The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-03-27
POSSIBILITIES Of THE POTATO

''Ssioi vi H''AuS inc 4rlS1 10 SUCH an
extent that it almost came ID he con-
sidered the spe ,,al property Of Erin.
and answered Nv readily to the name
OF Murphy az its own. That was be-
fore the days Of scientific efficiency in
food.
However. the people Of those days
had palates and began to realize that
the "batata" was good. Gradually, in
spite of his unfashionable start. he
began TO be recognized on the most
exclusive Of menus. AS time wore
on. his popularity increased.
There came a time at last when ii
was realized that beefsteak was in
complete without Murphs in one form
or another-fried, boiled or dipped in
hot. grease. Any meat, in fact, went
better with them.
Thus did the palate steal a march
on science. For. when the doctors
began TO figure OF calorics and all
that sort OF thing. they discovered
that the humble Murphy we're an ad-
mirable accompaniment to the aris-
tocratic meat.
Science says that the two best
things TO get into our systems are
proteins and carbohydrates. Now,
as meat is rich in protein, il ought 10
be accompanied by a food rich in car
bohydrates. Along comes friend MUIR
ply and fills the bill to a nicely. ON
an average, he has about 1913 per
cent water, 1874 per rent carbohy-
drates n only 20 per cent protein;
the small remainder being ash or
mineral matter. So that. while the
meat is rich in protein. the tuber i.
equally rich in carbohydrates.
|, Before the tuber reaches the table,
however. he is generally peeled; and,
il is right here, again, that Professor
corbett and his associates are apply
ing scientific efficiency principles to
MIN. Roughly speaking. as repre-
scented in the illustration, tho potato
OF the past suffered a loss Of 20 per
cent when Invested Of his jacket. That
was because he vas a rough. un-
couth fellow. whom no knife could go
oyer evenly and without waste.
Therefore they advocated tho grow
ing OF a smooth variety that could
ne pared with the least possible loss.
In round figures there is a 10 per cent
waste with this latter kind.
Ih'nk what this means. The crop
OF 1909 was 3%ss,1s4,0oo bushels, of
which nearly all were peeled. Prac-
tically this meant about 80, 900, 900
Ebushels. or $4,000, 900 bushels. This
is almost the entire crop Of New
York and Pennsylvania. two Of the
greatest potato-producing states of
the union.
BY cutting this waste in half, the
parings would amount to about 30.
0o0,0 bushels. or a little more than
the output of the single state of
Maine.
And IL such a tremendous saving
can be effected by a change in form.
what may not be accomplished by an
increase in size and hardness. Little
wonder is it that even Professor Cor.
bett, the recognized potato expert, re-
fuses to answer or wen to predict.
There is no %gainsaying what has al
ready been accomplished. however,
one man out in Colorado has in
creased his yield to 400 bushels per
acre on an average. He did II
through breedings and selection. BE.
lore introducing improved method,
the average yield for his section OF
the country was about 125 bushels ia
the acre.
Along the Atlantic seaboard the
crop runs from 225 t 0 275 bushel,
TO the acre; but. although the season
is short. h average cost Of produc-
the tubers r left to mature.
The ordinary cost Of production in
the north" avs Professor Corbett,
runs from SIS to $35 per acre, while
IN the south it is from $35 to $40.
n truckers use nore seed than the
ordinary run Of farmers. and have
to buy it from Mafne, New Hamp.
shire and Vermont. ! Some plant il
bushels to the acrestnot to mention
a ton Of fertilizer.
This means that the southern
trucker can make no money IL he
gets less than so cents a bushel for
his crop. If the price falls below
that it pays him to let his tubers ROT
in the ground.
I'm fact, the relation Of the north
crn to the southern crops is not gen
orally understood. If the production
OF the former has been heavy, the
stored potatoes last we'll into June
n are bound to keep down prices,
SO that the truckers might not find
it profitable to plant.
FOR this reason. we have, for the
year or so, been making a January
size-up for the benefit Of the south
crners; and We hope to increase the
scope of the feature Of our work in
the years to come.
AND this brings up another fea.
ture of potato culture-the fact that.
in ordinary times, each section Of the
country mus raise enough for its own
consumption. The potato is not only
a poor traveller. but a high priced
one. Ordinarily. it costs about 3
cents a hushel moro to ship potatoes
than wheat. This alone virtually eli
inmates long hauls. Again, the tuber
is harder to handle. and consequently
more expensive, all along the line
than the cereal.
"All this means that, in normal sea-
sons. 500 miles is about the limit for
shipping potatoes. In the spring,
when the northern crop gives out,
there is for a time an abnormal de.
mand. Then it is that the coast
truckers must DO ready with their
crops.
Sometimes. even. We will import
potatoes, as we have done this win
ter: but the rarity of this serves to
show the truth Of my statement"
Some OF the southern farmers ex.
hibit a great deal OF enterprise. There
is one in particular. Frank NJ. Lind
say Of Portsmouth. Va. who has re-
claimed what was once a swamp of
5000 acres. To do this. he built a
drainage canal 10 miles long, % feet
wide and II feet deep.
= WONDERS OF THE DEAD SEA. =