ten ounces of small potatoes, while
the large whole potatoes produced eight
pounds and six ounces of large and one
pound and ten ounces of small potatoes,
or more than three times the amount
produced by the single eyes. The same
experiment was tried with another va
riety with very nearly the same results,
the proportion being more than three
times the amount from the large po-
tatoes to that obtained from the single
eyes. Several hundreds of trials have
been made by Mr.. Hersey and others
to test the difference between single
eyes and whole potatoes, when planted
in ordinary soil, and with two eXcep-
tons the result has been largely in
favor of whole potatoes. OF one hun
dred experiments the result was on an
average as ten is to thirty-two, which
is trife over three times as many po-
tatoes from the whole potatoes as from
the single eyes. Another experiment
of Importance reported by Mr.. Hersey
was one made to test the difference be-
tween potatoes with long sprouts Oh
them, carefully planted so as not to in
jure them, by the side of those that
have the long sprouts all taken off
This experiment, with one exception
has shown that the potatoes with thu
sprouts all rubbed off will not produce
half as large crop as if carefully
planted with them left on, thus proving
that the crop depends, in ordinary soil
largely on the condition of the potato
at the time of planting. If it be fac
[sEE FIFTH COLUMN