THE importance of the potato, not only as human and animal food but also as a raw material for the manufacture of starch, alcohol and synthetic rubber, has greatly increased in the U.S.S.R. since the War. At the beginning of the War a big increase in the potato crop was ordered by the Government, but to achieve the goal set, a large addition to the amount of seed potatoes available was necessary. Lyssenko claims that the problem can be, and to some extent already has been, solved by utilizing as seed small pieces of tuber weighing about half an ounce and containing one of the upper eyes. The rest of the tuber-about 90 per cent of the whole-can be used as food. It is said that tips yield as well as whole tubers and that their produce is less subject to disease. In 1942, in the U.S.S.R., 250,000 acres were sown with potato tips, and it is anticipated that ten times this area will be thus sown in 1943. This would mean an additional 8 or 9 million tons of potatoes in 1943 without having appreciably reduced the quantity available for food and industry in 1942.