Spuds

One potato
Two potatoes
Three potatoes
Four! Five potatoes
Six potatoes
Seven potatoes
More!


Statistics that have always astounded me are that before the Famine an average man would be eating around 13/14lbs of potatoes a day - that's about 70 potatoes, and a woman might be eating around 8/9lbs, around 55 potatoes!  Spuds were the staple diet. Four types of potatoes were popular until the early 19C:  Black, the Apple, the Cup and the Lumper. By the early 1840s most poorer families survived on the Lumper which was easy to grow, yielded high results but was tasteless and low in nutrition. It was also highly susceptible to blight, with disastrous consequences. 


The consumption of spuds have declined since then with hopefully a more varied diet available. The average consumption of potatoes by adults in Ireland is  currently 85kg/capita, compared to the 1970s when Irish people consumed 140kg/capita. Spuds seem alive and well in West Cork though - should you go into one of the local pubs, you will probably be served with four different potatoes with whatever you'd ordered: boiled, mashed, chipped, and potato salad! There still is a National Potato Day: October 2, 2015 and the nation's favourite spud is the Rooster.

Yes, an old farmhouse where the best room is now a storehouse for spuds. The old fireplace and mirror are rather fine, and the pink spuds (Roosters) seem to match the floral cover on the chair.

Thanks to Serpent for hosting Derelict Sunday.


And thank you all for your very kind comments re Edie.