Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1916-02-16

resembles Asostook County in Maine,
famous for potato production and
grown wealthy through this highly
, specialized industry.
Potato growing in the past three
years has become something more
than a hit-and-miss business The
great central markets and seed buyers
are demanding quality
The days of mixed car lots are pass
ing. Straight commercial stock of
smooth skinned potatoes of uniform
size and true to type are demanded.
Scabby stock is being rejected and
out of the chaos of hundreds of va
rieties big and little, early and late,
round, long, red and white, very few
standard varieties now find favor with
the buyers of the big markets.
Villas County has been quick to
adapt itself to the change in potato
marketing. With an ideal potato soil,
with the climate and conditions to
production of potatoes of finest flavor,
with disease free soils, cheap land and
quick transportation to market, Villas
county has made a discovery-it has
advantages not possessed by many ia
nous potato growing sections and has
all of the advantages possessed by
any.
Consider the matter of cost; three
thousand bushel of potatoes were pro-
duced near Eagle River in 1914 for
SOS. 40. And this cost included the
rent of twenty acres of land at 5000
an acre. 1t included seed, labor,
spraying and delivery at the ware
house And the same three thousand
bushels sold for $073.42 in what was
considered an off year. So much for
potato growing under ordinary COM
mercial conditions-potato growing
without the use of fertilizer An aver
age of about los bushels to the acre
is expected from soil which has not
been fertilized Your dairy farmer in
Villas county produces big crops, $50
bushels to the acre often, sometimes
more.
Here is where the Villas County
grower has the advantage of his com
petitor in North Dakota; he can de-
liver his potatoes to the central mar
ket for about eight cents bushel less
if necessary and in close times the
Western grower takes a loss where
the Northern grower takes profit
for just this reason.
AS for potato diseases, Villas Coun-
ty has practically none. Field inspec-
tons show about one-tenth OF one
percent In the older potato sections,
potato diseases have been accepted as
matter of course with the conse-
quent shrinkage in value. But in vi
las County, this matter of potato dis
eases is being considered and efficient
quarantine and preventive methods
make the spread of infected areas dit
ficult
Long days, cool nights, moist soil
and much sunshine make good pota-
toes, so Villas county has discovered
an asset and proceeds to organize the
industry and cash in.
In 1916 Villas County will market
the product of about 800 acres of pure
bred seed, true to type, field and bin
inspected and certified by the Wiscon-
sin Potato Growers Association as
disease free No district can grow
such potatoes for seed purposes as the
Northern counties.
Potato profits and figures are as in
teresting as the stories of profits on
grape fruit and oranges. So Villas
County is commercializing the spud.
Some years the price is high and the
grower makes a killing, but any year
he can make bigger profit and grow
better potatoes than any competitor
he meets in the big markets.