THE POTATO 121 



before frost. Potatoes are annuals in all regions where 

 the soil freezes during the winter. 



Tubers. Examine a tuber. Note the distribution of 

 the "eyes." These contain the buds from which the new 

 plants are produced. The end at which they are thickest 

 is called the "seed" end, and the other the "stem" end. 

 At which end is the tuber attached to the roots of the 

 plant? Are some potatoes more deeply indented at the 

 eyes, and more irregular in shape than others? Which are 

 more desirable for cooking? Why? Which have the bet- 

 ter market demand? 



Though there are hundreds of wild plants belonging to 

 the same genus as potatoes, comparatively few of these are 

 known as cultivated plants. Among the most closely related 

 cultivated plants are the tomato and tobacco, which belong 

 to the same family; the dasheen is grown in the South 

 as a substitute for potatoes. 



2. Potatoes as a Farm Crop 



After corn, cotton, hay, wheat and oats, potatoes are one 

 of our most valuable crops. They are raised in every state, 

 though the chief potato region consists of ten or fifteen 

 northern states reaching from the Missouri River eastward 

 to the Atlantic. More than three million acres are planted 

 with potatoes in the United States each year. The annual 

 crop is nearly three hundred and fifty million bushels, or 

 about four bushels to every inhabitant. 



The potato region. The following are the fifteen 

 states which, according to federal statistics, produced the 

 largest amount of potatoes for the period 1902-1911, to- 

 gether with the percentage of the entire crop of the United 

 States grown by each: 



