Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1912-05-30
By PROF. L. r. wALDRoN. North Da-
kota)

CBy PROF. L. r. wALDRON. North Da-
kota)
1t is a common belief that II We
purchase a variety OF potatoes from
scotsman that We have secured just
one variety. This is true in measure.
II the scotsman Is reliable, he will
send potatoes that are uniform in
color, depth of eyes, earliness OF ma
turing. and other qualities. But I'M
less these particular potatoes have
been pedigreed, then we have not re-
ceived one thing but many.
The farmer can demonstrate this
fact to his own satisfaction. At dig
ging time let him lay off a portion or
a row containing 100 hills. In order
to show this, each hill must have
come from only one piece of seed.
The 100 hills are dug and the tubers
of each hill are kept by themselves
on top of the hill. The products OF
the 100 hills are now ready to be
studied.
AT first glance the hills may appear
to run very uniformly. A little closer
view will reveal the fact that about
the only thing that is uniform is that
they are all potatoes. The first hill
has one large one, two medium-sized
ones and half-a-dozen small ones. The
next hill has one medium-sized one
and several small ones. Perhaps the
next hill has three or four good-sized
| ones. Another hill has a solitary
tuber, but of good size. Perhaps an
18Th hag Int &c,
| Thus II goes through the 100 hills.
| The ordinary farmer will pick up the
| tubers from all of the hills and put
them all together. lie does this COM
placently and with satisfaction. His
fathers did 1t before him and all OF
his neighbors do it. Why should not
he?
Late in winter, when he begins to
read the seed catalogs, he wonders
why on earth, or under 1t, he cannot
raise such splendid crops OF potatoes
as he sees pictured. Now, that is the
point am getting at; our variety is
not a unit.
In our 100 hills that we have dug,
close study might reveal the presence
of at least ten strains or varieties, in
stead of the one that we thought we
had
The hill that bore the little runts
has the runt character as a habit. 1t
is going to persist for years. and every
time We plant seed OF that strain we
will know to certainty that We will
harvest little potatoes.
The hill that produces one or two
large and several small ones, is CON-
mon feature of potato fields.
The hill that bore three or four
good.sized tubers is the one to fasten
our eyes on. That is the hill that has
ability and the one that We should get
next to-
We will assume that we have three
tubers to every hill and that the total
weight of the three tubers is one and
one-half pounds. There is nothing abb
surd in this, for often an individual
tuber will weigh more.
We Will further assume that our
rows are three and one-half feet apart
and that our hills are two feet apart
in the row. This is open planting,
probably more open than is commonly
practiced.
At this rate OF planting there will
be $500 hills per acre, assuming near.
ly perfect stand. With one and one.
half pounds per hill, we would have a
field of 1855 bushels per acre, yield
worth striving for by the majority OF
farmers.
Now it may be that the hill with
the three or four good tubers will not
breed true, but the chances are that II
will. The offspring of the hill is al
most certain to produce certain per
centage of small tubers, but We may
count upon it that it will produce g
lesser percentage OF small tubers thar
the average hill.
What a farmer should do at potato
digging time is to dig a fair-sizec
patch, leaving each hill by itself
After the patch Is dug he should care
fully go over the patch and select out
those hills that have few tubers o.
good size.
The tubers from those hills shoulC
be sacked by themselves and laiC
| aUav for aaad for Che vaar f.uauryn..