Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-12-30
Population of United States
Growing at Faster Pace Than
the Tubers
Jim" WILSON TAKES NOTICE
Secretary of Agriculture Finds Problem
of Supply Serious One - Eastern
Gardeners to Be Encouraged to En-
gage in Cultivation on Extensive
Scale.
(special Correspondencc)

Washington, Dec. 30.-The latest
problem that confronts the country Is
now to get enough potatoes to supply
the population.
Some problems closely allied to the
uplift Of the farmer may be less com
monplace than the potato problem
realms of thought and philosophy. But
1t is doubtful If any are of more
intensely practical nature. The mere
mention OF the prospect Of dearth OF
potatoes is likely to strike panic into
the hearts of the Irish American part
of the population.
Secretary Wilson thinks the ques-
ton Is a serious one and one for some
practical, effective work on the part OF
the department of agriculture. He has
already taken the matter up and plans
in a short time to set experts at work
on it,
This In brief is the situation: The
population seems to be growing faster
than potatoes. The potato crop is not
keeping pace with the expansion OF the
race in this country.
Years Crop Below Average.
The potato crop of the year 1908
amounted to 2T5,00000O bushels. This
is below the average. 1t is not sufficient
to meet the demands of the American
people and the result is that potatoes
have to be imported. A large amount
of them is brought over from various
countries in Europe. This is true de-
spite the fact that prices for potatoes
this year are unusually high.
Secretary Wilson will order corps
of experts to tackle this problem of
how to produce enough potatoes in this
country to supply the American table.
He finds that the yield of potatoes per
acre in many parts of the country Is
decreasing. The crop is one that Is
hard on the soil. Especially in the
eastern part of the United States, in
the vicinity of the great centers Of
population. the farmers and market
gardeners are not raising anywhere
near enough potatoes to supply the
demands Of the vast urban populations
In the west. there is plenty of land on
which potatoes can be raised but the
hilliCuIlS Is tiitil potdtpSs iiC 81 polnS
that the freight on them when shipped
a long distance by rail makes the cost
to the consumer excessive. 1t is cheap
err to import them from Europe, so far
as the eastern part Of the country is
concerned, than to bring them from
the western states.
Opportunity for the East.
What Secretary Wilson plans to
have done1is to encourage farmers and
market gardeners in the east to pay
more attention to potatoes; to improve
their methods of potato raising. He
wants them to use better seed and to
cultivate the land more carefully. EX-
perts will take this matter up with
market gardeners near the great CEN
tiers of population and will instruct
them The government will import
better varieties for seed purposes from
Europe and experts OF the department
of agriculture are at work developing
i,enroved varieties.
To some extent diseases of potatoes
are responsible for the decreasing
yield Efforts are being made to de-
velop varieties that will resist disease
more perfectly. Another difficulty is
that most farmers raise potatoes ir-
regularly. planting heavily when the
price is high and thus flooding the
market and then planting but rev
when the price declines.
IF Secretary Wilson can get the soil
of the United States to producing po-
tatoes enough for Americans to live on,
thus excluding the potato of alien ORR
gin, he will feel he has not by any
means lived in vain.