160 THE POTATO 



be used down to a size as small as one inch in 

 diameter. Crops often run from 10 to 33 per 

 cent, of potatoes under two inches in diameter, 

 and the difference between profit and loss is con- 

 tained in this part. The economy of the world's 

 food supply seems to demand that they be utilized. 



Potatoes that can be marketed at home, with- 

 out incurring transportation, middlemen and 

 retail expense, make the most net money for the 

 grower. Local market places where seller and 

 buyer could meet would be a benefit to both. The 

 net price at the farm after deducting charges 

 above the cost of growing often leaves the pro- 

 ducer only 25 to 75 per cent, of the retail price. 

 When a potato farm is a long distance from mar- 

 ket or railroad shipping point and the roads are 

 bad, the wagon haul is a large item of expense 

 because of the great per acre weight of the crop. 



Following are some interesting marketing ideas 

 from "Farmers' Bulletin 386": "Potato Culture 

 on Irrigated Farms of the West," by E. H. Grubb, 

 transmitted December 30, 1909: "In deciding 

 what kind of potatoes to plant, the grower should 

 study the conditions and demands of the market. 

 He should grow a medium-sized potato. On 

 rich land the potatoes planted eight inches apart 

 in the row will yield not only a great tonnage, but 

 tubers of more desirable size. There are few mar- 

 kets, except in the South, that will pay a high 

 price for large potatoes. Our methods of packing 

 and marketing potatoes have been and are yet 

 for the most part, more crude than those used 

 with other products. By the time they get to the 

 consumer they are more or less bruised or crushed. 

 The writer has thought of crating potatoes and 

 developing that idea in Denver and New York. 



