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was rarely, if ever, abandoned. But even at the beginning of the present century, many farmers considered the turnip, beet, parsnip, and carrot of more importance than the potato. During the past fifty years the potato has been considered an indispensable article of food, and is found on the tables of all classes; and as nothing has yet been found to take its place, whenever any enemy threatens its destruction it disturbs the whole people, and causes to be made the most thorough investigations to discover the character of the enemy and the best methods for its destruction.

As it requires very little knowledge to grow an ordinary crop of potatoes, the first impression is that there is very little to learn about potato culture; but when one tries to grow a large crop to the best advantage he begins to realize the depth of the subject, and discovers that there are variations of conditions which require the deepest research to comprehend. The discovery is soon made that there are very few plants grown in the garden on the same plan as the potato. While almost every other plant is grown by planting the seed, the potato is, with rare exceptions, grown by planting the tuber. This the thoughtless cultivator has entirely overlooked, but the difference between a seed and a tuber is so great that but little progress can be made in discovering the best methods of production until this difference is fully comprehended.

A true seed is a new creation, derived from two incomplete germs of plant life, and these incomplete germs, before uniting, may come from the flowers of the same plant or from the flowers of different plants. This new creation, as a rule, will partake of the general characteristics of the plant or plants from which it was derived and yet possess marked variation, even though derived from the flowers of only one plant. This is because in the creation of a new life the power to create variations is transmitted from previous generations. A tuber is derived from one complete germ of life, and partakes of all the characteristics of the life from which it is derived. It is not a new creation, but the extension of an old life by the multiplication of life germs, each germ being the exact counterpart of the germs from which it is propagated; so a Rose potato, as long as it is propagated

from tubers, will continue to be a Rose potato, without change, except that caused by age. The life of a tuber, like the life of an animal, is limited. The time comes when it ceases to retain the vigor of its youth and takes on the weakness of old age, and thus ceases to be of any value. In consequence of this, we are compelled to occasionally turn our attention to new seedlings.

A true seed contains one germ of life, and contains a limited amount of plant food to force a growth in the new plant, and in different seeds of the same plant there is but a slight difference in this amount of stored-up plant food. A tuber contains many germs of life, and there is a great variation in the amount of stored-up plant food to supply the varied numbers of life germs; but unequal as is the amount naturally, man steps in and increases it by cutting out the single life germs and planting them to depend entirely on the plant food in the soil to force a growth in the young plant; or by the side of a germ thus planted he may plant a large tuber with all of the sprouts but one destroyed, thus providing for this a very large amount of storedup plant food. Thus, while one plant is compelled from the start to depend on the soil for its food, the other has enough to feed on for weeks without depending at all on the soil for nourishment.

A true seed is inclosed in a covering, which, to a great extent, keeps out the air and water until placed in the earth, when warmth and moisture combined start the germ of life enough to burst the covering. But a tuber has no such covering; both the air and moisture affect it so as to often greatly injure its vital force before the season of planting comes around, unless the farmer makes an especial effort to keep it where the heat, light, and moisture are just right to keep it in its natural condition. When the planting season arrives, the farmer, as a rule, plants whatever potatoes he may chance to have left of those he has stored for domestic use, and to economize he frequently cuts them in very small pieces. He thus exposes the interior of the potato to the action of the air and the soil, both of which weaken its vitality.

In our efforts to ascertain the best methods to cultivate the potato, we must never lose sight of the fact that there is a great

difference between a tuber and a seed. A seed being a complete renewal of life, there is no running out, except by constitutional weakness; but a tuber being but the continuation of the old life, it will eventually die out, even with the best of care and the most intelligent selection. Thus varieties change with age. Some when first produced from seed are of excellent quality, but in a few years will become worthless; others will be of doubtful quality at first but will improve with age for a few years and then decline. In consequence of this difference between a true seed and a tuber, if the farmer would make much progress in potato culture, it is more important that he should understand the exact character and wants of the tuber than if it were a true seed.

Every farmer who has had experience in growing the potato well knows that the variations in the amount of the harvest in different years is much more than with crops grown from the true seed. Oftentimes there will be in different fields, the same year, a variation in the amount of the yield of more than one half, though to the careless observer the two fields will appear to have been treated alike. Having noticed these variations early in life, I commenced nearly forty years ago to experiment with the potato that I might better understand its wants and, if possible, settle some of the disputed points in potato culture. The work has been slow and not always satisfactory, but a few points have been settled, at least so far as concerns my own belief.

In the preparation of the soil it has been found best to thoroughly mix the manure with the soil to the depth of from three to five inches, and if barn manure is to be used, from five to six cords to the acre should be applied. It has also been found that the crop will be very much increased by applying a small quantity of some quick-acting fertilizer in the hill. A good compost may be made for this purpose of one part ground bone and four parts wood ashes mixed with six parts dry muck ten days before using, wetting the bone and ashes when composting.

Among the experiments which I have tried was one to ascertain if the continued planting of small potatoes would have a tendency to run them out so that finally the product would be only small potatoes. For this trial, small whole potatoes about an inch in diameter were planted by the side of large cut pota

toes, the pieces of cut potatoes being the same weight as the whole potatoes. To make the test as accurate as possible every other hill was planted with whole potatoes, and between them were planted the cut potatoes. At harvest time the potatoes from the whole and cut seed were kept separate, assorted, and weighed, and the seed from each selected for the next year, thus keeping the two separate so that I might be able to know if the continued planting of small potatoes would have a tendency to run out. This experiment has been under trial eight years, with the result as seen on the canvas before you, which I have prepared that you might be able to have the eye to assist your memory.

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By this table you will observe that the result is in favor of the small potatoes. These produced in the eight years 2181⁄2 pounds of good eating potatoes, and 6634 pounds of small potatoes, while the same number of hills seeded with large cut potatoes produced but 200 pounds of good eating potatoes and 764 pounds of small potatoes, being 181⁄2 pounds less of good eating potatoes and 91⁄2 pounds more of small potatoes. But this result, favorable to the small seed, I apprehend was not because the potatoes were small, but rather because the potatoes were planted whole. From all the trials made it is very evident that to cut a potato weakens its power to force a vigorous growth in the young plant, so the plant comes up much weaker from cut

seed than from the whole seed, and is from a week to ten days later. After planting small potatoes eight years there is no indication of running out, but a larger proportion of the potatoes are, as will be seen by the table, good eating potatoes than of those which for eight years have come from large cut potatoes.

Another experiment has been under trial to test the difference in the two ends of the potato, the seed or small end, and the stem or large end. It has been claimed by some intelligent farmers that the stem end would produce the best results. Many, without any proof that it would do so, cut off and discarded the seed end. This experiment was commenced seven years ago. Each year the product has been carefully weighed, and the seed of each end kept separate, so that the seed end planted this year came from the product of the seed end planted seven years ago. The result of this trial is seen on the canvas before you.

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By this table you will see that in the seven years the seed end produced 30% pounds more of good eating potatoes than the stem end, and one fourth of a pound more of small potatoes. The seed end sends up stronger sprouts, and is always in advance of the stem end, thus showing that there is more vitality in the seed than the stem end, which is contrary to what was the prevailing opinion among farmers ten years ago.

An experiment made to test the difference between potatoes that have long sprouts and are carefully planted so as not to injure the sprouts, and those that have the sprouts all rubbed off,

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