THE GREAT POTATO LAND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7947, 27 February 1904, Page 1

THE GREAT POTATO LAND.

Germany Loads tlie "World in the Production, of this Taker. (American Ezehan g«.) ; The annual' crop of potatoes, in German? is colossal; and' far exceeds that; of any other country in the world. ; Last year, for example, the area under, potatoes was 8,907,465 acres, while, our crop occupied 2-,965;587 acres. The German acreage was thue more than three thh.es as great as that of the United States. The yielcV in Germany was 1,595>621,076 bushels, ' TP'hile our production was 284j632,787 bushels. Germany, therefore, raised more than five times the quantity of [potatoes that we produced. . A very large I part of the great northern plain of Germany is covered "with potato fields. Last year Germany raised 28.27 "bushels of potatoes for every man^ woman and child in i the Empire. The pen capita production, in our country was 3.73 bushels. • These figures are approximately correct, though not exactly accurate-, because they are based lipoHc the population; of both coun^ 'tries -at the time of taking the last census; but they show the enormous difference between the per capita production in tie twocountries. • ; 'S :■ v The Germans export compafktively few potatoes, and they cannot begin tbeattrhat' they produce. They have waysj however, of disposing of their jotatoes^ that h£v« not yet been adopted to any largevextenfc in other countries; Almost seven-eighths of the alcohol' produced in Germany is,obtaine# from 'potatoes.* jPotato distilleries are found on many of the" large farms, and- Germany haa stimnl»lred- : the industry by -removing the internal reveiiue tax on alcoirol' of inferior grades; which may be used^foii fuel, but not for human consumption: ; The Germane are ffow- utilising far mor& alcohol for ittuminatibnrand" for driyinguut<y- m mobiles and some other forms of jnacninery than any other nation. Thfy have no great petroleunifieldsj and they are trying to reduce the imports of kerosene by substituting alcoholTheir wventoi* and scientific men have been giving great attention to this problem for. several years, and many new and successful lamps and engines have beeb intro-duced-for the cooisuniption of alcohol as fuel. Last, year Germany 92,965,940 gallon* of alcohol, and the production is increasing every year. '. / Many factories also use potatoes in the. manufacture of stawh, glucose and' other products; Still, by far the greater part of the potatoes raised in Germany are oonsum»d; as food, about' hulf by the people and th«< Temain^er bj dbmagtic wiTJyflV;: _ 'i