New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-05-17
POTATOES FROM OYER THE OCEAN.

LARGE IMPORTATIONS FROM EUROPE.
MANY STILL COMING To THIS COUNTRY-THE BUsl-
NESS GROWING LKss PRoFTTADlE-cAUsEs OF
DECAY IN FOREIGN POTATOES.
Quantities of potatoes continue to arrive at this
pof. from Great Britain and Germany as wen rs
from Nova Scotia, Prince Edwards Island ana
New Brunswick The receipts IRON the DrtiSh
Provinces have not been large as Ill former years.
Int the importation from the trans Atlantic cOun-
tries has been wholly unprecedented, ana It's pos
sihility would have been laughed AT by most most
American farmers and dealers year ago; Inc
causes of the large importation nave Deeii tle uu-
usually large crop raised last year In GIeat Dftah
and Germany, and the small yield OF potatoes III
this country. Besides the advantagG Oh IavoTaoio
estimated that 60 900 acres more were planted llSg
wear than ever before There had been imported
up to December 81, ISL !4v,ooo SACKS o. po' a.
make over 100000 sacks during the season. Ine
sacks. though varying in sze ordinarily contain
three bushels The foreign potatoes have usually
American stock The best imported potatoes
wonld sell nearly as well the latter, were 1t not
that thev usually show yeOwlsh color when
cooked. There is also little prejudice among
consumers against the foreign artlclf, and IN favor
of that raised at home. The fact that previous TO
this year the few potatoes brought across the
Atlantic have been Of poor quality accounts Tor
this prejudice Consumers may take comfort IN
the fact that were it not for the foreign potatoes
the home crop would have probably cost them 10
or more Der barrel Some dealers think they would
have sold at SO to IS a barrel but these men prob
ably forget that when one article OF 1000 rises IN
prce out OF proportion 10 other articles, people stop
bu,inp it. The business of importing potatoes from
across the Atlantic has been profitable one until
recently, when. the stock having become Io Dadly
gravated by the heat in the steamers holds the
potatoes have become somewhat of drug IN the
market. Recently several thousand sacks o! rotten
potatocs on one of the North River piers had to be
put back Oh steamer and dumped IN the ocean
outside the harbor.
John Ellice an English shipper OF potatoes said
TO a TRIBUNE reporter when asked about the trade
"There has been no money i'll the business Tor Two
months Potatoes sold for so cents per DnsheI from
December ] to February ], when they dropped 70
70 cents and then to 60 cents they are now sell
ing at from 90 10 70 cents at wholesale Inc
English potatoes have, Knocked the Iowa Scotia
potatoes particularly the MERGERS or blue noses
out of the market az they can be placed here AT
less price than the latter. The Nova Scotlas sent
here IN the fall rotted badly. OF course the Nova
scotia and Maine Early Rose sell well--H3 80 10
81 per barrel--but there was not large crop OF
them We have shipped large quantities OF I'M
ported stock TO ST. Louis Dayton, MiIwankee,
Cincinnati and other parts of the West shipped
thirty-seven cars westward in two weeks. III
would be hard to name Western town where these
foreign potatoes have not been bought, lot tne
reason that the crop failed out there than IN
the Eastern States. We made the Western people
believe the imported potatoes were the native feer
less variety for long time; Dut they iouhu ouI tLe
difference at last. The imported stock Is mostly OF
the Champion variety. / do not think they VIII be
planted in this country. The eyes on them are too
deep, and they throw out many sprouts; thus pro
ducing too much vine and too many small potatoes.
The Lest. that is the brightest stock has been
shipped from Dundee, Leih and Glasgow, Scot
land Some of the Irish potatoes are as good ms
any but Scotland has sent the most. A few OF the
Victoria variety have also been shipped mere
They are long white potato like BurDanK
Seeding and sell better than the champions. We
have lately received few thousand sacks vi snow
flakes from Germany. which are as fine cooking
potatoes as can be found and OF good size ana
allow do the English farmers house their pota-
toesp ~. ,r . A.,
put them in deep trench and cover them WIN
aWhy are the foreign potatoes rottingf The
Health Department has ordered some vi Ihem IT,
moved from the piers"
= 1t is due to the potatoes becoming sprouted as
the season advances. Then tue holds OF the
steamers are generally rs warm as ~, which
makes them sprout faster, and also heats them as
they lie piled IN sacks in large quantities. Ihey lie
there from ten TO twenty or even thlrty days al. III
handling the potatoes the sprouts get broken, the
sap of them vets the potato and causes decay TO
begin in the eyes of the tuber. We lost about ZOO
sacks out of 400 that came by the Gallleo" ID,
Mir. Heard of the firm of Heard Brothers. said
that it had come to be an mpossbiity to corner
this market on any product. Not only was the
country too large to be controlled by any section OF
it. but trade with foreign countries had become as
intimate as trade between States in tins country.
If a crop failed in one country IL would DC eood IN
another The freight rate from Glasgow, about II
cents bushel on potatoes, was as cheap as IL was
between Ncw-York and Rochester. The duty on
potatoes 10 cents per bushel, Mr.. Heard thought,
did not seem to have prevented them from coming,
however and it had paid the Government over hall
a million dollars. Mr.. Heard Thought th3t good
MANY more potatoes would yet be brought across
the Atlantic this season, many farmers III Great
britain still had their whole crop to SELL and the
market there very dull.
ii. NJ Edwards, a receiver at the New-York Cen
trail Railroad potato depot said that several OF the
wholesale dealers there had been compelled to buy
foreign potatoes and keep them beside their State
stock in order to satisfy the demands of the trade
for n cheap potato -
The dealers at this market after waiting many
wears are accommodated to their satisfaction by
the railroad company, which has built a long row
of substantial brick stores for their use The cars
unload OH one side of them, while wagons and
trucks are loaded on the other. Though the pota-
toes arrive in sacks, they sold by weight at $50
pounds to the barrel The business like character
of the market at present IS i'll marked contrast to
what It was in former years.
The new crop Of potatoes is already treadlng on
the heels of the old. Bcrmudas sell at 80 30 a
barrel A few Georgia potatoes are arriving, selling
expected about May 10. The large shipments from
Norfolk will begin about june l.