Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 October 1890 — The Potato Crop and Starch. [ARTICLE]

The Potato Crop and Starch.

The poor potato yield this year will have a disastrous effect on the wearers of linen shirts. Why? No potatoes, no starch; no starch, no white shirts. Therefore, some enterprising citizen might make a fortune by purchasing all .the flannel shirts which now pell at such tempting figures and secure a “corner” on them. The fact that the crop is so small that there will hardly be enough potatoes for table use, let alone for starch factories, will make the individual who can boast of a generous array of flannel shirts a person to be envied. Potatoes now sell at 75 cents to $1 a bushel, while last year they could be had at from 15 cents to 25 cents. Therefore, merchants feel as ' though the demand could hardly be supplied. The first crop was a failure, and hopes aie centered on a later crop. If that turns out poorly, potatoes will be classed with such luxuries as ice and coal.