Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1903-09-13
Coed Potatoes.
occount of the yield OF

!, potatoes the advantage 'ntas ,oln of large 'se
cd p' tne last section of the dla-
u''' on,d indicate, for the yield OF
aip o+o+oes is greater with large
,n ,'' With small seed pieces. i Mhefe 'ae
~ ouantities Of small potatoes can
ls' .s+oblv utilized, as, for example,
p' Cor the second crop, the po-
s,orter may therefore use quite
10, 10 ps seed pieces with advantage
s0 ~ me other hand, the higher pllce
W ,atoes in spring than in fall is
.a,,m4at N favor OF plah1mg
,orc rather than halves or whole
nars m A number of Investigators
ra W. noted that large seed pieces
.,,o, large cuttings or entire pota-
:, oYord an earlier crop than very
III cuttings. a matter of much IN
,ost to growers Of early potatoes.
~oror some growers have reported
,ncnt potatoes germinate more
.n,1v than large cuttings. Most or
soso who raise potatoes for the early
r.rket use large cuttings rather than
Fboe potatoes.
IN this connection it may be sala
mt the seed-end half gives an earlier
Nm thar the other half. This sug
bpsts the expediency of cutting po-
[,to longtbWise when halves or quar-
.ors are to be planted, thus securing
on each piece one or more OF the
oros which germinate first. Another
advantage of cutting lengthwise Is
ta.t if insures a more even distribu-
don Of the eyes on the several pieces.
|of course lnis system is not practica-
h1e when very small cuttings are to
he made from long, slender potatoes,
eince the large amount of exposed
surface would render the long pieces
susceptible to injury both from mois-
|ture and dryness.
If it is desired to cut the potato
into small pieces the operator should
begin at the stem end, and the pieces
should be cut in compact shape, and
Of as nearly equal size as is practica-
bic without leaving any piece entire1y
devoid of eyes. There are special i'm.
plements for cutting potatoes. and
their use is reported as enabling q
man to cut four or five times as many
bushels of seed per day as by hand.
The character of the work is said
to be satisfactory.
No definite rule can be given as to
the best size of seed piece, for this
depends somewhat on the distance be-
tween the hills and on the character
Of the soil and season. Another I'M
portant factor in determining the pro-
per amount of seed is variety. Some
varieties are able to produce a crop
almost as large from small cuttings
as from large pieces. Thus in several
experiments. the variety Clark No. l
has given Indications of this capacity
70 produce we'll even with light seed
ng.
Size Of Seed Tube-s.
A study OF more than a hundred ex-
,eriments testing the relative values
II large, medium. and small uncut
ubers confirms the general law that
10 increase in the weight of seed
'lanted affords an increase in the to.
al crop. The yield of salable pota-
oes Increases less rapidly than the
otal yield. With whole potatoes as
een the salable yield reached its ex'
rene upward limit in one test when
ubers weighing about half a pound
'ere planted: in another when those
Weighing IL ounces were employed.
me limit Of profitable increase was
cached with tubers weighing 4 IL
no ounces, respectively. The size
seed tubers selected becomes a
natter OF Importance when they are
De cut, for we have seen that the
eaVler the cutting the larger the
'tal yield, and seed tubers for cutting
mould be of such size that their
alVes, quarters, or other divisions
uali not be extremely small.
sn Small Potatoes be ProfitabIy Used
for Planting?
whether or not to use uncut small
otatoes for seed is an important
uestlon on which farmers are divid