Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1903-09-13
p0T At CUL URE

ing between seeds and their progeny
do not necessarily exist between a
tuber and its descendants. Others hold
tnat potatoes just below marketable
size If Shapely and sufficiently MA
ture, may be used without serious de
terloratiOn, and that for economic rea-
sons their use is especially desirable,
because if not planted or used at home
they must be lost on fed to stock, for
which purpose their value is usually
smaller than the market prize.
The result OF tests al a number et
experiment stations have uniformly
indicated that small tubers uncut eau
be used for seed purposes witnout
detEiment to the succeeding crop. It
may still be urged however, thai the
choice of small seed year after year
VIII result III degeneration On this
question the information is meagar
bur two experiments. extending over
four and eight years, respectively,
have been reported in which no de-
generation resulting from the con-
Gnu6d use Of small potatoes from the
preceding crop was apparent
Although the evidence seems fairy
conclusive that slnau uncut seed po-
latoes may sometimes be used with
profit We can not advise that small
seed tubers be selected year after
year from a crop which has been
grown from small potatoes.
Girard's Investigations in France
justified the usual practice OF the
most prominent agriculturists and hor-
ticultmists in carefully selected seed
potatoes. By selecting for several
generations averaged-sized tubers
from the best hills he effected a con-
siderable improvement in productive
ness. To ascertain the best hills by
digging each is exceedingly laborous,
but Girard found that the best hills in
an evenly manured field containing
only one variety were those in which
the vines were most vigorous Selec-
ton was thus rendered easy by means
of stakes placed besiue the luxuriant
plants. This correspondence between
the vigor OF vegetation and yield OF
tubers has been frequently noted At
the state agricultural experiment sta
tions, especially with seed pieces of
different sizes, in which case the
growth of vines is in proportion to
the size Of the seed piece planted
American experiments indicate some
advantage in selecting seed tub1:s
from the most productive hills.
Potatoes Of lrregJiar shape and in
: jured tubers should be rejected as
! unfit for planting.
, Number Of Eyes and Weight Per Set.
Many potato growers cut tubers into
: pieces containing one two or more
eyes, laying greater stress on the
number of eyes than on the size of
the cutting. Extensive experiments
at the Indiana station and elsewhere
prove that of the two factors, number
of eyes and weiAlt of piece. the latter
is the more important. OF course it
is desirable that each piece, whether
large or small SHOULD contain at
least one eye, and. it has been gen.
orally profitable for It to be Of such
size as to contain at least several
eyes; but whether it has one or many
!, eyes it is important that the seed
piece be heavy enough to furnish
abundant nutriment to the shoots
which spring from it. A single eye
may give rise to several stalks, for
each eye is compound bud or cluster
of buds. An eye can be bisected, and
!, each half may then grow successfully
if it is not a victim to dryness or de-
cay, to which Us exposed condition
subjects it.
In one series of experiments it was
found that the number of stalks grow
ing in a hill was less dependent on the
number of eyes than on the size OF
the seed piece, whether cut or whole.
In general, as the number of eyes per
piece increased each eye became less
prolific in sending up stalks, so that
there was less crowding of stalks
where large seed pieces with many
eyes were used than would be ex-
pected from the large number of eyes
planted. After numerous experiments