Show BEST RESULTS ATTAINED I WITH POTATOES BY DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH-GRADE HIGH SEED I 1 ry 0 r 4 M Potatoes for Seed Should Be Selected From Hills Containing Tubers Tube s of Uniform Uniform Uni Uni- form Shape and Size Prepared b by the United States Department Department Department Depart Depart- ment of or Agriculture If the best hest results are to be he attained in amt potato production greater greter care must be given to the development of high high- grade seed potatoes than is the present practice Wherever the climatic and soil soli conditions are such as to make It possible to produce a n good quality of seed potatoes each cach grower should have his own seed plat pint In the selection of seed Reed potatoes It should be borne in mind that the hill rather than the individual Individual Indi indi- vidual tuber t Is the unit The method which Is most certain to lead to improvement Improvement Im Im- provement is that of hill selection There are various wa ways s 's of procedure in the practice of hill selection but the one most likely el to give the time best results results results re re- Is that of f marking the be best t plants In the field or the seed plat before the foliage begins to ripen and dl digging ging them by hand Just before harvesting the main crop Examine Each Plant I The product of each individual plant should be he examined separately and on only I those that show uniformity In size and shape and that have produced a 11 maximum number of 01 merchantable tubers should be selected Each selected select select- ed hill should be given a number sacked Backed separately and a careful record rec rec- record ord made The following season the tubers of each selection should be planted separately In order that flint their behavior may be noted throughout the growing season It will be found that ninny many man of them possess no superiority over oyer the general run of field stock but buta a few will be decidedly good A large number of these progeny can be marked ed for discard before they are harvested At harvesting time the progeny of each promising selection should again be studied carefully and only those which seem to possess superior superior su SUa su- su perlor merits retained If 11 it Is possible to reduce these to one or two It Is desirable desirable de de- de- de to do so Further progress along this line consists in Increasing the time pro progeny eny of the selection or selections selections selections as rapidly as possible At the end nd of the time third thin season a n sufficient quantity should be available to plant the field crop It Is desirable to maintain maintain maintain main main- tain a seed pInt plat each year and to continue continue continue con con- the process of ot hill selection and the thc development of pure strains In order to practice potato selection Intelligently In Intelligently In- In It Is necessary to have a atrue atrue atrue true conception of the t type pe of the variety or varieties being used Immature Seed Relatively few growers In the United States really maintain a seed plat and still fewer planting the seed plat at nt a n considerably later date than the main crop in ord order r to secure small to sized medium m immature tubers tubers tu tu- bers hers as is the time custom with many En English Eng Eng- lish JIh and Scotch In planting the seed plat designed for the production production pro pro- of seed for the main crop the following season it is desirable to plant two or three-ounce three whole tubers The use of whole tubers Insures a perfect per per- perfect perfect stand and a n minimum percentage of diseased plants At the same time us ns a result of late planting and find th the heavy set produced by whole seed the tubers do not attain a large size and andare andare are thus Ideal deal for seed purposes The date of planting the seed plat pInt should be governed by the locality In which the potatoes are to be grown In general gen eral oral It might be he said that flint the seed plat pint should be he planted as late as It i I Ir possible to Insure a good tuber development devel level before beCore the plants are killed bj by bythe the frost in the autumn |