(86 
GiRlS, LET'S <3-0 
TEULTrtE BOSS 
floW HE. S+tOULD 
r\/wt niore^ 
MONEY- 
THE COWS DEMAND 
VIE WANT TO KNOW 
if you expect 
TO STOP OOR 
Cow enow 
WHY 00 w£ need it? that's a GOOO 
Joke — Do Too know How much- 
GRASS it TAKES To KEEP OS FROM 
RoSSinG ouR Body when the 
Grass is green ? we weed coW 
CHOW AND WILL PAT TOO BACK 
GRASS IS 90^ 
WATER- 1 CAN'T 
HOLD EWOOGrH- 
CF IT TO MAKE. 
MIL-K WITHOUT 
DRAWING ON MY 
Body. 
why won’t 
GRASS ALONE, 
OO? 
FUNNY— YOUR 
miwk hasn’t 
Fallen ofp. 
YHAT'S BECAUSE FRESH GRASS ACTS AS A 
TONIC - FOR A FEW WEEKS WE'll OO FINE- 
But too know about that milk strike, 
IN AUGUST AND T HEN HOW ©AOLY TOO 
WANT mGH PRICED 
Ml UK IN WINTER 
American Agriculturist, May 10, 1924 
How Many Acres of Potatoes 
Will You Plant This 
Spring? 
C. E. Ladd 
OOTATOES are a speculative crop. 
. Not only is there great fluctuation 
in the total production from year to 
year, but it is impossible to hold over a 
crop and so distribute some of the big 
crop in a succeeding year of small produc¬ 
tion, as can be done with the grains. By 
the middle of June each year all the old 
crop must have been sold, fed, planted or 
wasted, and we start the fall of the new 
year with a clean slate. 
Apparently the United States requires 
a production of about 3^ bushels of 
potatoes per capita each year. The 
actual production during the past twenty- 
seven years has ranged all the way from 
76 per cent, of this requirement to 41 per 
cent, above this requirement. As a 
result the price to farmers has ranged all 
the way from 10 cents per bushel to over 
$4.00 per bushel. Some of the big years of 
potato production were as follows: 
Millions of Per Cent, of a 
Bushels Normal Crop 
1912 . 421 121 
1914. 410 US 
1917 . 442 116 
1922. 451 109 
In each of these years, except the war 
year, 1917, Eastern farmers sold potatoes 
as low as 25-35 cents per bushel, which 
was much below r the cost of production. 
Some of the shortest crop years were: 
Millions of Per Cent, of a 
Bushels Normal Crop 
1916 _ 287 76 
1919 . 323 83 
1921 . 362 89 
Don't worry about that- we’ll Pay You 
Back now and pay You back nett wintcR- 
The dairymen with plenty of credit at 
THE Bank are those that fEeo COW CHOW 
the tear 'Round. 
HOW MUCH- COW 
Chow do too 
want ? 
ALRIGHT,GlRLS, I'M WITH 
You But I EFFECT YOU 
To make me Gone money 
don't worry, give us cow chow 
AND WE CANT HELP MAKING 
MORE MONEY FOR YOU.' 
COUPON- 
PURINA MILLS 
818 Gratiot St., St. Louis, Mo. 
Kindly send fre# milk record sheets and a free Purina Cow Book to 
100- Page Cow Book — FREE 
Order Purina Cow Chow from your dealer or 
•end the coupon to us for a free copy of the 
illustrated edition of the 100 page Purina Cow 
Book, and free milk record sheets. 
PURINA MILLS, 818 GratiotSt., St. Louis, Mo. 
Eight Buay Mills Located for Service 
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Oldest Ready Mixed Paint House in America—Estab. 1842. 
0. W. Ingersoll, 252 Plymouth S ., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
CALLAHAN HAY GUIDE 
“Saves Hand Forking in the Mow” 
USE IT with any make of horse fork to put away the 
hay just where you want it. A fourteen-year-old boy 
can easily operate it and do a better job than three men 
with hand forks. Does away with hard center in the mow—no 
more “fire-fanged” hay. Mow holds more and hay comes out easier. Simple, 
practical and permanent. In practical use for two seasons. Will pay for itself 
m a week—and last a lifetime. Sold on a money-back guarantee. Ask your 
dealer. If he cannot supply you write us direct. 
Send for free booklet and price. 
CALLAHAN DISTRIBUTOR CO. Box 27, Wellsboro. Pa. 
When writing to advertisers, be sure to mention the American Agriculturist 
In each of these years potatoes brought 
a high price. The high price for the 1919 
crop selling out in the spring of 1920 was 
the result of crop shortage and a very 
high and rapidly rising price-level. 
The great variation in crop yield is 
due largely to rainfall. Apparently we 
plant enough potatoes every year to 
produce a big surplus if the weather is 
generally favorable, through the growing 
season. No one can forecast the weather 
for a year in advance. The only control 
over production that the farmer has is to 
prevent an over-expansion in acreage 
planted. 
It has been aptly said that adjustment 
of supply to demand is one of the first 
and most important steps in marketing. 
The people of the cities depend upon the 
farmer to produce an adequate food 
supply. He has never failed them yet, 
but he has often produced so large a 
supply of food that very little of it could 
be sold at cost of production. During 
the past three years this has been the 
ease of nearly all commodities in most of 
the States of the Union. As a result, we 
have had three years of agricultural 
depression. 
Better Under Than Over 
i In planning our potato acreage for 
next year we can not afford to err on the 
side of over-planting. It will be much 
safer to err on the side of under-planting. 
The acreage planted should be so con¬ 
servative that there is little chance of a 
great surplus, even if we have the best of 
growing seasons. It is better to remember 
the seasons of 1912, 1917 and 1922, and 
make the first step toward better market¬ 
ing to produce about what the country 
needs rather than taking a chance of a 
big wasteful surplus. 
Too big a crop results hi bad times for 
farmers, dealers, and marketing associa¬ 
tions, and does not give the consumer 
much cheaper potatoes. It also decreases 
the farmers’ buying power and is bad for 
the country as a whole. A moderate- 
sized crop results in prosperity for 
fanners, dealers, marketing associations; 
furnishes potatoes to the consumer at 
only a little above the price in surplus 
years and makes it possible for the 
farmer to purchase more city-made 
products, which helps all society to be 
more prosperous. 
