7
TTOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
How To Grow Good Seed Potatoes
F the many causes which operate
to produce a low average potato
yield in th is country, poor seed is
a very im p o rtan t one. The A m erican
p o tato grow er p ay s too little atten tio n
to his seed potatoes. The European
grow ers, especially those o f G reat B ri­
ta in and G erm any pay v ery stric t a t ­
ten tio n to the q u ality and q u an tity of
tho seed they use. This has led to a
d iffe re n tia tio n of th e p o tato in dustry
in to seed and crop specialists. The seed
specialist m akes a business of produc­
ing high q u ality seed, while the crop
specialist produces a high grade table
potato. No such d ifferen tiatio n , a t least
to the sam e ex ten t, ocsurs in this coun
try . I t is true th a t in certain sections
we now have a well developed seed
p o tato grow ing industry, b u t com para­
tiv ely few grow ers in these sections
arc paving su fficien t atten tio n to the
elim ination of diseased and unproduct­
ive stra in s or to keeping the v ariety
grown free from m ixture w ith other v a ­
rieties. It is believed, however, th a t
the tim e is ripe for dem anding a b etter
grade of seed p o tato es than is now geu
erally obtain ed from eith er seedsmen or
growers,
O
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A Vital Question.
The question of w hat co n stitu tes good
M ed is a vital one. P ure se e l from
productive plants not over ripe, u n i­
form in size and shape, firm and sound,
w ith firs t sprouts ju st showing at p lan t
ing time. Heed of such quality, if fu r
nished suitab le cultural conditions, will
seldom fail to produce a rem unerative
crop. A conservative estim ate of the
increase th a t m ight be expected from
th e uso of high grade seeds is certainly
not less th an 10 p->r cent.
C om paratively little a tten tio n has as
yet been given to the subject of the
productiveness or unproductiveness of
certain stra in s of plants w ithin a v a ­
riety . I t is believed th a t th is is a v ery
im iiortant facto r in the production of
large yields, as in any v ariety , if
studied closely, many unproductive
p lan ts may be found.
The superio rity o f im m ature over
m ature tubers for seed purposes is not
as yet recognized by th e American p o ­
ta to grower. The European growers, on
the other hand, have long realized th at,
other things being equal, larg er crops
can be produced from im m ature seed
than from m ature seed.
Experiments in England.
A
R esults of experim ents conducted in
ITngland show a gain in fav o r o f ini
m ature seed of more than 100 per cent
fo r tab le stock.
U n ifo rm ity o f size and shape is a
q u ality which
should receive more
thought, ami strain s of potatoes giving
the g re a te st yield o f fa ir sized, shapely
tn b ers should be cu ltiv ated . I t is p a r­
ticu larly im p o rtan t a t present th a t such
strain s be developed, because th e re is
an in creasing dem and for fan cy tab le
stock to sa tisfy th e requirem ents of a
large and discrim in atin g class o f con
sumers who are in s is tin g on g re a te r uni
fo rm ity in size and shape and are will
ing to pay more fo r such potatoes.
The sim plest and surest m eans of
developing high g rade seed potatoes is
th a t of th e tu b er u n it and hill selection
methods. The tu b er u n it m ethod con­
sists in selecting from th e seed bin a
num ber o f the most p erfectly shaped
tu b ers of from six to eight ounces in
w eight. W hen p lan ted these are quar
tored, as dropped, into four equal parts.
This is done by sp littin g tho bud eve
clu ster in each direction from seed to
stem out. In o th er words, th e tu b er is
cut lengthw ise.
As early as pussible provide a lam b
p o tato g ro w ers’ associations, the sta te
experim ent statio n s and the U nited creep in each pasture, and give each
S ta te s D epartm ent of A griculture rath dav all the grain the lam bs will eat lip
clean.
er th an through legal enactm ent.
Which Piano
Shah I Buy?Uy
' TÏ
It’s a Puzzling Problem —But w e can help
you solve it.
Bush & Lane Pianos stand for supreme excel­
lence of piano construction. They are m agnificent
in tyne, touch, d u rab ility and originality of design.
M ER IC A N progress in th e develop­
m ent of im proved varieties o f po­
tato es has not been satisfacto ry
as com pared w ith th e .p ro g ress of lead-,
ing Euro|>ean countries, is th e statem en t
o f the bureau of p lan t in d u stry of th e
D ep artm en t of A griculture.
The best European v arieties possess
a b e tte r flavor, color and tex tu re, p a r­
tic u la rly fo r boiling and fry in g , b u t
these do no t succeed when introduced
into tho U nited Htatoe. I f p riv ate grow
ers would engage in th is w ork as they
have in G reat B ritain , G erm any and
A ustria, th ey would fin d it a fa sc i­
n a tin g industry and would undoubtedly
make notable achievem ents.
In A m erica we have much to accom ­
plish in breeding a p o tato w ith a
g re a te r starch eontent. O ur potatoes
a re now low er th an the Germ an v a ­
rieties by from 4 to 8 per cent.
O ur clim atic conditions in A m erica
a re so diverse th a t we need varieties
o f potatoes ad ap ted to special lo cal­
ities. P a rtic u la rly do we need a h eat
re sista n t strain th a t can more suc-
seusfully w ith stan d th e high sum mer
tem peratures. D isease resistance is a n ­
o th er q n ality th a t haa been bred into
certain foreign sorts, b n t is so lack
is g in onrs th a t we have to qnaran
tin s absolutely certain foreign types
th a t m ight b ring disease w ith them.
The breeding of potatoes fo r d iffe r
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4
House of Originality
Remember this—
You are buying a Piano once in your lifetim e— be fa ir w ith your­
self, see them, hear them —before you m ake your purchase.
I t ’s th e g reatest Piano m anufactured in the world tbday. Come in
—w o ’ll turn it inside out before your eyes and show you why.
A fter you see it— if you w ant to think it over fu rth e r—th a t ’a all
rig h t—i t ’s a delight to show it.
Borne special bargains in used standard m ake Pianos taken in ex­
change on Bush & Lane instrum ents, from $98 up.
Should Bo Rejected.
All tu b ers show ing discolorations of
the flesh or oth er evidence of disease
should be rejected. P la n t th e four
pieces o f each tu b er consecutively in a
row a t a distance o f from 10 to 12
inches a p a rt i|> th e furrow . By allow
ing more space betw een set of four
pieces, each tu b er is isolated from ad
joining ones and th e grow er can readi
ly observe any v ariatio n in vigor and
u niform ity betw een tho various units
planted. By m arking those which are
most uniform in size, vigor and type
when the p lan ts are grow ing, the fir^t
step in selection has been accomplished.
At digging tim e th e product of each
u n it is separately harvested and a fur
th er sell ction made from those which
most nearly approach the size, shape
and sm oothness desired. Only the pro
d uct of th e most desired units should be
retain ed fo r tho follow ing season.
Bush & Lane Piano
Hill Selection Method.
The fu rth e r conduct of the work will
consist in th e m ultiplication o f the se­
lected strain« for field p lan tin g and
the elim ination of weak plants. The
hill selection method consists in m ark et­
ing the most prom ising p lan ts during
the grow ing season and a t harv est tim e
save only those w hich gave g reatest
promise. P la n t on th e tu b er unit basis
tho follow ing season.
As to th e ad v isab ility o f p lan tin g
small tubers, a g re a t Dumber of tests
in various p arts of th e co u n try show
th a t th e use of large tu b ers gave a
production of over Hi tim es as g reat a
w eight of large tu b ers as th e small
tubers produce I. The use o f small seed
|>otatoes is only perm issible when they
a re known to have been produced by
strong, h ealth y and productive plants.
I t is never advisable to use small seed
tu bers from the general mass of un-
seiectcd stock. Like produces like. If
tu b ers fronjs unproductive or weak
p lan ts are used a sim ilar h arv est will
be reaped.
crfdjeit’.t jeden Donnerftag.
Monucincnteflcintfr pro 3apr nur $1.00.
Potatoes In Europe and America
A
h tn o
£rfte unò Salmon Strabe, portlanò
en t kinds o f cooking m ight even b<
found pro fitab le. A v ariety specially
suited fo r b ak in g is needed, another
fo r fry in g ; a close tex tu red tu b e r is in
some dem and fo r salads. The house
w ife today finds it necessary to waste
much good m aterial in p rep arin g her
potatoes for the table, p a rticu larly the
irreg u lar, deep eyed sorts.
The use of commercial fe rtiliz e rs u n i­
versal in G erm any is unknow n in onr
w estern p o tato districts. C ertain of
our d istric ts in M aine, New York and
the A tlan tie tru ck in g b e lt have al
ready found it to th e ir p ro fit to use
more fertilizer, and p o tato grow ing is
most prosperous in these sections. T his
should become more universal.
Crop ro tatio n is o f fun d am en tal im
portance to th e p o tato crop in con­
tro llin g diseases and m ain tain in g pro­
duction, b u t in th e U nited S ta te s only
th e beginning o f an ordered system
has been m ade. G erm any has a ro ta
tion of from th ree to seven y ears be
tw een p o tato crops. N or has the im ­
portance o f green m anuring y et been
fully appreciated in th is country.
The problem of securing disease free
teed has been m et in G erm any by an
o fficial inspection, which resu lts in
ce rtific a te s being issned only to own
ers of disease free crops. Such a plan
for the U nited S tates would bs b etter
if enrried out by th e so o peration of
$60.00 A WEEK AND EXPENSES
r h st « lb . money yon ebeuld get th is year. I mean M. I want
County Rule« M anagers q u iet, men or women who b elieve In
the square deel, who w ill go into partnership with me
No e i
perience needed
Mr folding B eth Tub ha« taken the country
by storm
Solve« the bathing problem.
No plum bing; no
water works required. Full length bath ia any room
Folds in
.m all roll handy os an umbrella. I tell you it s g reetl OttF.ATI
ft" .5. $io5 b.5. room. Now li.t e a l
I want YOU to handle
your county
I ’ll turnlah dem onstrating tob on liberal plan.
I m poeitiTO— absolutely certain— you can get bigger money la
a work w ith ma then you ever mads ia a month before—
1 KNOW IT !
TWO SA L E S A DAY— $ 3 0 0 A MONTH
v t i . r . what you should g o t —every month
Needed In • » • ’T
. m« badly wauled, eagerly bought.
Modern bathing
o « f e , nil the prop io
Taka ord er, right and left
Quick
■ale* iuuu « b « m profit«. Look at the»« men
Sm ith, Ohio, »ol
** *
lb orders fir st w w k . kfpyar«. thia«., 1350 profit
first img n th , .¿ewton, California. »AO in thraa
day«
Yon should do an w«ll 2 SALES A DAY
MEANS 1300 A MONTH
The work .a aa rf
easy.
olaaaant,
permanent,
fascinatin g.
Il
means a b u sin ess of your own.
DEMON-
8T RATINO
TUB
FU R N ISH E D
H
8. R O B IN S O N
P r e s id e n t
913 Factories Bldf., Toledo, O.
L ittla capital
naaded I rrant era-
d i t —Help you out—
Bark you u jp -D < > n t doubt—
D on 't heaitata— D o n ' t hold bark—
Tou rannot los* My other man are
hai1din< bonsoe. bank accounts, so ran you.
Act th m quick SE N D N MONEY ju st r am« ou
peony post card for fraa tub offer. H a iti« !