New-York tribune., 1918-09-29
L naeruood d OnderDood

quickly teaches the amateur farmer what
great quantities of food can be produced
within very small space. Nature Is wan
tonly prolific in forcing the growth Of veg
etable life wherever conditions are in the
least favorable, and only fraction Of the
tillable soil of this country is needed to
supply not only our own needs, but also
those Of the other nations calling upon us
for help.
"The question is not so much the produc-
tion Of food crops, but of the handling and
conservation of those crops when once pro-
duced. We meet waste, and more waste. at
every step along the way of the food
distributor. Authentic statistics are avar-
able to prove that fully half of the so-called
perishable food crops, like vegetables. never
reach the consumer. Part of the crop is
wasted in the fields. Some vegetables
though good, are discarded because they
are undersized. Others wilt and deteriorate
on the way to market or in the market.
Finally. large proportion of such products
as potatoes are wasted in peeling
vegetables in their fresh state are avail
able to the average family for only few
months in the year. Our bodies however.
always demand the substances contained
in the green plants, and there is no reason
why vegetables of all kinds should not be
on the table of every American family
throughou. all seasons Of the year Those
who are able to pay the price can get
canned vegetables in the winter. but the
price Is now exceedingly high, and the prod
uct is not as palatable as either fresh or
dried vegetables
he solution of the problem lies in the
dehydration, or drying Of vegetables By
thls process the green, succue ent plants can
De taken from the fields, and within few
hours deprived Of their water content with
the result that the remaining product pos
sesses all Of the flavor and food value Of
the fresh article. When the time comes
70 use 1t, months or perhaps years later. II
IS restored to its original condition by soak
ing 1t in water, and it can then be served
and eaten just If it were fresh. We have
the authority of the government food ex
perts for the statement that In the driving
process water is all that is taken out; flavor
texture and food value remain unimneira6
THE dehydration process for vegetables
IS not a new thing, for It has been practjsed
IN some of the European countries for
20 e' Nui hot eHefn nelgnDor, Canada.
has sold millions of pounds of dried veg
etables to the British government. and IN.
product has also been used quite extenstv.-
ly in the mining camps of Alaska. In IN,
United States. however. the subject Of veg
etaoie drying has received little attention
until the last year or so.
IL drying plants were established in eyr4
cultural districts, 1t would be possible ~
encourage farmers to plant more vegetables
oy assuring them of a market for .hs,r
prooucts AT the present time, even with
IN three or four miles of city. il is almost
impossible, as a rule, to find vegeta bles
grown on farms. With drying olsnt
within reach, the farmer would ind h,a
market extended to all parts of the world.
II selling conditions were not favorable at
tne time when his crops matured. thew
could be dried, placed in inexpensive paper
cartons and stored until the demand was
Oet'er When properly dehydrated v.g-
etaoes will keep indefinitely.
"ln the handling of fresh vegetables there
is large amount of waste incident IN tho
throwing away of the green tops or tho
outside leaves. Where the vepetahies wa
processed all this green feed can be ssveS
aho used to fatten stock In the handlp0
OF potatoes all the peelings can be utilized
elther IN feeding hogs or by treating them,
iof 'ne extraction OF the starch that thew
contain. AT present, when hand peeled in
the nome, from 10 to 20 per cent Of tho
potato is wasted"