6 BULLETIN 47, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The vast deposits of petroleum in the United States, which Ger- 
many lacks, also provide us with fuel oil and gasoline at prices which 
at present nearly eliminate alcohol as a competitor. Consequently, 
we do not have this stimulus to develop potato growing for distilling. 
SOME REASONS FOR OUR LOWER YIELDS. 
LACK OF ADAPTED VARIETIES. 
As compared with the leading European countries, we have mads 
unsatisfactory progress in the development of improved varieties of 
potatoes. On the other side of the Atlantic many skilled breeders 
have for years been engaged in this work. Findlay and Scarlett in 
Great Britain; Cimbai, Paulsen. Kichter. and Bohm in Germany; 
and Dolkowski in Austria have each introduced a large number of 
promising sorts, and have made notable achievements toward greater 
productivity and better quality. . It is to be hoped that many private 
breeders will engage in this fascinating work. Our needs for better 
varieties are much greater, for our climatic conditions are so diverse 
that potatoes adapted to special localities are required. Particularly 
do we need a heat-resistant strain that can more successfully with- 
stand the high summer temperature of the Central and Southern 
States. Disease resistance is another quality that has been bred into 
many foreign sorts but is notably lacking in ours. Xot only should 
we breed resistance to late-blight, but to wilt, scab, and other troubles 
prevalent here. It appears probable that leaf-roll and other new dis- 
eases, which many associate with varietal degeneration, are to be over- 
come only by selection and breeding. 
We have already learned by experience that it is unprofitable to 
introduce European varieties, for they do not maintain their quali- 
ties here. We must breed American potatoes suitable for every need. 
Yfe have much to accomplish in increasing the starch content of our 
potatoes, which is now lower than that of the German sorts by 4 to 8 
per cent. Table quality is another requisite. The best European 
table varieties possess a superior flavor, color, and texture, particu- 
larly for boiling or frying. In this connection we may not overlook 
the need for several types — one for baking, another for frying, while 
a still more close-textured tuber is in some demand for salads. The 
percentage of waste in preparation for the table is so much greater 
in irregular, deep-eyed sorts that the shape of the tuber is a vital 
point, 
NUMBER OF PLANTS TO THE ACRE. 
A prominent reason for the low average yield per acre in this 
country is that we have, as a rule, fewer plants on an equal area. 
Xot only are wider rows and more space between hills the common 
rule, but various other avoidable causes result in a poor stand. When 
