POTATO 



4794 



POTATO 



Harvesting may be done by hand or by 

 means of mechanical diggers. Owners of large 

 truck farms generally u<e machines drawn by 

 horses, which harvest from four to six acres a 

 day. at a cost of not more than two cents per 

 bushel. The ordinary typo of machine has a 

 shovel point which works into the ground, lifts 

 out the rows of potatoes and deposits them on 

 an elevator. The hitter shakes out the earth 

 and lt\i\(s the tiilu-rs on the ground behind 

 the machine. Various forms of plows are also 

 used, but these do not accomplish the same 

 results, as they leave too many potatoes undug. 

 Often new potatoes are dug by hand labor, as 

 their tender skins are easily injured by use of 

 machinery. 



Potatoes are subject to several forms of po- 

 tato rot, or blight, which attack leaves, stems 

 and tubers. One of the most effective measures 

 for checking these diseases is spraying the 

 young plants with Bordeaux mixture (see ar- 

 ticle INSECTICIDES AND FUNGICIDES.) The Con- 

 necticut Experiment Station, after thirteen 

 years of investigation, reported net gains of $15 

 per acre from the use of this mixture. Rota- 

 tion of crops, care in selecting seed pieces, 

 avoidance of infested soil and soaking seed 

 tubers in a solution of corrosive sublimate are 

 recommended as preventive measures. The 

 chief insect enemy of the potato is described in 

 the article POTATO BUG. 



Production. The figures on potato produc- 

 tion are so vast as to be almost meaningless, 



New York Michigan 



Wisconsin ^OIF/Th Minnesota 

 3l Iffi^ 30 



Maine dlOtok Pennsylvania 



Ontario tiMjfa Quebec 



Ohio 4$$$ Iowa 



l^+ 13 



Figures Represent Millions of Bushels 



PRODUCTION ILLUSTRATED 

 The figures represent the average crop during 

 two years in the United States and Canada, in the 

 principal potato-producing areas. 



for it is impossible to form a conception of the 

 six billion bushels which make up the world's 

 average yearly crop. Germany is first, in nor- 

 mal years, with nearly two billion bushels, 

 about thirty per cent of the world's total crop, 



ami with an average yield per acre which is 

 twice that of the United States. Russia ranks 

 second, with an average yield of more than a 

 billion bushels; Austria-Hungary is third, with 

 from six hundred to seven hundred millions, 

 about half what Russia produces; Franco, with 

 :i yii-ld of from four hundred to five hundred 

 million bushels, ranks fourth; the United States 

 takes fifth place, with from three hundred to 

 four hundred millions; and the United King- 



Carbohydrates, 18.4 



'Ash, 1.0 



FOOD VALUE OF BOILED POTATOES 

 As a heat producer the potato averages 440 

 calories per pound. This is slightly more than 

 many other vegetables, and it averages well with 

 most fish. The fuel value of eggs is twice 'as 

 great. 



dom is sixth, with from two hundred to three 

 hundred million bushels. Canada, with a very 

 high yield per acre from 130 to 180 bushels 

 produces from sixty to eighty million bushels. 



The value of the annual crop of the United 

 States is estimated at about $200,000,000. The 

 average yield per acre varies from ninety bush- 

 els to one hundred and nine. (The accompany- 

 ing chart shows the average annual production 

 of the leading states and provinces.) In quality 

 of product and average yield per acre, Aroos- 

 took County, Maine, is the banner section of 

 the United States. The retail price of potatoes 

 varies from sixty-five cents to one dollar a 

 bushel, in normal years, but a scarcity of supply 

 never fails to raise the price of this ever-popu- 

 lar commodity. In 1917, as the result of a short 

 crop and unsettled conditions of food distri- 

 bution, potatoes in the United States cost the 

 consumer in the neighborhood of a dollar a 

 peck. 



Food Value. Potatoes are an excellent food 

 for supplying energy because of their high per- 

 centage of carbohydrates, chiefly starch. An- 

 other point in their favor is the fact that nine- 

 tenths of their nutritive content can be readily 

 digested. About one-seventh of the food used 

 by the average American or Canadian family 

 consists of potato in one form or another 



