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About The gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 1914)
nOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION potato growers' associations, the state experiment ctations and the United States Department of Agriculture rath As early as possible provide a lamb creep in each pasture, and give each day all the grain the lambs will cat up clean. How To Grow Good Seed Potatoes er than through legal enactment OF the many causes which operate to produce s low average potato yield in this country, poor seed is very important one. The American potato grower pays too little attention: to his seed potatoes. The European gTowers, especially those of Great Bri tain and Germany pay very, strict at tention to the quality and quantity of the seed they use. This has led to a differentiation of the potato industry into seed and crop specialists. The seed specialist makes a business of produc ing high quality seed, while the crop specialist produces a high grade table potato. No such differentiation, at least to the same extent, occurs in this coun try. It is true that in certain sections we now have a well developed seed potato growing industry, but compara tively few growers in these sections are paying sufficient attention to the elimination of diseased and unproduct ive strains or to keeping the variety grown free-from mixture with other va rieties. It is believed, however, that the time is. ripe for demanding a bettor grade of seed potatoes than is now gen erally obtained from either seedsmen or growrrs. . A Vital Question. The question of what constitute good seed is a vital one. Pure seed from productive j-Iants not over ripe, uni form in size and shapa, firm and sound, with first sprouts just showing at plant ine time. Seed of such mialitr, if fur nished suitable cultural conditions, will seldom fnil to produce- a remunerative crop. A const rvativo estimate of the increase that might be expected from the use of high-grade seeds is certainly net loss than 10 per cent. Comparatively little attention has as yet been given to the subject of the productiveness or unproductiveness of eertain strains of plants within a va riety. It is believed that this is a very important factor in the production of large yields, as in any variety, if tudicd closely, many unproductive plants may be found. Tho superiority of immature over mature tubers for seed purposes is not as yet recognized by the American po tato grower. The European growers, on the other hand, have king reolizod that, Other tilings being equal, larger crops can be produced from immature seed than from mature seed. Experiments in England. Results of experiments conducted in England show a gain in favor of im mature seed of more than 100 per cent lor table Block. Uniformity of size and shape is quality which should receive more thought, and strains of potatoes giving the greatest yield of fair-sized, shapely tubers should be cultivated. It is par ticularly important at present that such strains be developed, because there is an increasing demand for fancy table stock to satisfy tho requirements of a large and discriminating class of con sumers who are insisting on greater uni formity in size and shape and are will ing to pay more for sueb potatoes. The- simplest and surest means of developing high grade seed potatoes is that of the tuber-unit and hill-selection methods. The tuber-unit method con sists in selecting from the seed bin a number of the most perfectly shaped tubers of from six to eight ounces in weight. When planted these are quar tered, as dropped, into four equal parts. This is done by splitting the bud-eye cluster in each direction from seed to stem out. In other words, the tuber is cut lengthwise; Should Be Rejected. All tubers shewing discoloration of the flesh or other evidence of disease should be rejected. Plant the four pieces of each tuber consecutively in a row at a. distance of from 10 to 12 inches apart in the furrow. By allow ing, more space between set of four pieces, each tuber is isolated from ad joining ones and the grower can readi ly observo any variation in vigor and uniformity between the various units planted. By marking those which are most uniform in size, vigor and type when the plants are growing, tho first itep in selection lias been accomplished. At digging time the product of each unit is separately harvested and a fur ther selection made from those which most nearly approach the size, shape ajid smoothness desired. Only the" pro duct of the most desired units should be retained for the following season. Hill Selection Method. The further conduct of the work will consist in the multiplication of the se lected strains for field planting and the elimination of weak plants. The hill-selection method consists in market ing the most promising plants during tke growing season and at harvest time save only those wtiich gave greatest promise. Plant on the tuber-nnit basis the following season. As to tle advisability of planting small tubers, a great number of tests in various parts of the country show that the use of large- tubers gave a production of over 18 times as great a weight of large tubers as- the small tubers produced. The use of small seed potatoes is only permissible when they are known fo have boon produced by strong, healthy and productive plants-. .It is never advisable to use small seed tubers from the general mass of un- 'selected' stock. Like produces like. If tubers from unproductive or weak plants are used a similar harvest, will be reaped. Potatoes In Europe and America AMERICAN progress in the develop ment of improved varieties of po tatoes has not been satisfactory ts compared with the progress of lead Big European countries, is the statement f tlia bureau of plant industry of -the Department of Agriculture. The best European- varieties possess a- better flavor, color and texture par ticularly for boiling and frying, but these do not succeed when introduced into the United States. If private grow ers would engage in this work as they lave- ia Great Britain, Germany and Austria, thpy would find it a fasci nating industry and would undoubtedly make notable achievements. In America we have much to accom plish ia breeding a potato with a greater, starch content. Our potatoes are now lower than the German va rictiei by from 4 to 8 per cent. Our climatic- conditions in America are so diverse that we need varieties tt potatoes adapted to special local ities. Particularly do we need a heat lesistnnt strain that can more suc cessfully withstand the high summer temperatures. Disease resistance is an ether quality that has been bred into eertain foreign sorts, but is so lack ing in ours that we have to quaran tine absolutely certain foreign types that might bring disease with them. The breeding of potatoes for differ ent kinds of cooking might even be found profitable. A variety specially suited for baking is needed, another for frying; a close textured tuber is irj some demand for salads. The house wife today finds it necessary to waste much good material in preparing her potatoes for the table, particularly the irregular, deep eyed sorts. Tho use of commercial fertilizers nnir versal in Germany is unknown in our western- potato districts. Certain of onr districts in Maine, New York and the Atlantic trucking belt have al Toady found it to their profit to use more fertilizer, and potato growing is most prosperous in these sections. This should become moro universal. Crop rotation is of fundamental im portance to the potato crop in con trolling diseases and maintaining pro duction, but in the United States only the beginning of an ordered system has been made. Germany has a rota tion of from three to seven years be tween potato crops. Nor has the im portance of green manuring yet been fully appreciated in this country. Tho problem of securing disease free seed has been met in Germany by an official inspection, which results in certificates being issued only to own ers of disease free crops. Such a plan for the United States would be better if carried out by the co-operation of Which Piano Shall I Buy? House of Originality It's a Puzzling Problem-But we can help you solve it. Bush & Lane Piano stand for supreme excel lence of piano construction. They ar-e magnificent in tone, touch, durability and originality of design. 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