3<d Preparation of Alcohol from Potatoes, [april, 



potatoes, and the production was confined to the eastern district. 

 The west of Germany buys potatoes for food, both of man and 

 beast ; the east of Germany, less thickly populated, produces 

 a surplus, and sells part of this to the west, the principal 

 amount of the surplus being, however, converted into alcohol, 

 although it is also used for making starch. In some districts 

 50 per cent, of the potato harvest is devoted to the preparation 

 of alcohol. Roughly speaking, about 4 per cent, of the total 

 cultivated area of the empire is under potatoes. The amount 

 grown on the different holdings and the distribution of these 

 holdings vary, of course, greatly ; the proportions range from 

 0*5 per cent, to 85 per cent., and about three-fourths of the 

 whole German production of alcohol is produced in the country 

 east of the Elbe. 



In 1831,492,000 tons of potatoes and 6,400,000 bushels of 

 grain were converted into alcohol, yielding about 26,400,000 

 gallons of alcohol. These figures remained stationary until 

 about 1855. By 1885 the production had risen to about 

 88,000,000 gallons, of which about a quarter was exported. 

 This is the period when Liebig's discoveries were disseminated. 

 This amount fell to 60,500,000 gallons in 1889 owing to foreign 

 competition, the loss of several foreign markets, and internal 

 taxation. This last difficulty was overcome by new fiscal 

 regulations, placing heavy duties on alcohol for consumption 

 and reducing the duties on alcohol for technical purposes. The 

 consumption of alcohol for technical purposes consequently rose 

 from almost nothing in i860 to nearly 22,000,000 gallons in 

 1898. The total production of alcohol in 1898 was 72,600,000 

 gallons. 



The manufacture of alcohol from potatoes is mainly an 

 agricultural industry, that is to say, the greater part of the 

 spirit is made in distilleries situated on the farms ; there are 

 only a few industrial distilleries situated in towns. 



Of tLe total amount produced in 1898, 49,720,000 gallons 

 were consumed in Germany (about 9*2 gallons per head of 

 population), 19,800,000 gallons were used for industrial pur- 

 poses, and only 836,000 gallons were exported. The total 

 amount was derived principally from 2,260,000 tons of potatoes 

 which yielded about 57,200,000 gallons. 



