10 BULLETIIST 47, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



have already noted that the principal uses made of the potato, aside 

 from home consumption, are as stock food, for starch making, for 

 the manufacture of alcohol, and for drying. That potatoes may be 

 profitably used for feeding to swine is indicated by the fact that 

 nearly 40 per cent of the entire German production is now so used. 

 Observation of the German feeding practices shows that the potato 

 is, however, merely one component of a carefully planned ration. 

 The potatoes are cooked and mixed with various farm by-products, 

 such as skim milk, barley waste, linseed meal, peanut meal, etc. The 

 quantity of potatoes recommended to be fed daily to each hog does 

 not exceed 10 pounds. It is estimated that potatoes have a value of 

 25 cents per bushel for direct feeding. The difficulty in American 

 potato districts is that the agriculture is not yet sufficiently diversi-' 

 tied ; the swine are not there to be fed. This will, however, be over- 

 come as time passes and farm practices become better organized; 

 then very large quantities of potatoes could be so utilized. 



STARCH. 



A certain quantity of potato starch is used in this country for 

 sizing in cotton mills, for which purpose it is preferred to corn- 

 starch. We have produced an average of 20,000,000 pounds of potato 

 starch annually and have made large annual importations from 

 Germany in addition. In 1910 there were imported 10,606,200 pounds 

 of starch and 4,424,200 pounds of potato dextrin. 



The manufacture of starch from potatoes in this country is at 

 present confined to the utilization of culls and of potatoes unfit for 

 storage or shipment because of partial infection with tuber rot. The 

 margin of profit is not large, in spite of a protective tariff of one 

 cent per pound. The factories are able to run only six weeks in -the 

 year, and the interest and other overhead charges are therefore high. 

 It seems possible to make some economic improvements in this 

 system by introducing new factory methods, and the quantity of po- 

 tatoes used could be increased, especially in districts remote from the 

 markets, where a more rigid sorting should be practiced before ship- 

 ment and "all inferior potatoes kept at home. This Avould not only 

 tend to reduce freight charges, but would give the consumer in a 

 distant market a grade of potatoes which would waste much less in 

 preparation for the table and for which a relatively higher price 

 could be paid than for the present unsorted shipments. There is a 

 possibility also that a method may be worked out for drying culled 

 and surplus potatoes on the farm and the dried product later used 

 for starch making. The total quantity required would, nevertheless, 

 not make a large impression on a surplus potato crop. 



