298 THE POTATO 





"In these days of rising values for all meat prod- 

 ucts there is a prospect that the newly introduced 

 process will aid materially in decreasing the cost 

 of cattle raising in various sections of the empire, 

 where stock raisers are largely dependent upon 

 fodder transported from a distance." 



The manufacture of desiccated potatoes has 

 been started in the United States. 



C. F. Langworthy, in "Farmers' Bulletin 295," 

 says: 



"Potatoes are so valuable in the diet that 

 many attempts have been made to put them into 

 a compact form in which they can be kept for a 

 long time. This is usually accomplished by drying 

 them, which both preserves them from decay and 

 reduces their bulk. One of the oldest of such prep- 

 arations is one long used in Peru and known as 

 chunno. To make it, part of the juice is pressed 

 out of the potatoes, which are then dried in the air 

 until they are reduced to about one fourth of their 

 original weight. There is a variety of similar prep- 

 arations in American and European markets, and 

 although the mode of procedure diflFers consider- 

 ably in the various brands the main principle is 

 the same — namely, to check bacterial action. The 

 changes which we call decay are caused mainly by 

 the development of bacteria. These can repro- 

 duce only where there is moisture and warmth 

 present. Therefore, if the moisture is removed, 

 their growth is retarded. The fact that the bulk 

 of the potatoes is reduced at the same time is 

 especially advantageous because such dried prep- 

 arations are used mainly for camping expeditions, 

 long sea voyages, and under other conditions where 



