Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-08-02
POTATO CROP IN
COUNTY IS BELOW
MARKET GRADE
Rule Establishing Two Glasses
Not to Be Enforced in
This Section

The United States food admins
tration and the United States De-
partment of Agriculture have order
ed that for commercial purposes po-
tatoes must be in two grades as de-
scribed below. The Dauphin county
potato crop, which is intended for
marketing. is below the average in
every way and the county food ad-
ministration does not consider it ad-
visable to enforce the rule this year.
! though feeling sure sorting into
grades can easily be done and will
eventually bring better prices for po-
| tatoes so graded. The requirements
are now stated so they may generally
become known. and only such pota-
toes as are actually graded and come
up to the mark are authorized to be
called grade l or grade 2, while all
unsorted must be called ungraded.
The United States food administra-
ton is convinced that a general adop-
ton of those grades will be bene-
ticial to producer and consumer alike
and will tend to decrease waste and
encourage the production of better
quality, thus stimulating increased
consumption.
U. S. Grade No.
This grade shall consist of sound
potatoes of similar varietal charac-
teristics, which are practically free
from dirt or other foreign matter.
frost injury, sunburn, second growth,
cuts, scabs. blight. dry rot and dam
age caused by disease. insects or
mechanical means. The minimum
diameter of potatoes of the round
varieties shall be one and seven
eights Il 7-S) inches. and of the po-
tatoes of the long varieties one and
three-fourths q 3-4) inches. In order
to allow for variations incident to
commercial grading and handling
five per centum by weight of any lot
may be under the prescribed size, and
in addition three per centum by
weight of any such lot may be below
the remaining requirements of this
grade.
q. S. Grade No. .
This grade shall consist of pota-
toes of similar varietal character
istics, which are practically free from
frost injury and decay and which
are free from serious dana - caused
by dirt or other foreign matter, sun
burn, second growth cuts, scabs
blight, dry rot, or other disease, in
sects or mechanical means. The
one-half G -2) inches. In order to
allow for variations incident to
commercial grading and handling
five per centum by weight of any lot
may be under the prescribed size,
and in addition, five per centum by
weight of any such lot may be below
the remaining requirements of this
grade.
Grade Requirements Explained
practically free" means that the
appearance shall not be injured to
an extent readily apparent upon
casual examination, and that any
damage from the causes mentioned
can be removed by the ordinary pro-
cesses of pairing without appreciable
increase in waste over that which
would occur if the potatoes were
perfect Loss of the outer skin (epi-
dermis) only shall not be considered
as an injury to the appearance.
Diameter" means the greatest
dimension at right angles to the lon
gitudinal axis.
Free from serious damage"
means that the appearance shall not
be injured to the extent of more than
twenty per centum of the surface,
and that any damage from the causes
mentioned can be removed by the
ordinary processes of pairing without
increase in waste of more than ten
per centum by weight over that
which would occur if the potato were
perfect
No attempt has been made to pro-
vide grades for potatoes of extra
fancy quality and size, or for pota-'
toes under the minimum diameter
land other requirements of the United
States grade No. 2.
Potatoes of United States grade
No. l, unless shipped in bulk, should
be placed in only new, clean sacks
or barrels, which should be we'll
filled, securely sewed or covered, and
in addition to any necessary state
ments or marks, should be plainly
marked u. S. No. l." Containers of
potatoes of No. grade also should
.be plainly marked ~. S. No. q"