10 DISEASE RESISTANCE OF POTATOES. 



conditious — land and labor values and food habits — between the two con- 

 tinents. In the British Islands the annual acreage in the last decade'' 

 was more than one and a quarter million; in France three times and in 

 Germany six times this amount. The crop in Great Britain is chiefl}^ 

 used for human food; in France about -10 per cent is used in starch and 

 alcohol manufacture, and in Germany like conditions exist, with the 

 use of the potato for alcohol distillation promising to increase largely. 



It is the German national policy so to improve processes of culture 

 and manufacture that potato alcohol may rival, if not displace, petroleum 

 for lighting and fuel purposes. Various organizations are aiding in 

 this movement, including the Deutschen-Kartoflel-Kultur-Station and 

 the Institut fiir Gahrungsgewerbe und Stiirkefabrikation. These 

 institutions, maintained partly b}" private endowment and membership 

 and partly by government aid, have been in operation about fifteen 

 years. Under the directorship of Profs. C. von Eckenbrecher and 

 W. Delbriick, respectively, the}" give attention to all matters pertain- 

 ing to potato culture, starch manufacture, and distillation, including 

 the breeding, selecting, and trial of new varieties. The}" work in close 

 cooperation with the various German experiment stations and private 

 potato specialists. No similar institutions were met with elsewhere in 

 Europe, although the potato growers of England have organized dur- 

 ing the last year an association of much promise, the National Potato 

 Society. 



In any comparison of European with American varieties the diffei'- 

 ence in popular taste must be kept in mind. The English market is 

 like the American in giving preference to varieties with white flesh, 

 rich in starch, and in making little use of potatoes except for human 

 food. On the continent of Europe, however, only the varieties with 

 yellow flesh are rated as of first quality for table use. These are rela- 

 tively poor in starch and richer in protein than the white-fleshed varie- 

 ties, and when cooked they are not sufficiently dry and mealy to suit 

 the American taste. On the Continent the white-fleshed, starch- rich 

 potatoes are demanded by the starch factories and distilleries, and as a 

 result continental potato breeders have aimed to develop white-fleshed 

 varieties of high starch content and large productiveness, regardless 

 of table qualities, and anyone importing their varieties for use in 

 America must consider these facts. It is from England, therefore, 

 that we may expect the more promising varieties. 



It is worthy of note in this connection that the difi^erence in char- 

 acter of the potato in popular favor in different countries is closely 

 related to differences in methods of cooking. The varieties with yel- 

 low flesh are inclined to sogginess when baked or boiled, l)ut are admir- 

 ably suited for frying. The starch-rich white potato, which is of 



aSutton, A. W., Potatoes, Jour. Roy. Hort. Soc, XTX (189*^), pp. 387-430. 



