THE POTATO CROP. 313 



consequent cost of transportation, it does not come in competi- 

 tion with the products of the fertile prairies. In raising corn 

 and wheat we may not be able to keep abreast with our Western 

 friends, but in raising potatoes we have the advantage. It has 

 been feared by some that our home production might glut the 

 market, but the fact that the price has risen as steadily as the 

 production has increased may well banish this fear. We w^ell 

 remember when the price of a bushel of potatoes ranged from 

 a Yankee shilling to twenty-five cents ; and when the price ran 

 up to half-a-dollar it was feared that potatoes would be consid- 

 ered a luxury only to be afforded by the rich. Many looked 

 for a substitute, and tried turnips and rice ; but nothing was 

 found to fill the place of this valued esculent. Now that the 

 price in ]\Iassachusetts averages at the farmer's door seventy-five 

 cents, and in the retail markets of the city over a dollar per 

 bushel, the consumption is far greater than when the price was 

 one-fourth of this sum. 



By the United States census of 1860, the amount raised in 

 the whole country was 110,571,201 bushels, of which 99,000,000, 

 or nearly nine-tenths of the whole, were grown in the free States. 

 Estimating the price at fifty cents per bushel, the proceeds from 

 potatoes alone would have been, in round numbers, ^55,000, 000 ; 

 and then this crop ranked fourth among the edible vegetable 

 productions of the country, wheat, corn and oats being more 

 valuable. At present prices, and with the present production, 

 the estimate for the whole country must be over f 100,000,000. 



The potato was formerly used extensively in fattening stock ; 

 but the enhanced price since the potato disease first made its 

 appearance, some twenty-five years since, forbids such disposal 

 at the present time. If a farmer should now feed 100 to 150 

 bushels of potatoes, — for such was the allowance for fattening a 

 yoke of oxen, — he would find it difiicult to get his money back. 

 The small potatoes may, however, still be fed to cattle with 

 advantage. 



As an article of diet, the potato compares better w' ith l)read 

 than any other edible vegetable grown in temperate climates. 

 Like bread, it is farinaceous, free from marked taste, and thus 

 is adapted to all tastes, and is fitted to be cooked and eaten with 

 almost every otiier variety of food. Some object to the potato 

 because it is so tasteless, but the same objection would hold good 



40 



