Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-11-08
ON BANKING SWEET POTATOES.


keep their sweet potatoes in the gulf coast
country east of the Mississippi river.
Replying, we promised this article, and
gave it as our opinion that sweet potatoes
might be kept through winter by the
banking method as well in Texas as in the
region named, particularly on our sandy
lands.
In those pine regions of Mississippi, Ala
bama, Georgia and Florida the sweet po-
tato raiser allows his crop to remain in the
ground to as late a date as he can safely
risk it against having them frozen by q
blizzard. He cares nothing for light
frost, indeed not a few prefer having the
vines blackened by a frost previous to dig
cling the crop. The notion is that a frost on
the vines checks all growth and tends to a
rapid maturity of the tubers, this render
ing them less sappy and better qualified to
keep than they would be if taken up while
the vines We're still in active growth.
EWe have heard it argued that in case of
frost-bidden vines the effects of the frost
would descend to the tubers and impair
their quality more or less, but this is a
mistake. Sap never runs downward in q
plant. We have always been very sue
cessful sweet potato raiser, and while
operating on the gulf coast we invariably
made it our rule to leave the tubers in the
ground about one week after the vines had
been killed by frost, provided, of course,
that there was no apparent prospect of
coming severe weather before the end of
that time. And now for directions should
you desire to harvest and bank your
potatoes after the plan pursued by the
successful sweet potato raiser in the sea
coast country east of the Mississippi river:
Begin by dragging off the vines" This
work is usually accomplished by running 4
light plow between the rows-some use a
turn plow, others a shovel pillow or scooter.
The vines gather around the plow and soon
convert it into mere drag, pulling the
vines from the rows as it passes along.
Having the vines removed, run turn
plow well down in the middle between the
rows. Many fair-sized potatoes are often
found in the middles, so have your pickers
follow the pillow, taking up the potatoes and
depcsiting them along in heaps where they
will be out Of the way of subsequent opera
items. Run your plow on each side of this
furrow, throwing the dirt into IL the same
as If ridging up for a new crop, the pickers
still following along the burrows. When
the row proper is reached, bar it off along
the side, then change to the next middle.
Proceed as in the first instance, and when
ba ic nod hn Dth ar
barred off, split it out with two or three
burrows (or as many as needed to bring up
all the potatoes), and so keep on until the
patch is gone over, and the potatoes are ly-
ing in heaps on the plowed ground.
Great care should be exercised in hand
ling the potatoes not to hruise them. They
should not be pitched far to the heaps,
striking upon the potatoes already there,
for this would be sure to bruise them
slightly, at least. The heaps should be
near each other, and the potatoes simply
dropped upon the pile or around it. One Of
the greatest troubles in keeping sweet po-
tatoes is found in what is called "dry rot"
This dry rot is invariably the result of a
bruise in handling. If the potatoes are
handled without any bruise whatever there
will be no dry rot.
If the potatoes can be left in the heap a
few hours TO dry out before collecting them
for the banks it will be all the better for
them.
Select n dry and well-drained situation
for your banks. Scrape off the surface soil
where your bank is to be made, down to the
depth of three or four inches, raking it into
ridge around like you were forming
miniature circus. ring. This bed for the
bank should be about eight feet in dame
ter, and when completed will be cupping to
the middle somewhat like saucer. Bring
good dry straw, or grass of some kind, and
fill the depression level full to the out-edge
of the ring, piling straw enough upon the
ring to have the straw-Geposit still main
tanning the saucer shape. In the middle of
the bed drive small stake down into the
soil sufficient to stand firmly and long
enough to have its top about four feet
above the straw.
Now begin to pile your potatoes around
this stake, carefully, so as not to bruise
them. Run the pile up in as sharp a cone
as you can make them maintain. Keep ad-
ding round and round until they have
reached to the outer edges of the circular
bed and are up to the top of the stake. You
can put about twenty bushels in such pile,
which is enough for one bank. Next put
about two inches of straw over the pile
and follow with dozen or so of narrow
strips of board or other suitable sticks, let
ting one end rest against the surrounding
ring of earth and straw and the other end
on the Top of the stake coming up from the
center. or upon the strips or sticks first
laid down, above the top end of the stake
Place over these strips six inches depth of
straw, covering the entire heap from bot
tom to top.
Let the pile so stand about twenty-four
hours, if there is no danger of freeze then
begin around the base of the heap and place
On dirt, going round and round With
spade, until the heap is covered deep enough
to protect the potatoes from any freeze that
might happen to come leave space of
five or six inches at the immediate top of
the cone without dirt covering, stuffing it
full of straw as the dirt rises above it. Pat
the dirt firmly on all sides Of the cone with
the back of your spade, and your potato
ba, &c G,,;e