The revival of the principle to meet the conditions of war proved a failure from the simple fact that the baker had lost his cunning, and was neither so clean nor so painstaking as his forbears in regard to his utensils and the handling of the tuber. The potato is particularly sensitive to contamination. Should an imperfectly-cleaned utensil be used the resultant bread will speedily sour. Moreover, the mashing of the potato was carried out very indifferently, while its admixture with the other constituents was still more unsatisfactorily fulfilled, with the result that the loaf was a spongy, unattractive, unappetizing, and indigestible mass of doubtful nutritive value. If the potato be used in the farinaceous form no such objections can be levelled against the ultimate bread. The ingredients can be blended more completely. It is this circumstance which renders the outlook for the potato-flour so promising, and the British process which has been perfected for its production should meet with far more gratifying success. The preparation of the farina is simple and straightforward. The potatoes are taken in hand immediately after they have been dug, and so are perfectly fresh. They are emptied into hoppers to pass to the washing machine. Then they proceed to the steam-cooker where, unpeeled, they are partially cooked. Finally they are conveyed to the flaking machine, where the first stage of the process is completed. The potato is passed between closely-set, internally-heated rollers, the pulp being rolled out into a continuous sheet about as thick as tissue paper. During this stage the cooking process is completed, while the product is dried and converted into a crisp substance which is peeled from the final roller to fall in a shower of tiny flakes into a trough. It will be observed that the skin, eyes, and other deleterious portions, from which all flesh has fallen away, is collected with the main product. Cooking, pulping, and flaking expels practically the whole of the 75 per cent. of water entering into the composition of the raw potato. The secret of the process is the control of the temperature, which must be maintained at a critical level, to assure the perfection of the product. If this be excessive there is the risk of the flake becoming charred, while, similarly, should the heat fall below the predetermined point, the product will lack dryness and crispness. As may be imagined, the treatment reduces the bulk of the potato very perceptibly, 5 tons of potatoes being required to furnish 1 ton of flake.