242 



The Potato 



for the farmer to market the larger part of his crop at once 

 than for him to store it. Occasionally, however, the stor- 

 age of potatoes becomes very profitable. 



In 1914, with a crop of over 400,000,000 bushels, the 

 price of potatoes dropped during the winter. In 1915, 

 when w^eather conditions were unfavorable, and the crop 

 suffered badly in storage, prices went up rapidly during 

 the winter. The winter of 1915-1916 was one in which 

 stored potatoes of good quality brought a high price. The 

 following table of estimated values a bushel, taken from 

 the United States Government Monthly Crop Reports, 

 shows the range in price a bushel during the seasons men- 

 tioned : 



.Table XVII 



Crop Reports op 



Estimated Farm Values 



June 

 August 

 September 

 October 

 November 

 January- 

 March . 

 April 



Marketing the crop 



The methods of marketing the potato crop may be 

 simple, or they may become complicated, requiring several 

 handlings and the services of a number of persons. 



Probably the simplest method of marketing the crop is 

 for the farmer to sell directly to the consumer, either haul- 



