A STUDY OF THE FACTORS INFLUENCING THE 

 IMPROVEMENT OF THE POTATO* 



BY EDWARD M. EAST. 



INTRODUCTION 



Either because it possesses no strong flavor to dull the appetite, 

 or possibly on account of its antiscorbutic properties, the common 

 potato Solatium tuber osum L,., has overcome seemingly insurmount- 

 able obstacles in its claim upon the public taste and has become a 

 close rival to our cereal staff of life. The high cost of production 

 and general uncertainty of the return, combined with the cost of 

 transportation of a perishable, bulky product, would seem to be ad- 

 verse factors which might preclude any general increase in grow- 

 ing the crop. Such has not been the case, however, and the 

 potato, like other crops, has increased greatly in a6reage in lo- 

 calities best suited to it, notably the sandy soils of the northern 

 states. These soils seem to be so pre-eminently fitted for its growth 

 that the crops are highly profitable even after deducting the cost of 

 shipping long distances. During the last ten years,* * the six states 

 of Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa 

 have furnished an average of one-half of the total crop of the 

 United States. In other sections of the country where the growing 

 of large crops is more unlikely from natural reasons, as inhospitable 

 soil or climate, the cost of production has been high, and over- 

 production at times (as in 1895-6) has had a very disastrous effect 

 upon the price, occasioning great loss to the producer. This state 

 of affairs is in a great measure due to the fact that in these sec- 

 tions the acreage per grower is small, and the business is not suf- 

 ficiently organized to make possible long distance shipping, which 

 would partially overcome the great local fluctuation in price. 



The annual consumption of potatoes per -capita in the United 

 States for a period of thirty years is given by the Twelfth Census 

 as three and one-half bushels, and when the amount available for 

 human consumption is smaller than this, as has bee v n the case in 

 the last few years, the price precludes their use for other purposes. 



*Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Illinois in partial 

 fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, March, 1907. 



**U. S. Dept. of Agri. Yearbook, 1905. 



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