12 BULLETIN 695, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
FOREIGN TRADE SURPLUS. 
' QUANTITY. 
Previous to 1895 the imports of potatoes more generally exceeded 
the exports of domestic potatoes than they were exceeded by them, 
but subsequent to the year mentioned the more frequent fact is an 
excess of domestic exports over imports of potatoes. These remarks 
apply in a consideration of the separate years, but in a consideration 
of periods of years the imports exceed the domestic exports for every 
eroup except 1866-1874. The reason why the character of the indi- 
vidual years in later time is contradicted by the character of the 
later groups of years is found in the comparatively large imports of 
a few years when the production was deficient. The more common 
fact since 1895 is that the United States is a surplus country in 
potato production, and yet this country never had a surplus of 
potatoes amounting to 1,000,000 bushels in any year previous to 
1906. For that year the surplus was 1,354,000 bushels; for 1910 the 
surplus was 2,165,000 bushels; for 1914 it was 2,866,000 bushels, and 
for 1915 it was 3,809,000 bushels, the highest amount ever reached. 
On the other hand, the excess of imports has run as high as 12,492,000 
bushels in 1911, and amounted to more than 7,000,000 bushels in 
each of the years 1901 and 1908. 
The surplus of foreign trade movement of potatoes, whether 
surplus imports or surplus domestic exports, makes’a small ratio to 
population, in no case amounting to as much as one-tenth of 1 bushel 
except in, 1881, when the ratio of surplus imports was 0.163 of 1 
bushel, and in 1887 and 1911, with the same ratio, 0.133 of 1 bushel. 
These were years of extraordinary potato imports on account of def 
cient production. 
VALUE OF SURPLUS. 
The value of the surplus imports of potatoes over the domestic 
exports, found in every group of years except 1865-1874, in no 
instance reaches an amount higher than $950,000, the average for 
1885-1894. The average value for 1895-1904 was $160,000, and for 
1905-1914 it was $208,000. . 
PERCENTAGE OF PRODUCTION. 
In no year does the quantity of the surplus exports of domestic 
potatoes over the imports amount to as much as 1 per cent of the 
production, except 1.06 per cent in 1915, and in no 10-year period 
is there a surplus of domestic exports except in 1866-1874, for which 
period the surplus is 0.24 per cent of the production. 
The surplus imports of potatoes have run as high as 7.68 per cent 
of the production, this figure being for 1881; but usually the per- 
centage has been below 1. For the 10-year groups of years the sur- 
