The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-11-22

prepared to pay Il fancy
price for an article OF dietary which in
other years was invariably Il very
abundant tubcr in our loca! market.
Potatoes have reached the unprcce
dentcd figure OF Il dollar bushcl or
something over a cent u pound. white
Tie supply even at that price barely
reaches the demand. Nor is there any
probability that potatoes shall become
more plentiful or cheaper. If the as
sertions of local farmers are to be
: trusted. the quantity of potatoes on
hand is comparatively so small that
before the new crop is in sight they
may reach anywhere from II dollar and
a half to two dollars Il bushcl. The
yield throughout the entire country
has been abnormally short so that we
can look for no relief from Importation
from other parts. And to add to our
culinary discontinue in this particular,
potatoes are poor in quality as well as
exceptionally scarce. They are watery
and small, having the porosity of a
spungc and the taste OF II raw cucum-
Der. when first taken from the pot. and
they do not improve with keeping.
This serious diminutior in the supply
of potatoes will appeal to some people
as little short OF II domestic calamity.
A dinner without potatoes. they rca-
son and believe, is no dinner at all.
They have become so accustomed to
the esculent, either by hereditary habi-
tudc OF through custom. that the fact
is ignored that ninety per cent. of the
finest and driest potatoes that it is
Of the ten per cent. of nutriment
which potato contains, five consists
of starch ana the remaining con-
stituentS of chemical combinations
which if not actually poisonous. as one
of them at least is. are highly indiges-
tible. That is the potato as it is. 1t
is no cNaggeration to say that ii is the
most innutritious article of food that
comes to the table of the poor or rich.
It's only recommendation is that it is
tasteless and Il tasteless food does not
pail on the palate. a meat eating peo-
satisfies ali the requirements of an
aliment Complementary to the high
ly luscious and nutritious flesh which
they consume in large, perhaps on the
whole, in too large quantities. There
is no other cultivated root which sat-
sties this condition so well and on the
whole SO cheaply and agreeably us the
Il Fall,
that we should make Il fetish of the
potato like the Indians made of maize.
There is no reason why when potatoes
reach Il dollar a bushel or more, that
we should lament the fact, or submit
to the eXtortion of custom combined
with ignorance.
Bread is almost as tasteless as the
potato. if it is we'll made bread. 1t is
pre-eminently wholesome and nutri-
tious, which cannot be said of the po-
tato. \ pound of bread costs only Il
few cents. A pound of bread. it is safe
to say. will go as far ut an ordinary
dinner table rs twenty pounds of
soggy potatoes. the most wasteful OF
foods. 1t is equally important in this
crisis to bear in mind that once bread
takes the place of the potato for Il
week or two. the latter is not seriously
missed.
The potato famine will come as ii
blessing in disguise, if the housckeeper
learns to avoid the temptation of hail
ing the farmer us he lordly passes by
with his dollar II bushel potatoes, and
turns to the staff of life, in name and
reality, food fiji for II prince and the
gift of the gods.