Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1918-02-15


prepared by the United States Depart
ment Of Agriculture.)
Corn heads the list Of crops COM
monty grown in this country in food
value per acre of production. A So
bushel crop Of this cereal produces
nearly 80 pounds of protein, or flesh
building material. and more than g.
100000 units Of energy. Wherever the
conditions are favorable for extending
the acreage Of this crop it is evident
that considerable addition can be
made to the supply Of human food
by doing so. Millers should give spe-
cial attention to the preparation Of
cornmeal Of good quality, and house
wives should use increased quantities
Of this nutritious and palatable prod
uct as substitute for other bread
cereals. 1t is more practicable to in
crease the use of cornmeal in this
country than it is abroad, for our peO-
pie are familiar with corn as a food,
while most European peoples are not.
We know how to prepare appetizing
dishes from 1t. while they do not.
The Sweet Potato.-Sweet potatoes
stand second in energy production,
but are low in protein produced per
acre. The sweet potato is a southern
crop. easily produced, but unfortu-
nately a large percentage of the crop
Is not properly stored and as a con-
sequence large quantities Of potatoes
are lost every year. However. by
building storage houses and handling
the potatoes as recommended in Farm
ers' Bulletin No. 548. the loss can be
largely prevented. Growers who have
good storage houses keep sweet pota-
toes throughout the winter for home
use or for market. Our southern
states should grow an abundance Of
this crop, the consumption Of which
may be made to reduce the demand
for bread cereals. Where facilities
for canning sweet potatoes are avail
able portion Of the crop preserved in
this manner may be made available
to parts of the country where the tenn
perature drops so low as to make
the shipping Of fresh sweet potatoes
a precarious undertaking, and the sea-
son of their use thus may be extended
throughout the year. Sweet potatoes
also may be dried successfully, and
recent experiments show that meal
made Of dried sweet potatoes may be
used with wheat flour in making
bread.
The Irish Potato.-The third crop
on the list Is the common Irish, or
white, potato. This crop can be
grown In all parts of the country. It's
Importance does not need emphasis
here. During the continuance Of the
present emergency special effort
should be made to produce all the po-
tatoes that are needed.
Rye.-Rye stands next to corn in
the list Of cereal grains, being slightly
more nutritious than wheat. but bread
made from rye flour Is not so accepta-
bic to the American palate as bread
made from wheat flour. 1t Is only on
sandy lands, which are better adapt
ed to rye than wheat, and in other sit
uatiOns where rye is known to be a
safer crop than wheat, that rye should
have the preference over wheat as a
farm crop intended for human food.
Wheat. - Wheat stands second
the bread-making cereals in
food produced per acre. Its wide eli
matte adaptability and the high degree
Of palatability Of its products make 1t
the bread crop Of the
world. In sections to which this crop
IS adapted 1t should be given prece-
1ence over all other crops except corn
and potatoes Except on lands better
adapted to rye than to wheat), remem-
)ering, of course. the necessity Of
a well-balanced agricul-
.ure.
Rice.-Rice stands very close to
wheat in food produced per acre. 1t Is
that under present condi-
ions a market could be found for a
greatly increased output of rice. Al
saving Of valuable food
.ould be made by marketing rice I'M
,ol. The unpublished is much more
,alatahle than the polished grain. If
he unpublished rice were generally
valuable, the American people proba-
,ly would consume considerably larg-
n quantities Of this valuable cereal
han at present.
The Soy Bean.-SOy beans lead all
ther crops in the production of diges-
ible protein, exceeding corn in this
esrect by almost exactly 100 per cent.
his crop deserves more attention in
his country than it has yet received.
here is no reasonable possibility Of |
1t. SOy-bean meal, the