The Prescott daily news., 1921-06-17

! Ine SurcSN ana most eCQloll.ca4 Way This is really the fundamental idea of the cooperative house.
 The large cooperative house has still other advantages, chiefly that of Iaffording the opportunity for making uniform grades of potatoes to meet the demands of the markets. This is one of the most important matters in connection with the sweet potato in- dustry, that of proper grading. There cannot be any uniformity of grades and methods of packing where the in- dividual house Is used by any number of growers in any particular locality. Of course, through concerted action there can be an approach to uniform ity in these particulars, but complete and satisfactory uniformity cannot be realized without the cooperative house. where the potatoes can bel stored, cured out. graded and packed according to a certain specified stand ard and under the supervision Of one management.
 Probably the next most important feature about the cooperative house is the marketing end of the business. The cured. or kiln-dried sweet pota- to Is now rapidly superceding the green potatoes on the markets of the United States, and where only few years ago the demand for southern sweet potatoes was rather limited, il is now almost unlimited in the United States, and where formerly the mar keting season was quite short, cover ing only a few months, both the de- mand and the marketing season now cover practically the entire twelve months of the year. During the sea- son of potato harvest in the South, there is almost no cured potatoes 70 be had. and there Is then Q good de mand for green stock for-a while, but the bulk of this 2nust find an outlet in tbe. h0Te markets. Usually around 'The first of January the market for cured stock opens up, and at this season of the year, we usually have more or less bad weather and some times impossible roads in the south ern territory. If potatoes are scat tered over a community in many diff ferent small houses, none containing as much as a car load, it becomes difficult matter to market them sue cessfully, and often times sales of potatoes are lost to the growers on this account. This is an important point to consider in connection with sweet potato growing and marketing.
 On the other hand, we generally have good open weather in this terri tory during the season of potato har- vest. and also plenty of time, and the roads are often dry and fairly good, as our roads go. At this time it is much more convenient to haul the potatoes direct to the curing house as fast as harvested, and then that part of the work is definitely over for the season. After this, when the pota- toes are cured. the stock can be grad ed and marketed whenever prices are satisfactory, regardless of weather conditions. Buyers will then know where the potatoes are, and they can look them over and make bids at any time. This is the most important feature and the one offering the great est advantages of the large co-opera- tive curing house.
 After all, it is a matter of local or ganization to start with. The growers should own and operate these houses themselves, and not place their busi- ness in the hands of individuals who would propose to build and operate these curing houses themselves for the growers. This is not the best way to promote the sweet potato in dustry, The individual owner, or operator, is concerned mainly about the profits he can make out of the business, and if any individual can make profit for himself out of the farmers products, why cannot the farmers put this profit into their own pockets by collective action, or CO., operation among themselves?
 The construction and operation of sweet potato curing and storage