CHAPTER XIV 

 USES OF THE POTATO 



The potato is one of the most important vegetable 

 foods. Its rise in popularity since its introduction into 

 Europe has been very rapid. At first the tubers were 

 regarded as poisonous, and only a few of the more ven- 

 turesome dared to eat them. When these men found the 

 potato to be edible, the people of France and Germany 

 began to plant it as a reserve food in case other crops 

 failed. By 1770 it had become a common field crop in 

 Europe. These potatoes, however, were usually small 

 in size and of poor quality, and for this reason they were 

 used principally as a food for animals. The possibilities 

 of improving the crop were soon learned, and by 1840 it 

 was being widely used as a substitute for the cereals and 

 other starchy foods. In 1900 it was estimated that the 

 potato furnishes about ^ of the total food consumed in 

 the United States. 



Although it is primarily a food crop, the potato has a 

 great variety of uses (see Plate XVI). For a long time it 

 was the chief source of commercial starch, and although 

 cornstarch is now preferred, the starch of the potato 

 is still used in large quantities to make sizing for paper 

 and textiles. Another important use for potatoes is in 

 the manufacture of industrial alcohol. This industry is 

 almost unknown in this country, but in Europe it has 

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