Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-04-28
Villas COUNTY SEED
POTATOES WIN TEST
Geo. st. Clair's Certified Seed
Produces Highest Yield in
Southern State Test of
Wisconsin Potatoes
Nv County Agent o. E. Gibson

BY County Agent O. E. Gibson
1t will no doubt be surprise to
many who know of Geo. St. Clair Of
Black Oak lake, as a successful sum
mer resort man, to know that he is
also potato grower whose stock has
taken first and second place in field
tests held in several of the southern
states. His seed produced $50 bushels
to the acre there in comparison with
other stock that produced not more
than $50 bushels and in some in
stances yielded as low as Is bushels
to the acre.
About fifteen years ago Mr.. st.
Clair obtained some Triumph seed
from Minnesota which yielded SO well
that he has kept the same strain, each
year carefully selecting his planting
stock, and four years ago had his field
certified to by the state agricultural
department They attracted SO much
attention among potato experts that
samples were secured for tests in the
south where hot, moist weather as
sists the spread of disease, often to
the point that would at once cause
Villas county farmers to abandon
potato growing as a money crop.
At Tromp, Texas, the st. Clair seed
was first in yield and freedom from
disease. At Baton Rouge, La, it was
third in yield and second in freedom
from disease, in competition with high
grade stock from all over the country.
Mosaic, is a disease that attacks the
leaf Of the potato plant with ruinous
effects when weather and climatic con-
ditions are favorable for it's develop
ment, and may exist in latent form
even in northern grown seed, although
it does not materially affect the yield
here. The fact that the st. Clair seed
was practically free from Mosaic
wherever tried in the southern states
shows that for the southern grower
it cannot be equalled. Mr.. st. Clair
sees that his strain of Trlumphs have
a valuable future before them and
is getting ready to increase his acre
age largely and has bought all the
necessary equipment to grow potatoes
in the modern and proven economical
way.
JAS K. Smith, postmaster at Kent,
Langlade county, is another Triumph
grower, who starting with a small
sample taken from a store in Amigo,
eighteen years ago, has developed it
with great success, and been on the
list of certified seed growers for a
number Of years. His stock was also
in the tests made in the south and
ranked along with st. Clair potatoes.
The chief value of the Triumph
potato from the standpoint of the
northern grower, is it's demand for
seed purposes in the south or other
places furnishing early new potatoes,
therefore, the Importance of planting
seed having the characteristics Of the
st. Clair and Smith strains is easily
seer, and it seems very reasonable to
suppose that the product of both
farms is bound to be in good demand
by Upper Wisconsin farmers as their
A Rival of the Irish Cobbler
Some years ago the Upper Wiscon-
sin Experimental stations were con-
Quoting some tests with variety of
potato called Hamiltons Early.
That fall samples were placed on a
potato demonstration car that made
a trip around the state, and in its
course was stopped at Eagle River
where the farmers visited it and
listened to potato culture talks by
members of the Agricultural College
staff. Herman Rade. of the town of
Washington and an extensive potato