Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1896-01-10
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7NN GARDEN
WHY POTATOES Run OUT.
Reasons Given For the Deterioration q
the Tubers by American Cultivator.

Reasons Given For the Deterioration Of
the Tubers by American Cuitivator.
1t is an accepted fact that varieties Of
potatoes to be proftably grown must he
Of comparatively recent origin. Old va
tieties grown 40 years ago have disap-
peared. of the newer varieties there are
n number which we know that are not
ss productive as they were when first
introduced. The life of variety of po-
tato has shortened materially since the
coming Of the potato bug We then grew
our last really good crop of Peachblow
potatoes. In year OF two after the va
riety had become so deteriorated that it
was no longer worth growing. The
Peachblow seemed to be more injured
by the potato slugs than any other vari-
ETY.. 1t was very late in ripening.
When the potato bug came, farmers
all wanted II potato that would ripen
early, and the Early Rose for time
was more productive than the Peachblow
had ever been.
We have no doubt that injury to the
potato vine while the tuber is forming
and ripeniug is the reason for the large
proportion Of weak and spindling plants
that decIeae the yield in many fields
Now. it is inevitable that potato bugs,
if allowed on the plants at all, must do
some damage to the leaf. If they are
poisoned, they must eat the leaf to get
the poison. 1t often happens, too, that
the potato grower, thinking to make
sure Of destroying the bugs, puts ON so
heavy a dose that it Injuries the foliage.
This is quite as bad as having the plant
eaten by the potato larva. Such potatoes
will not ripen. Their skins will slip
when handled roughly, just as those Of
new potatoes do in early summer. In
this unripe condition they are very like
ly to be affected by rot.
There needs to be greater care taken
in selecting potatoes. Not only the right
form and size are important, but it is
quite as much so that the seed should be
grown from plants that have kept their
vigor until the tubers were fully rip
ened aud that had not suffered from at
tacks Of the potato bug. The only way
to be absolutely sure about having good
potato seed is to mark the strongest hills
while they were growing and select the
best potatoes from these hills. Such seed
should easily he worth five times as
much per bushel for planting as seed Sc
lected at random from pit or bin If a
farmer can once get started with seed
Of this character, it will require much
less labor to fight the potato bug.
1t is a good plan also, to try the new
varieties as quickly as they come into
market Most varieties grown from seed
will yield much heavier crops for two
or three years after their introduction
than they ever will again. 1t pays to
give an extra price for seed in order to
get the most benefit from this vigor of
the new variety before it has deteriorat-
ed. Those who first bought the EARLY
Rose potato paid from 90 cents to 81 per
pound. In year or two the seed was
plenty at lower prices, but the first pur-
chasers made more money than those
who waited. There are new varieties
better than the Early Rose ever was,
and such new varieties Of good eating
quality will pay better than to keep on
growing from seed of varieties that have
seen their best days By securing the
seed when first introduced the grower
can protect it from the potato bugs, and
thus keep up the vigor and productive
ness Of the variety for long time.