Semi-weekly herald., 1915-03-18


United States. Their potatoes run
substantially higher in starch, which
is the food value, than ordinary po-
tatoes, and sell for much better
prices-Editor.
That good seed should be cheaper
than poor seed seems absurd, yet it
is absolutely true. Poor seed is cheap
er in its first cost, but is expensive
in results because it produces a poor
crop. There is an old saying that
Like begets like" and the saying is
Just as true of the seed that is plant
Every farmer knows that in the
breeding of livestock the greatest care
must be exercised in the selection of
the animals to be bred, and that by
consistently following the practice of
breeding only from the best, and dis
carding the poor animals, the herd is
gradually built up until it consists
only of first class animals. The value
of such herd far exceeds that of the
ordinary mixed herd, while the cost
Of keeping the best animals is no
greater than that of keeping the poor
er, Improbable ones.
Exactly the same principle applies
in the use of seed and farmers should
be just as careful in their selection
of seed to plant as they are in the
selection of animals to breed. If poor
seed is planted, the farmer must eX-
pect crop that is small in quantity
and poor in quality; but it will cost
just as much to produce-that is, to
plant, cultivate, irrigate and harvest
as it will 10 grow first class crop
from good seed.
Poor seed will cost perhaps half
as much as good seed, but when it is
| planted usually from 25 to so per cent
of it will either fail to grow or will
produce weak, spindling plants, which
will soon die from lack of vitality or,
at best, will produce little if any
thing in the way of crop.
In our study of potato growing we
learned that the best growers abroad
whose average production is much
greater thar ours, usually plant whole
potatoes for seed, instead of cutting
them, claiming that much better re-
suits were obtained. In our own ex-
periments we found that the use of
the whole seed practically guaranteed
a perfect stand. Later we found that
We could also get much better set
on from the whole seed, and that by
| giving our potatoes space in proper
ton to the strength of the soil in
which they are planted, we could pro
duce crop that was more even in
the size of the potatoes, because ev-
cry hill came, and each hill had an
equal amount of plant food
We have also been remarkably free
from disease, and we attribute this
largely to the fact that we use whole
seed, in which there are no cut sides
to be easily infected by any disease
germ that may exist in the soil. We
plant the whole seed, also, because we
feel that the extra strength of the
whole potato adds to the strength
and vitality of the plant, makes it
more sturdy, and by the time the food
in the seed potato is exhausted, the
plant has reached condition in whicn
it can much more strongly resist any
disease with which it may come in
contact
a good healthy seed potato that is
true to type will usually start sin
gle strong sprout-the master sprout
which is the strongest and best
sprout the seed can produce If this
master sprout is not broken off but
Is allowed to grow, no other sprout
will be started by that potato. Usual
ly this master sprout springs from
the seed end, and as, in most cases,
where potatoes are cut for seed, the
cutting is done through the seed end,
you are liable to kill the strongest
sprout the seed can produce.
If you cut potatoes for seed you
get u great many weak plants, which
naturally produce much smaller
yield than the more vigorous plants
from the whole seed.
Remember always that no matter
how well and carefully a crop is han
died after the seed is planted, unless
good seed has been used, the result
ing harvest is not likely to be a sue
eessful or profitable one.
Plant potatoes only on good ground