Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1901-09-20
SPIRIT OF THE PRESS
FACTS AND OPINIONS GATHERED
FROM CONTEMPORARIES.
OUTLOOK FOR THE POTATO CROP.

OUTLOOK FOR THE POTATO CROP.
AT the present time the potato crop /;
causing considerable talk among the
market men. Not only is it thought, but
it is practically known, that the price OF
potatoes will be higher in the course Of q
couple of months. The rise will not be
caused by lack of the vegetables in
New England, for the crop in this sec
ton is said by local marketmen to aver
age good, but the crops in the West are
very small. Therefore it will take a
great number Of eastern potatoes to sup
ply the West.
At present the New England prices
range from 40 to - cent bushel, while
at Ohio points the price is Sl.1O per
bushel in Chicago Sl.20, st. Louis Sl.0j
and in Indianapolis 81. These are ear
load prices and are subject to shrlnkage
and mixed qualities. Mr. f. NJ. Slayton,
the leading potato handler in this section,
was seen by a Mirror representative and
said The crop in New England and
New York state bids fair to be an aver
age, and if it were not for a strong de-
mand from the West, as soon as the
weather conditions will permit of ship
ments in caroads. New England would
get along very well. At present New
England prices will probably recede, but
the fact that Pittsburg, Cincinnati, In
dianapols and Chicago will come east
for portion of their supply will un-
doubtedly cause rapid tluctuating prices
and chance in favor of rise and free
shipment from Glasgow, Scotland. and
Bristol. Ireland. of the finest magnums.
This will keep the prices at about the
dollar mark through the winter"
Mr.. Slayton said that the reason why
the West did not have so early a crop
and the reason they did not have a large
crop, was because of the late frosts and
cold spring rains, which kept the farmers
from getting their seed into the ground
early. And the extreme hot weather in
the latter part OF June and the first of
July caused a small set, or small num-
Der of potatoes in each hill.
While tie rains in the latter part of
July and the first of August made the
size f the potatoes good, it could not in
crease the number, which is done by
suitable weather in the latter part of
tato is formed. Last year from the first
of September until the 10th of October
there was 20.cent decline, but it is eX-
pected that there will be an advance in
stead of decline this year.
1t is stated that the farmers east of the
Allcghanies have not seen so prosperous
a time as the present for a large number
of years. Not only have their crops
been large, but as rule there has been
good demand for all kinds of farm pro-
duce at good prices. Mirror and Farmer.
eooS
SUGAR
There are about one billion and half
of persons in this world according to the
best estimates, and they annually con-
sumo something like eight million tons
of sugar. OF this total the United States
consumes almost one. third. 1t i true
that there are millions on millions who
never taste it at all, but most civilized
nations consume all they can afford.
We easily lead them all. 1t is only few
years since practically all the sugar was
made from cane, and The West Indies
were the chief source of supply. Now
two-thrds of the supply comes from
beets, with the result that the British
West Indies are practically bankrupt and
the sugar industry in Cuba has fallen to
much less than its former proportions.
1t is thirteen years or so since an
agitation was started in this country
which resulted in bounty on American
grown sugar, but this was avOwedly in
the interest of Southern cane-growers. as
beet sugar in this country has hardly
reached even the experimental stage.
Later efforts were made with more or
less success to establish the beet sugar
industry, but as the bonus was gone
there was little progress until lately. 1t
now appears that America has solved the
problem successfully, so that in certain
parts of the West beets are considered to
be the best crop that can be grown.
Curiously enough, Colorado, which
seems to have more sources of wealth
than any other state in the country,
leads the rest in producing great crops
of beets with a large amount of sac
charine in them. From the very section
whence come the famous Rocky Ford
canteloupes which we eat with gusto at
breakfast come the sweetest of Deets,
and they have been raised to an extent
that the German Consul is alarmed for
fear that we shall soon be able to grow
all the raw sugar In this country which
we consume instead of importing almost
all of 1t.
Surely, it does seem as if there were
no end to the development of the United
States. In our domains now are grown
or found practically everything that man
can use in any way, shape or form.
This is not boast, but the recognition
of fact that is made more patent every
day. We shall probably continue to
have troubles of our own for a long
time to come, and as the millennium APP
pears to be a reasonable distance away,
it does not seem likely that crime and
poverty are to be entirely abolished,
but it does look as if there is no spot on
thn face nf tho aarth rbaro oiuilizoJ