Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1914-05-15
U. S. ADVISES
POTATO RAISING
Department of Agriculture
Points to Possibilities for Use as
Stock Food and Making Starch
ALSO CONVERTED TO ALCOHOL
Germans Teach Valuable Lessons In
How to Keep Tubers From Season
TO Season. Millions Of Bushels
Dried.

Washington, d. C.-The neces-
Eity from time to time of protecting
the American potato industry against
the introduction of diseases from for
eign countries by quarantine regula-
hons places upon the nation the re-
Bponsibility of producing its own future
supply. This means that the country
must continually produce more pota-
toes than it need for home consump-
ton.
The profitable utilization of the sur
plus so produced is of vital Importance
to the success of the industry, as is
pointed out in Department of Agricul-
ture Bulletin No. Az This bulletin
calls the attention of the American
growers to the fact that they may OBJ
tain valuable lessons from Germany
whose potato acreage is more than
double that of this country and the
crop harvested more than four times
our total.
The great problem in this country is
how surplus of potatoes might best
be disposed of once the production has
been increased, and If we look to Ger
many for our lesson we find that their
surplus potato crop is used for the
manufacture of alcohol, and for drying.
In Germany the potato-drying indus
try is the last development in the
utilization Of surplus potatoes and in
one year recently over 100000 BUSH
els were dried in factories.
This industry should particularly
merit the consideration of our people.
Dried potatoes have been fed with
complete success, as a substitute for
corn, not only to cattle. but to horses
as well.
To make potato-drying a profitable
Industry in this country, one of the
problems to be met would be the ex-
pense of picking up and delivering to
the factory of culls and other potatoes
not marketable for table purposes.
This is because of the present cost of
labor. In many cases, however, labor
already is necessary and is used to
remove these culls from the field to
prevent the spread of potato diseases.
In Germany the industry has proved
such satisfactory solution for taking
care of the entire surplus crop that
German farmers now seek to plant a
maximum acreage without fear that
their various markets will be over
supplied.
The feeding of potatoes to swine
makes one of the important uses in
Germany, and already 40 per cent of
the entire production is now used in
that way.
1t is estimated that potatoes have a
value of 25 cents per bushel for direct
feeding. The difficulty In American DO
tato districts is that the agriculture is
not yet sufficiently diversified; the
swine are not there to be fed This will,
however, be overcome as time passes
and farm practices become better or
ganized; then very large quantities of
potatoes could be so utilized.
The country is producing to-day an
average of 20000,000 pounds of potato
starch annually, and has made large
mportations from Germany besides.
This potato starch is preferred in this
country to corn starch for sizing in
cotton mills. Economic improvements
In the introducing of new factory meth.
DDS and increasing the quantity of po-
tatoes used should make this industry
q more satisfactory one.
The manufacture of alcohol from po.
totoes has not yet become established
In the United States, as the price of po.
tatoes marketable for other purposes
has been too high. However, this meth.
od might well help take care of a sur.
plus crop, if such a surplus were pro.
duced in this country.