The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1905-11-10
Saviru Seed Potatoes
BY Arnold Martin, Pawnee County,
Nebraska.

Nebraska.
l have practiced intensive farming
all my life, and have spent the last
seven years in developing a home OF
20 acres In Pswnee county, Nebraska
Potatoes are my money-making crop.
My usual practice is to take for seed
only smooth, perfect shaped, well
matured tubers, in size from mediu IN
to large, discarding overgrown, ILL
shaped potatoes and tubers with
prongs. plant just such potators as
l should like to harvest crop of in
the fall. From 10 to Is per cent Of
my crop will be fit for seed.
TIME AND MANNER OF SELECTION
When is the best time to select
seed-potatoes? Is it in the spring
after the good housewife has sorted
the pile and has taken the best ones
to use on the table? She is not to
blame for doing this, she is entitled to
good potatoes; but planting the left
overs will not insure crop OF good
potatoes. If your own potatoes are
not first grade, it will pay to purchase
seed from a good potato grower or tc
ship in northern grown seed.
To plant potatoes which have been
In pile all winter and have sprouted
often means poor stand, and many
times it means decrease In yield of
from 100 to $50 bushels per acre. The
hest time to select the seed is at
digging time. but selecting the best
potatoes from the load does not
satisfy me. We must go farther in
order to keep up seed, and select the
best potatoes from the best hills, hills
where the yield is perhaps double
that of the average hill. When man
digs his potatoes with lister pillow or
digger how is he going to tell from
which hill the seed potato cameP You
cannot see the hills II you have to
NOW the potato patch to get rid Of
weeds. TIE up to date corn grower
will pick his seed corn before he picks
the other corn, noticing the stalks
carefully; he wants a nice, uniform
ear grown on an early maturing stalk.
Why not take as much pains to select
our seed potatoes? II we took as much
care in the selection of seed, we would
not be troubled so much by seed
running out; we could keep many
thousand dollars in the state and we
would have better potato growers.
The low average yield Of our potato
crop in this State-less than 100
bushels per acre-ls disgrace, and
there are several disgraceful causes
for 1t, such as planting culls. not
keeping up SOL fertility, not cultivat-
ing at the right time or in the right
manner. It is often claimed that the
tubers are not the true seed and that
on this account 1t makes no difference
what kind Of potatoes are planted,
but l know that 1t does make a
difference. II you want to know
whether your potatoes are fit to be
planted:againuwith the expectation
Of producing good crop from them,
before you plant boil few; If they
are not mealy and do not crack open,
do not plant them; they Will grow all
right but each year will produce fewer.
bushels per acre at harvest time
Such seed makes poor start, produces
weak plants Of slow growth, and gives
low yield of poor potatoes.
MANNER OF PLANTING
An experiment carried on by myself
last season, by selecting and planting
40 potatoes in good, rich, potato soil,
showed that there is a great difference
In potatoes in regard to reproduction
and yield. Each potato was laid Cd a
sheet OF paper and note made of the
size, shape, form, the number OF eyes,
and date OF planting. All Of these
potatoes were cut one eye to tie
piece. 1 commenced cutting at the
string end aud planted by hand as ]
cut, throwing away the seed end.
For each potato set stake and
attached tin label thereto, bearing
record Of that potato. had 40 stakes
aod 40 records. 1t was interesting to