Q. Would you judge that one-half the cultivated surface of Arkansas is made up of the larger plantations?  —­A.  No, sir; I should not say more than a third, as a rough estimate.

Q. Upon these plantations is there any crop raised for consumption anywhere but upon the plantations, save the cotton?  —­A.  Only in a very limited way.  We raise Irish potatoes for the northern markets, and it is an extremely profitable and productive crop with us.

Q. What is the home market price?  —­A.  We do not sell these potatoes at home at all.  We get them to Saint Louis, Chicago, and Cincinnati before the ground is really thawed out up there.  We get from $5 to $10 a barrel for them.

Q. A barrel of about 3 bushels?  —­A.  A barrel of about 3 bushels.  That of course is a fancy price, and only lasts until the product comes in from other sources.

     Q. That is an advantage no farmer has elsewhere in the
     United States than in Arkansas? 
     —­A.  In Arkansas and Louisiana, on the Mississippi River.

Q. Are potatoes raised largely in Louisiana?  —­A.  Yes, sir; in parts.  The cultivation of the alluvial lands in Louisiana is very similar to what I am speaking of in Arkansas.

     Q. Is the potato of good quality raised on those rich
     lands? 
     —­A.  Of very fine quality.

Q. Can you give the average crop of potatoes per acre?  —­A.  I cannot, as I have never raised any myself for market.  We leave it almost entirely to our small farmers to do that sort of thing.

Q. About 300 bushels per acre, Senator Pugh says.  This is the Irish potato you speak of, not the sweet?  —­A.  The Irish potato.  We raise also the sweet potato there.  I have raised sweet potatoes that weighed five pounds.

     Q. And of good quality? 
     —­A.  Of fine quality.

     Q. The size does not depreciate the quality, then? 
     —­A.  Not at all.

Q. They, I suppose are raised for exportation from the State?  —­A.  No, sir; they are raised almost entirely for home consumption by our farmers.

Q. Do your people at home prefer the sweet to the Irish potato for their own use?  —­A.  I cannot say they do.  I think they raise both in equal proportions.

Q. Which, on the whole, is the most profitable crop to raise of potatoes?  —­A.  The Irish potatoes because we export and sell them.  The sweet potato does not mature until the fall of the year.

Q. Upon your plantations you encourage the raising of the variety of crops you have spoken of for consumption, by the laborers, and for the use of the planter, I suppose, but not for exportation and sale?  —­A.  Not for sale.  We merely raise them for home consumption in case of a disaster to our cotton crops.