Crossville chronicle. [volume] (Crossville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-11-07
SOMETHING ABOUT POTATOES
Grading the Most important Item Con-
nected With Marketing.

The American Steel and Wire Com.
pany issued crop report dated Oeto.
Der u that contains some very inter.
esting things touching the marketing
of white potatoes. The company says
in its report:
mo industry was ever in greater
need of stabilizing agent than that
of potato production. Grading, with
the use of culls, is the agent.
Market grades should be establish
ed to prevent cheap bargaining, with
the consequent reduction in price to
the farmer and poor goods for the con-
sumner.
Grading cannot be completely sue
cessfui without an outlet for the culls,
the manufacture OF potato flakes, po-
tato flour and potato starch furnish
this outlet. These processes are avail
able and offer an opening tor the in
vestment of capital"
The Steel Company has taken facts
from a bulletin compiled by the Min.
nesota agricultural station and finds
that the cost of producing an acre Of
potatoes in Minnesota is slightly over
$50 IN field crops and in garden crops
about SIS an acre less. Marketing here
doubtless costs less than there.
The cost of marketing potatoes is
shown to have a wide margin of differ
ence, ranging from 80 to 70 cents a
bushel. IN that section. Owing to a
milder climate, cheaper land and lower
labor cost the price for producing an
acre of potatoes IN the south, and IN
this section in particular. Is consider
ably less.
CULLS.
All over The country culls are the
one great trouble that all potato ham
dlers have to combat and 1t seems to
be the most serious. 1t is the rankest
folly to claim that the grower does
not have to pay for the cuIs. He
either has his potatoes rejected entire
ly because Of culls or he so far reduces
the market by forcing culls on the
that his good potatoes bring
him much less than they would il the
cuIls were not there. 1t Is a practice
Of some growers to see how many culls
they can slip in on the buyer and when
he succeeds he thinks he has done a
line thing by getting a sale for what.
Il fully expos.d. would not find mar
xet at all. That 10 the greatest posi-
bic mistake.
1T WILL NOT WORK
Saturday there were over 5000 bush
bis of potatoes purchased by local mer
chants here. The editor of the Chron-
Gle made the rounds to learn some
hing relative to conditions and meth
DDS employed. We were surprised to
ind these conditions to prevail IN some
instances: Every man who brings po-
atoes will loudly proclaim that he
lever brings any frozen or inferior po-
atees to market. Saturday these con-
Iitions were found in several instances : |
Frozen potatoes were offered IN consid-
'rable quantity. Some men put the
ulls in the bottom or had them all in !,
acks to themselves and when they be-
ian unloading they dumped a few
acks to show what fine potatoes they
lad and thought thereby to be able to
york in the cuIls IN the sacks without
umplng, but it rarely, If ever. work.
d.
Some persons were forced to haul
heir potatoes away and sort out the
rozen ones and then the merchant was
low to buy for fear they we're not
onestly sorted.
One man that we heard of came to
Merchant and said: IL have so many
otatoes. The merchant told him to
Jump them in the pile. That man was
ell known for his strict honesty and
E could Be trusted, but it 10 more than
kelly that not half dozen men were
ecorded that privilege out of the more
IAN 5000 bushels that were bought
ere Saturday. |;
One merchant said that some way
ould have to be devised for handling
'tatoss moro rapidly than ut present
I'd at the same time the handling !
ust be done cheaper. il the farmer 10
receive moro for bis potatoes.
light here 10 where the potato asseeia.
% sesd stands out - vRy steusg. {