The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1916-03-03

JUST what you would expect, of
course-that the newest potato
y section should give us the newest
idea in marketing potatoes. Twin
Falls, in Southern Idaho, is the young
est potato section with national re-
putation, dating back hardly twelve
years. Before that, it was wilder
ness of dust, sagebrush and jack rab-
bits, waiting for the transforming
touch of the Water Fairy.
When water was turned on from the
Miner irrigation dam, settlers came
in. The sagebrush was grubbed up,
the jack rabbits were chased over the
horizon, and the dust became farm
soil and began producing things
Rather remarkable dust-a peculiar
gray stuff, light in texture, very fine
In its PARTICLES, sweet and full of min
eral plant food. 1t is volcanic ash,
averaging six feet in depth, lying on
beds of rusty brown lava In the geo.
logical past this whole country was
volcanic. Part of its activity still goes
on up Yellowstone Park way Twin
Falls section is notable for waterfalls,
springs, caves and other natural won
ders, though one would never suspect
that such sights were in the neighbor-
hood when alighting in town, which
Is at flat as any in Iowa.
Put into the hands of a good farmer,
and mellowed with little humus, this
volcanic ash yielded heavy crops-six
to eight tons of alfalfa to the acre,
seventy bushels of wheat, q hundred
bushels of oats, ten bushels of red
clover seed. Apples took on a deep
color fall nights and the section soon
became notable for its potatoes
Six years after the opening a Twin
Falls grower won first prize In a po-
tato contest embracing seven north
western state. He raised GAS bushels
of spuds on an acre of ground, and
575 bushels of them were of market
able size. 1t is said that q good farm
er may reasonably expect to raise 800
to 400 bushels to the acre on the aver
age, for water. which makes or breaks
the potato crop in districts that de-
pend upon rain, is here under absolute
control through irrigation
Twin Falls country Is a prominent
potato section in point of big yields
and wide sales, and in autumn one
sees tons upon tons of potatoes stored
away in concrete cellars and rough
outdoor shelters, waiting to go to mar
ket
But 1t is the quality of Twin Falls
potatoes, and what has been done with
quality in a market way, that are most
interesting.
The ashy soil is just right for grow
ing a shapely tuber. Potatoes come
out of the ground smooth, clear-skin-
ned and as clean as if they had been
washed. They are very starchy and
dry in substance. An altitude of 5000
to 1000 feet above sea level seems to
impart light, mealy character.
The eastern housewife has to be
taught to cook a Twin Falls potato
as the men interested in marketing
them by name and brand have found
out. The housewife who puts then
on the stove for hard boiling, like al
eastern spud, is likely to find wher
she looks into the pot that there is lit
tie left of the Idaho potato-it has be
come potato soup.
This clean, smooth, light, dry
starchy character makes the potatoes
ideal for baking. Very early in its his
tory, therefore, Twin Falls began t
divide its potato crop into two dis
tinct parts for marketing-the fancy
bakers, which are graded and sold t
fancy trade, and the ordinary run O
market spuds.
Twin Falls will take your order FOL
almost anything in the way of baking
potatoes that meets your needs. ON
of the western railroads specifies To-
its dining cars large, long baker
weighing not less than a pound ant
not more than a pound and a half
When the writer was at Twin Fall
in October, during harvest, one of thu
shipping concerns had men goinl
through the fields after the Digging
machines selecting these to fill an i'm
mediate need. Each man doing IN
field grading judged by the eye il
picking out the big bakers, and car
ried a scale along to weigh SHAPED.
specimens that seemed a little TO,
large or too small.
Other customers want the standar,
twelve-ounce baker; still others pre-
fer an eight-ounce size, or ten-ounce
and so on.
Six years ago an Idaho man went u
Chicago TO sell graded baking spuds
First he canvassed the produce dis
trict where he received little encour
agement Graded baking potatoe
were a new idea then, and the trad
could see no demand for them 'Th
demand existed all right. Lut it wa
dormant and had to be developed b.
craftsmanship.
The potato dealers were clearly no
: disposed to do any creative selling. 81
, the man from Idaho went 70 worl
: himself He visited the hotel and res
taurant stewards, the grocers, the din
ing-car men. Most of them were buy
ing field-run potatoes by the sack AM
sorting out limited number OF suit
able baking sizes from each bushel
Some of them failed to see the econ
omy In paying higher prices for grad
ed bakers which would come in an,
size they specified, and would rul
true to size-clean and whole, ant
every potato fit to go into the ovel
and be served.
But trial of the fancy spuds sool
demonstrated that these potatoes wer
cheaper, and many of the steward
4 Il