348 



Journal op the Department op Agriculture. 



.r . ^ Total T» 1. u Phosphorus 



Variety. ,jr ■ ,.. Potash. ^ J ■ -, 



Weight. Pentoxide. 



ft. ft. ft. 



Vines — 



White Gilkes 10,080 ' 34 22 



Hurley 6,421 25 13 



Minuet 10,501 58 36 



Vincelonian 3,678 15 10 



rvhers — 



Wliite Gilkes. Hurley. Minuet. Vincelonian. 



Water 63.79 66.03 66.83 61.36 



Protein* 99 1.75 1.58 1.88 



Fat 65 .42 .55 .76 



Nitrogen-free 



extract t ... 32.30 29.58 38.61 33.77 



Fibre 1.09 .92 .97 1.13 



Ash 1.18 1.30 1.46 1.10 



Vines — 



Ash ."..22 3.49 3.41 4.26 



The following percentages of })ntash and {phosphorus pentoxide 

 were found in the ash: — 



Tubers — 



White Gilkes. Hurley. Minuet. Vincelonian. 



Potash 27.97 36.15 28.77 28.18 



Phosphoric oxide 11.86 13.85 15.07 17.27 



Vines — 



Potash 10.56 11.18 16.13 9.62 



Phosphoric oxide 6.83 5.73 9.97 6.57 



Productiox of Alcohol. 



In Germany, at the beginning of last century, most of the alc()h;d 

 manufactured used to be derived from grain, that is to say, from 

 starchy material, but as the common or Irish potato was found to 

 give a heavier yield of starch, and at lower cost than any other crop, 

 it came in course of time to replace grain, and was the general source 

 of German industrial alcohol before the late war. The cultivation 

 of potatoes for this purpose was carried out on the co-operative 

 principle ; there were what are called farmer-distilleries jointly owned 

 by participating agriculturists, and the spent wash and still residues 

 were returned to the farms, where they were utilized to feed the 

 cattle, being rich in protein substances. 



It is easy to see that this system of alcohol production encourages 

 cattle breeding on the participating farms. Before the war there 

 were about three-quarters of a million distilleries of the above type 

 in Germany, turning out, in addition to their alcohol, huge quantities 

 of cheap and nutritious cattle food, and the cattle thus provided for 

 supplied the potato farms with proportionate quantities of a manure 



* Appears as " Albuminoids" and "Amides" in original, 

 t Appears as " Starch " in original. 



