SOLANUM 



TUBEROSUM 

 Bombay 



Yield. 



THE POTATO 



Bombay. 



Area. 



Irrigation. 



Harvest. 



Cost. 



Yield. 



Uses. 



Production on 

 the Hills. 



Hindus. 



Muhammadans. 



Cooked 

 Potatoes Sold. 



Starch. 

 Alcohol. 



Prices. 



of Madras! and hill varieties amounted to 13,527 Ib. and 8,546 Ib. respec- 

 tively, while the average for five years for country red amounted to 13,119 

 Ib. [Cf. Nevill, Dist. Gaz., 1904, iv., 46 ; 1904, xxxiv., 56, 63, 150, etc. ; 

 Cawnpore Exper. Farm Repts. (several years).] 



Bombay. The potato is grown to a small extent on garden lands in 

 all parts of the Presidency. The chief cultivation, however, is in the 

 Poona district, which, according to Mollison, claims 75 per cent, of the total 

 area. The following is the method of cultivation which he says is there 

 pursued : The soil is mixed black, and the field usually fallowed during 

 the rains. The land is ploughed two or three times between June and 

 September and farm-yard manure, 15 to 20 tons per acre, applied before 

 the third ploughing. The crop is planted in October. Tubers of medium 

 size are selected for sets, and 900 Ib. to 1,100 Ib. of potatoes furnish sets 

 sufficient to plant an acre. The tubers are each cut into three or four 

 pieces and are planted 7 to 8 inches apart, in furrows 9 to 10 inches distant. 

 The crop must be weeded and irrigation given every eight days. In 

 March the haulms begin to wither and turn brown, and water is now 

 withheld for a fortnight or three weeks. When gathering the crop, the 

 potatoes are exposed by ploughing, first along the rows, then across. 

 According to Mollison, an average crop in Poona tested by himself gave an 

 outturn of 10,230 Ib. per acre, worth Ks. 201. The cost of cultivation, 

 estimated for the Surat district, is stated to be Rs. 130-8 per acre, and an 

 average outturn of about 12,000 Ib. to be worth Rs. 200 (at wholesale 

 rate of 60 Ib. per rupee). [Cf. Crop Exper. Repts. ; Repts. Dept. Land 

 Rec. and Agri. ; Exper. Farm Repts. Poona ; Mollison, Textbook Ind. 

 Agri., 1901, iii., 200-6.] 



Uses. It is much to be regretted that no sort of statistical information 

 can be furnished regarding the extent of cultivation of potatoes nor the 

 magnitude of the traffic in these tubers throughout India. As already 

 mentioned, within access of the great markets of the plains it is customary 

 to find large plots of suitable land thrown under the crop, during the season 

 of the year that may be suitable. And on the hills the cultivation is even 

 more extensive, such as on the Khasia and Garo hills, and the Himalaya 

 at Darjeeling, Nepal, Garhwal, Kumaon, Simla, Kangra, Kullu and 

 Kashmir. So also on the tableland and lower hills of the central tracts of 

 India, such as the Nilgiri hills, Bangalore, etc., extensive potato cultiva- 

 tion exists, the produce being largely exported to the plains. 



As an article of food, potatoes are now valued by all classes, especially 

 the Hindus on days when forbidden the use of grain. At first potatoes 

 were eaten by the Muhammadans and Europeans only, but for some years 

 past they have got into universal usage, and it is now no uncommon cir- 

 cumstance to find cooked potatoes offered for sale at refreshment stalls, 

 in various cold preparations, to be eaten along with so-called sweetmeats 

 that form the midday meal of the city communities. The dried small 

 tubers are also a common adulterant for the more expensive salep. Po- 

 tatoes are also fairly extensively employed both in the manufacture of 

 starch and in the distillation of alcohol. Ligon (Hist. Barbados, 1657, 31) 

 speaks of the beverage called mobbie being made from potatoes. The 

 knowledge of their possible employment in distillation is thus by no 

 means a recent discovery. 



The following are the returns of the wholesale prices per maund (82 Ib.) 

 of potatoes in Calcutta during January of the years 1900-6 : 1900, Rs. 2 ; 



1030 



