THE POTATO QUARANTINE. 19 
The quarantine law is, however, not the best means of controlling 
diseases already existent within our borders, for it does not provide 
authority for quarantining a single farm or a limited district in one 
of the States except as to interstate shipments. It is, therefore, of 
the highest importance that each State enact legislation authorizing 
the proper State officials to search for suspected cases of new or 
dangerous diseases and empowering them in the event of their dis- 
covery within the State to destroy infected stock or material, to put 
under quarantine the areas involved, and to take other measures 
needed to prevent the spread of the trouble. In some States such 
laws exist for nursery stock, but they do not always cover potatoes. 
It is particularly in States doing a large business in seed potatoes that 
such legislation is needed. 
The fact that many diseases, like the black-leg, dry-rot, scab, and 
eelworm, are scattered far and wide on infected seed also makes 
necessary some community or State action to control these troubles 
at the source by stimulating the growing of seed potatoes as a special 
business and by establishing a system of inspection and certification 
that will provide a means by which distant purchasers can be guar- 
anteed the freedom from disease of potato seed stock purchased, as 
well as its varietal purity and vigor. 
At present, the consumer shares the loss from potato diseases, 
whether in the field, in storage, or en route to market. Much of the 
loss can be prevented by better spraying or better methods of grading, 
handling, and shipping, which have not yet been worked out and 
adopted on account of a lack of concerted action and community of 
interest on the part of buyers, shippers, jobbers, and retailers. 
These men can assist the grower in lowering the present excessive 
retail prices of potatoes. 
LACK OF AN OUTLET FOR SURPLUS POTATOES. 
| Under present conditions the production of potatoes is limited by 
the requirements of the market for table stock. A few culls are 
made into starch and a few fed to stock, but there is no extensive 
use of potatoes for industrial purposes such as one finds in Europe. 1 
Furthermore, the production in the United States is greatly 
influenced by weather conditions, especially by the occasional periods 
of heat or drought to which we are more subject than Europe and to 
which the potato is more sensitive than some other crops. 
The result is that when we add to these two factors the natural 
tendency of farmers to reduce their acreage after a year of low prices 
and to increase it after a year of high prices, we have the excessive 
fluctuation in supply and market prices already described. 
1 Cf. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin 47. 
