The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1881-05-04
SWEET POTATOES.
American Farmer.


starting the sweet potato crop,
few words in regard to this tuber
may not come amiss. There has
been a good deal Of talk late years
about growing sweet potatoes north
of the district to which they were
formerly almost entirely confined,
and while there is no doubt that
large crops Of roots have been
raised of late III the North, the
quality of those, for table use IS far
inferior to the Southern-grown
article. This, we think, is largely
due to the: fact that the planting
has been almost exclusively con,
fined to tie variety known in diff
ferent localities as the ''Nanse-
mond,' "Red Rose" Poplar
Chunk" and ''V.rginla Yellow, all
one and the same variety, IN my
opinion. When grown in a sandy
soil, from Southern Maryland south
ward. this variety is sweet, dry and
rich, and is the most popular pota''
to in our market. But for lis
proper development it requires a
long season and a sandy soil, aud
though it will make fair crops
North, those who know sweet pota-
toes wont care to eat them when a
Southern grown article can be had.
Even in the sandy so''a of New
Jersey, where tbs variety is very
largely grown, their lack OF sweet
ness is such that an Eastern Shore
man would turn up his nose at
them. To be good it is necessary
for this variety 10 be dfy, a quail
ity which they never attain on
heavy clay soil. For heavy soils
here and Northward I am satisfied
that we must turn our attention to
the sorts known as Vans IN the
South. These, when at their best,
are never dry and this Will be one
great difficulty with them as
market potato until people are
educated up TO oappreciating a ':-tat'
potato, as the E. S. Virginia peo-
pie say: The best Of the Vans
that I have tried, and the only one
known largely in the Baltimore
market, is the variety sent out ten
or twelve years ago as the South
ern Queen, and said to have been
introduced from Brazil, but WHICH
had long been known to the Vir-
ginia truckers as the "Aaymon,'
by. which name it is now known IN
the Baltimore market. This is the
earliest sweet potato I have ever
grown, and when at its best, in
late winter, is, with the single ex
ception of the old long Spanish
potato, the sweetest of all. When
engaged in market gardening on
the Eastern Shore I have grown
and cured crop Of potato onions,
and then raised g crop of Hayman
potatoes on the same land. When
they first come in use in the Fall
the Haymans are dry, but not so
sweet as the Nansemond, but late
in Winter, aftey they have gotten
HJat," they cook as. soft as custard
nd as sweet. One great advan
-.ge of the Haynan is the ease
with which they can. be kept in
Winter. I have kept them in a bin
in an ordinary dry cellar with
Irish potatoes, a place where the
Nansemond viii not keep at all. |
For my own use I would prefer, if
we could grow them, the Span
ish," sweet potato. Down on the
Eastern Shore of Virginia, ''befo' |
de wah every one raised a supply of
Spanish potatoes for their own use,
but never dreamed Of sending them
to sell to the unappreciati0e city
buyers, so that the variety is almost |
unknown in Baltiu ore. It's long |
crooked tubers will alone prevent !
it's ever being grown for market,
but Virginlan will always retain
a tender memory Of Spanish pota-
toes roasted in the ashes on the
hearth in kitchen or quarter In
this latitude the middle to last of
April is plenty early enough to
start the sprouts. For this pur-
pose I use an ordinary cold frame
and bed the potatoes in sand, GOV.
ering them two inches Put on the
glass and keep close until they be-
gin to start. Keep the sand barely
moist by watering with warm water
when dry, uutil the sprouts appear,
after which give full exposure to
the air when the sun shines and !
covering when cloudy. From May |