Bridgeton pioneer. (Bridgeton, N.J.) 1884-1919, 1890-09-04
THE POTATO CROP.
The Outlook for this Staple Pro-
duct.

The OUTLOOK for this staple Pro-
duct.
While throughout the West the
prospects for the potato crop are not
fiattering, Jersey farmers can congrat-
ulate themselves that the price will be
good for the home crop.
Few people have any idea of the i'm
portant part the potato plays in max
ing up breakfast, dinner and supper
for the American people. Take tor in
stance, the city of Philadelphia. tire
quires fourteen carloads each day to
feed that people. A car is supposed to
hold 400 bushels, making in all 5000
bushels, 336, 600 lbs. to be distributed; !;
this would give to each man, woman
and child about a quarter of q pound
of potatoes a day. When we remem-
Der that many of the poorer families
make potatoes their chief food. and
take into account the large number
consumed in manufacture, the figures
are not out of the way
With this demand from Philadel-
phia alone, and the prospects of a
s0all crop West, Jersey potatoes will
evidently not 20 begging.
The following from the Chicago
1ribANe. shows what uNAy be looked
for from the Western StaIes:-
Intimately connected with, and, in
fact, inseparable from the food crop of
the country, is the potato crop. 1t
has direct bearing upon the consump-
tion ct flour, aud lniilers find that
nothing cuts down this consumption
more tnan big potato crop. Hence,
with the prospect OF poor crop of po-
tatoes. we must naturally look for an
increased consumption Of -four over
the entire country find the best
Minnesota and Dakota. Yet even they
ueed rain. In Illinois potatoes are
being shipped in now and sold ut retail
at frOm 81. 40 to 81 a bushel. Lndi-
aaa reports not more than half q crop
of early potatoes at best, and late DO.
CatOes almost q total failure.
Ohio reports thatearly potatoes were
few in q hill and far between, and rain
now would help the late potatoes little,
ii any. They are selling at from s.. 90
to 81 2S per bushel. La Michigan the
outlook is only fair The potato crop
In Kansas, where it is made u specialty.
extends along the valley from Kansas
City to Topeka. This area was almost
exclusively of the early varieties of DO
tatoea. Eighty per cent. of u crop was
ma0e. Little of this, however, remains
on hand. The prospect for late pota-
toes is poor. Nebraska's crop pros
poets are poor and potatoes are selling
for 81 OO u oushel Pennsylvania re-
ports p, 0spects tAir, but not MS good
Hs last season.
New York State reports the potato
crop short on account of wet weather
III the Spring. Massachusetts reports
early potatoes better than last year.
but late potatoes need rain. Louisiana
reports that the potato crop this year
was almost q failure. The crop has all
been harvested and sold, Cnicas o being
the principal market. l aln asked
every day since the fact became appar-
ent of the great sho rage In this crop,
Where can We get potatoes At the
present time the only States which give
the slightest prospe ct of u surplus are
the Dakotas, some portions of Mime
aota, and also q few points in Wiscon-
sin. The early POTATOES have nearly
all gone hIiU consumption and there Is
buj = sniail percentage Of .Aew crop
left to carry 10 until tnA ~ y Axop Is
tusde. ~