246 The Potato 



Late potatoes are usually shipped in burlap sacks, 

 holding two bushels. Sometimes flour barrels are used, 

 and occasionally the potatoes are shipped in bulk in car- 

 load lots. 



Shipping 



When potatoes are shipped in bulk, it is necessary to 

 line the whole car with lumber. If the potatoes are 

 bagged, it is not necessary to line the car, but a false floor 

 must be put in. It costs the local dealer ordinarily a 

 little over $30 to line a car. 



In the winter, it is necessary to heat the cars, and a man 

 has to be sent along with the car to regulate the heat. 

 Here again the larger dealer has the advantage, since he 

 can ship several cars at once and reduce the cost of heating. 



Water transportation plays an important part in the 

 shipment of early potatoes from the southern states to 

 the larger cities of the North. 



Most of our potatoes are raised near the larger towns and 

 cities, and the distances of shipment are relatively small. 

 Chicago receives potatoes from Michigan, Illinois, and 

 Wisconsin, a large part of her supply coming from the last 

 state mentioned. New York and Philadelphia get pota- 

 toes from New York state. New England, Long Island, 

 New Jersey and the southern Atlantic states. Only a 

 few states raise potatoes for interstate shipment. Taylor 

 says that three-fourths of the potatoes grown are consumed 

 in the states which raised them. Maine raises 25 per cent 

 of the potatoes for interstate shipment, Michigan 24 per 

 cent, Wisconsin 20 per cent, Minnesota 16 per cent and 

 Colorado 8 per cent. 



After reaching the city in which they are to be marketed, 

 the potatoes may take any one of several courses to the 



