HARVESTING AND MARKETING 85 



HARVESTING AND MARKETING. 



CHAPTER VII. 



HE first step in the grading of potatoes takes us 

 back to the selection of seed. Unless good seed 

 is selected to produce the crop, we cannot expect 



a yield of good marketable potatoes. The few 



potatoes produced from poor seed vary so greatly in size and 

 shape and are of such poor quality that twice the amount 

 of work is required to grade. However, it is just such poor 

 stock that is generally found in the stores and markets, and, 

 consequently, must be sold for a low price. If a strict sys- 

 tem of seed selection and grading of the stock was used, a 

 better price could be demanded, and the consumer would 

 gladly pay the extra cost for the better quality. 



The general lot of potatoes found on the market are 

 poor in quality, small, diseased, and, therefore, lacking in 

 food value. The loss to the consumer, as well as the buyer 

 and producer, is great, being about 50 per cent, whereas, po- 

 tatoes grown from good, well-sorted seed are not only more 

 palatable, but there is a very small per cent of waste. 



When a potato is cut lengthwise, in the center will be 

 seen a layer resembling the trunk of a tree, with branches 



