r98 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1 



POTATOES FOR COOKING INSTEAD OF PLANT- 

 ING. 



I extract the following' from the Country 

 Gentle})ian. Of course, they were kind 

 enoug'h to send me the cut that g-oes along- 

 with it. 



A vast amount of literature has been written in re- 

 cent years on how potatoes should be planted and cul- 

 tivated and sprayed in order to insure a large crop. 

 It would seem that now attention might well be turn- 

 ed to the growing of potatoes which should pr.ssess 

 good quality. This matter has been called forcibly to 

 my attention during the past winter, when having oc- 

 casion to purchase potatoes from the store It has 

 been almost impossible to secure any which possessed 

 first-class cooking quality. 



Most people know a good potato when thej' eat it, 

 but all are not familiar with the conditions which pro- 

 duce the good qualities, and neither are they familiar 

 with the inherent princ pies upon which quality de- 

 pends. When a dish of nicely boiled potatoes is 

 brought upon the taole, we have come to recognize 

 the white, flaky, mealy potato as one which will eat 

 well, and we also recognize in the sogg}', close-grain- 

 ed potato one of poor quality. Very much depends 

 on the variety of potato grown for a variety which 

 possesses good quality in one section may be very in- 

 ferior in another. The Carman No 3 is one of the 

 best varieties grown in Central New York, but we have 

 been informed that in Central Pennsylvania its quali- 

 ty is not good. The Rural New-Yorker No. 2 while 

 one of the best yielders, has with us not much to rec- 

 ommend it in way of quality. 



If potatoes then are to be grown for quality, care 

 must be taken first to learn what varieties possess 

 the best quality in the immediate section. But a small 

 part of the problem is solved when the variety is de- 



tato sells as well as another. This is not strictly true. 

 Last October the potato crop at Cornell University 

 was harvested and sold in the local market direct from 

 the field for 60 cents per bushel. There was a greater 

 demand for them than could be supplied. Farmers 

 are to day bringing potatoes to the same market and 

 selling them for 40 cents per bushel. We believe it 

 will pay a farmer to make a special effort to grow 

 good potatoes, and that in every market there can be 

 created a demand for potatoes possessing special quali- 

 ty. Once this demand is created, it will not be satis- 

 fied with the watery, soggy potatoes grown upon clay 

 soils, but there will be required a "mealy," dry pota- 

 to, which wheu properly cooked is fit for'a king. 



I can indorse every word of the above. 

 We grow potatoes for seed, or mainly so; 

 but all the time we have orders for choice 

 potatoes for cooking purposes only, and usti- 

 ally from people who say they are willing 

 to pay a big- price if they can only get some 

 potatoes that will cook up dry and mealy, 

 like the plateful in the picttxre. Bj^ the way, 

 it has many times made me feel sad to see 

 that our high-priced hotels and restaurants 

 do not seem to have any comprehension of 

 what a g-ood potato is. We pay the big-g-est 

 kind of prices, and alinost every thing else 

 is extra fine; but potatoes, especially the 

 baked ones, are only once in a great while 

 equal to what we find on the average farm- 

 er's table. Why, it just makes me hung-ry 

 every tiine I look at that plate of potatoes. 

 When I am sampling new varieties for qual- 

 ity, I often watch the process of cooking; 

 that is, I g^et a potato on my plate, one like 

 those seen in the picture, give it a sprinkle 

 of salt and pepper, and then drop a little 

 butter on it while the potato is hot; and is 

 there in the whole round of food products 



DISH OF POTATOES PROPERLY COOKRD 



cided upon ; for the best variety when grown upon 

 improper potato-soil, or with poor care, will be defi- 

 cient in quality. The ideal soil for potatoes is the 

 sandy or gravelly loam ; and where such a soil is se- 

 lected and the growing crop well cared for, no diffi- 

 culty will be experienced. A large yield can be se- 

 cured by growing the tubers in a clay or claj'-loam 

 soil, but they will not possess the best quality. 



The per cent of starch and the per cent of dry mat- 

 ter in the tubers determine largely whether they will 

 cook well. Starch is manufactured in the leaves of 

 the plants, under the action of sunlight, and from the 

 leaves it is conveyed to and stored in the tubers. If 

 the " bugs" or "blight " or leaf flea-beetles are per- 

 mitted to impair the vigor of the foliage the starch- 

 manufacturing organs are weakened, and the quality 

 of the tuber grown may suffer theretjy. 



The assertion is frequently made that it will not pay 

 the farmer to grow potatoes for quality ; that one po- 



any thing more satisfying and delicious 

 than a real nice potato ? 



Our friend is right in regard to soils. 

 We get great yields on our clay grotmds; 

 but the quality — that is, when they are dug- 

 in the fall — is never equal to that of pota- 

 toes g-rown by my cousin in Summit Co., or 

 in the sandy soil of Northern Michig-an. 

 Manj^ of our potatoes, however, that are 

 not first-class in the fall are all right in the 

 spring. The New Craig is one of them. 

 Another thing, certain potatoes will be nice 

 one season and not the next. The Mills 

 Prize, g-rown on our clay soil here in Medi- 



