THE POTATO 509 



"It IS difficult to set an exact value on the po- 

 tato used in the potato-flour industry. Some 

 factories buy them by the hectolitre (2.837 

 bushels) without paying any attention to the 

 quahty, while others grade them according to the 

 amount of starch contained. However, it is 

 estimated that at an average of $0.34 per hec- 

 tolitre the value of potatoes ground into flour in 

 one season would be $3,400,000. Calculating 

 roughly, one hectolitre of potatoes produces 

 eleven kilos of flour (8.54 pounds to the bushel). 

 A conservative estimate of the total production 

 of potato flour in the Netherlands for one season is 

 110,000 metric tons of 2,204.6 pounds. The price 

 per bag of 100 kilos (220.46 pounds) has varied in 

 the last few years from $3.60 to $5.20. An average 

 price of $4.40 per bag would bring the total value 

 of the manufactured product up to $4,840,000 per 

 season, $1,440,000 more than the cost of the raw 

 potatoes. 



"It would seem bad business for farmers to 

 pay a rent of $122.50 per acre, fertilize to the ex- 

 tent of $10 or $15, and sell 380 bushels of potatoes 

 per acre at $0.12 to $0.15 per bushel, but it should 

 be understood that the most valuable land, highly 

 fertilized, produces much more than the average. 



"The potato flour exported from the Nether- 

 lands goes to Great Britain, Spain, Belgium, 

 Italy, the free port of Hamburg, Denmark, and 

 the United States and Canada. The United 

 States imported $38,000 worth of dextrin and 

 potato flour from the Netherlands in 1910. Eng- 

 land and Belgium are perhaps the best customers. 

 Exports have grown from 35,933 metric tons in 

 1898 to 64,000 tons in 1909. 



*' There are altogether thirty-two potato-flour 



