Beyond the jesting stage, it is serious business—the business of war. From statistics compiled by R. L. Vinden, a London merchant with government connections, the supply of potatoes on hand now is just sufficient to furnish each person with half a pound per week for the next dozen weeks. John W. Dennis, who was recently appointed potato controller by Lord Devouport, the food controller, has been busily engaged for the past few weeks investigating the potato situation. He found that in March there were 600,000 tons of potatoes on hand, 55 percent of which were seed potatoes. From 20 to 35 percent of these potatoes were available for civilian consumption, the rest being set aside for the army. Ireland was excluded in these figures, but the potato situation in Ireland is even worse than it is in England. Potatoes have more than doubled in price the past year. In the coal-mining regions of Wales, potatoes have sold at as high as $85 per ton, but steps were taken by the government to curb vegetable dealers in that district and prevent their mulching the people. Recently there have been lively scenes in cities of the British Isles. 