POTATOES : ACREAGE, PEODUCTIOISr, ETC. 5 



PRODUCTION. 



QUANTITY. 



The first census report of potato production was 65,798,000 bushels 

 raised in 1849; by 1859 the crop had become 111,100,000 bushels. 

 The yield was 201,200,000 bushels in 1889, and 394,553,000 bushels 

 in 1909, a production that was subsequently exceeded only by the 

 estimated production of 420,647,000 bushels m 1912, 409,921,000 

 bushels in 1914, and 442,536,000 bushels in 1917. 



Since 1899 the years of low potato production were 1901 with 

 198,626,000 bushels, 1911 with 292,737,000 bushels, and 1916 with 

 286,953,000 bushels. The average yearly production of the 10 years, 

 1905-1914, was 343,394,000 bushels. 



BY GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS. 



The geographic distribution of the potato crop among the differ- 

 ent sections of the country in each census year and in 1912 and 

 1916, years of high and low production, has undergone interesting 

 changes. If the crop of each geographic division is represented by a 

 percentage of the total crop of the United States for each year, it 

 appears that the New England crop declmed relatively from 19.2 

 per cent of the national production in 1859 to 6.2 per cent in 1889; 

 this latter percentage was nearly doubled in 1916, and there are in- 

 dications that New England is tending toward a larger fraction of the 

 national production. 



On the other hand, the Middle Atlantic States have declined from 

 38.1 per cent of the national production in 1859 to 18.1 per cent in 

 1916. From 1869 to 1912 the East North Central States maintained 

 approximately the same relative position in potato production, or 

 about 28 to 35 per cent of the entire production, but the West North 

 Central States increased their relative production from 7 per cent in 

 1859 to 26.6 per cent m 1889, followed by decline on the whole to 

 17.9 per cent in 1916. 



Marked relative increase of potato production is foimd in the 

 South Atlantic States, where the percentage remained nearly con- 

 stant at about 4 until 1899, after which it increased strongly to 11 

 per cent in 1916. Tendency to increase is found also in the East 

 South Central States from 1899 to 1916, although the fraction is 

 comparatively small, ranging from 1.8 per cent in 1899 to 3.4 per 

 cent in 1916, or for the latter year about the same percentage as for 

 1859. In the West South Central States also the percentage is 

 small, but it has increased from 0.9 per cent in 1859 to 2.5 per cent 

 in 1916. 



West of the Great Plains relative potato production has conspicu- 

 ously increased. In the Mountain region relative production has 

 been from almost nothing in 1859 to 8.9 per cent in 1916, and m the 



