Ieish Potatoes. 121 



lEISH POTATOES. 



This is a crop which is grown extensively in almost all 

 parts of the world; in fact, it is relied upon in a great 

 many countries as their chief food crop. In Great Brit- 

 ain and Ireland, the latter more particularly, "it is the 

 main food crop. In the United States it is grown every- 

 where, but is used more extensively in the North than it is 

 in the South. The crop is grown in the Northern States in 

 late summer, and is stored away for winter use. The 

 old crop remains on the market frequently as late as the 

 middle of May. Sometimes the bulk of it disappears 

 earlier but the supply of old potatoes always has a per- 

 ceptible effect on prices of the new crop from the South. 

 The size of the crop of old potatoes has very much to do 

 in effecting the price of Southern grown stock and truck- 

 ers may be guided to some extent in their calculations for 

 planting by the government crop report on potatoes, 

 which can be safely consulted in October 1st bulletin, or 

 Crop Eeporter. If the crop of the year preceding the 

 one in which it is contemplated potatoes vnll be planted, 

 is unusually large, or above normal, it would not be ad- 

 visable to plant potatoes to any large extent. However, 

 if there is a sbort crop of old potatoes, which can be as- 

 certained from the Crop Eeporter about the first of Octo- 

 ber, then it is nearly always a safe proposition to plant 

 potatoes. However, the price of this crop rarely ever 

 reaches a high iharket unless it is for the first that appear 

 in the market, for which there is always a limit in de- 



