The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1895-11-28
Large or Small Potatoes.

Large or Small Potatoes.
Should judges at fairs award pre-
miums to the largest potatoes or to
those of medium size? Are the largest
specimens of as good quality as the
smaller ones? These questions were
recently discussed through the col
umns Of the Rural New Yorker. One
writer, who believes that big speci-
mems attract attention, says:
"Haying exhibited vegetables and
farm products for upward Of ten years
I have learned tina. anything very
large is the most pleasing to the
crowd, who do not stop to test the
quality or even look at such specimens
Is may be seen on the general mar
ket."
A New York correspondent writes:
"a potato that will weigh One-Quarter
Of a pound is about two inches in d.
ameter and is of the smallest size al
lowable in sorting for market. When
potatoes of this size are used for
cooking, there is far more waste than
with larger on IS, and the quality is no
better than that of two pound potatoes
Of the same variety. The model pOta-
to is kidney-shaped, has few eyes and
those nearly even with the surround
Ing surface, and it weighs three-Qnar-
tiers of q pound. Such a potato is
salable,. but for use in farmers fam
lily there is not the least objection to
those that weigh two pounds If of q
variety not liable to be hollow"
A third correspondent says: "How
shall potatoes be judged at the fairs?
This is q hard question to answer, not
knowing who will be the judge. If he
be q man who knows what q potato
Is for, he will give first place to me-
dunn size always. A good, fair sized
potato will sell best in market, and
any cook will say that she doesn't
want these big potatoes. When
fudge at fairs, give the preference
to those Of fair size and most perfect
shape. I was taken to task by an ex-
hibitor because he didn't get first
money when he had the largest. We
both took our station near the potatoes
and some ladies' came along. We ask
ed them whether they were house
keepers. They said they were. We
handed them one Of each lot, with this
question, For family use which of
these potatoes would you buy for your
own use, if the whole bushel were of
the same size" All six said, The
small one"
Farmers Should He More Business
like.
One great trouble with farmers is
that they are not careful enough
about the business part Of the work.
They do the work and let the profit or
loss come out as it may, without Civ
ing the matter a thought, or, if they
do occasionally make a spasmOdic eff
fort at keeping accounts, It is soon dis
continued as making too much work.
how are we going to know "where
we are at" in any other way than by
keeping account Of the expenses con-
nected with dairying, for instance?
Nine out of ten are "going it blind
year after year. They feed and milk
their COWS, and make and sell the but
ter, and then, at the end OF the year,
know nothing about whether they are
any better off or not as to the dairy.
Don't you think many farmer Is
keeping COWS at q loss? Well, now,
do you think you are one Of them,
yourself? How do you know about IT,
anyway? Have you the figures to
prove that your COWS are source OF
profit to you: 1t would be well Tor
every dairyman and every farmer
who does not claim to be. strictly
DeakinG, q dairyman, to try and as
certain lust where he stands. Guess
work Il a Door plan to 60 by. II we
sre ence convinced that we are losing
money. we may better stop dairying
and furn our attention to something
elsa