14 BULLETIlSr 695, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



10 years 1885-1894. This is the highest average consumption of 

 any 10-year period. In the next one the average consumption of 

 foreign potatoes fell to 1,401,000 bushels, and in 1905-1914 the aver- 

 age rose to 2,946,000 bushels. 



The foregoing averages, expressing consumption of foreign pota- 

 toes, are far from stating the fact understandingly, for the reason 

 that now and then a year of deficient production comes in which 

 there is relatively large importation, although in ordinary years the 

 importations are too small to have any perceptible effect upon 

 national consumption. Except in deficient years, there has been no 

 year in recent times in which the imported potatoes have amounted 

 ' to as much as 500,000 bushels, and the quantity has usually been 

 much less than that. 



In 1910, a year of adequate production, the imports of potatoes 

 were 219,000 bushels, but in the following year when there was a 

 short crop, the imports amounted to 13,729,000 bushels, the largest 

 amount by far ever reached. In the following year the imports fell 

 to 335,000 bushels, but again in 1913 there was some deficiency in 

 production and imports rose to 3,646,000 bushels. In 1914 nominal 

 imports of 370,000 bushels followed, in 1915, 209,000 bushels, and in 

 1916, 3,069,000 bushels. 



FOREIGN POTATOES AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL CONSUMPTION. 



Since the home-grown crop usually constitutes nearly the entire 

 consumption of potatoes in this country, it may be sufficient to con- 

 fine attention to the fraction consumed representing the foreign 

 potatoes, and omit references to the complementary percentages rep- 

 resenting the home-grown potatoes. In 1849 0.26 per cent of the 

 entire consumption of potatoes in this country was of foreign potatoes, 

 and the fraction declined to 0.2 per cent in the average for 1866- 

 1874. During the following 10 years the consumption of foreign 

 potatoes increased to 1.3 per cent of the total "consumption, and 

 during the next 10 years, 1885-1894, the average was 1.6 per cent. 

 Small though the percentages are, the average for the 10 years 

 1895-1904 declined to 0.5 per cent, followed by a slight increase to 

 0.9 per cent, the average for 1905-1914. In 1916 foreign potatoes 

 were 1.1 i^er cent of the entire national consumption. 



PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION. 



A conspicuous increase in the per capita consumption of potatoes in 

 this country in recent years is made to appear by computing averages 

 for 10-year periods. The average per capita consumption in 1849 

 was 2.92 bushels, and the quantity slightly decHned to 2.88 bushels 

 during 1866-1874. During the following ten years the consumption 

 increased to 3.25 bushels, after which there was a decline to 2.98 

 bushels in the subsequent 10-year period, followed by 3.46 bushels 



