Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-11-08
WANTS A, BETTER POTATO.


read the agricultural department of the
Fort Worth GtZETTE with great deal of
interest, and on this account feel that like
the rest of them merit little informa-
ton.
The nancemond. as you doubtless well
know, is favorite sweet potato at the
North, but find that it does not succeed
well in Texas. there fore wish te ask you if
there is any other bright yellow yam which.
say when half grown, would resemble the
nancemond and be earlyl Please reply
through The GAZETTE and much oblige,
with others, c. B. MEsERyE
Sunset, Tex.
Few things could be more difficult than
the Identification of sweet potato, as to
variety, by the local name given, owing to
the fact that there is no established and
accepted nomenclature for the varieties.
This thing is one decidedly unfortunate,
and on several occasions we have urged
upon sweet potato growers to hold con-
vention for the purpose of establishing reg
ular names. a crop of so much importance
as is the sweet potato to the South is GER
tainly deserving of some such movement.
In the present loose arrangement of af-
fairs with reference to the sweet potato We
can have no positive idea OF what variety
you are meaning when you speak of the
nancemond About Fort Worth there is
raised long-shaped yellow potato with
rough skin that goes upon the market as
the nancemond. Along the eastern gulf
coast the same variety is sparingly raised
under the name of Spanish potato, while
the nancemond Of that region is q potato
about the same shape and size, with smooth
skin and not quite SO yellow. This same
nancemond of the coast east of us is the
Southern Queen of the potato growers in
the neighborhood of St. Louis, while the
Southern Queen of Virginia is a large,
g-obular, white. sappy and very early va
riety called ''chokes'' and ''poplar roots''
along the eastern gulf coast.
In this portion of Texas we have larger
growing and later potato, called the 'Texas
YAM" that potato along the eastern gulf
coast regions goes by the name of white
Hayti in some localities, and Dooley yam in
others. The red potato of this section of
Texas called the red yam is the musgrove
of the states east of US, generally, though
the people of few localities, as at Mobile,
Ala, for instance, call it the red Hayti.
The most popular potato along the eastern
gulf coast is called either the old yellow
yam or the Carolina yam; the same potato
though not much raised, is here called the
East Texas yam. A dark red, long-shaped,
white-ieshed, dry. mealy, and very prolific
potato sparingly raised about Fort Worth
is called the Missouri red; the same vari-
ETY. is extensively raised in Mississippi,
Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas, under
the name of ''nigger killer" So, you see,
we are unable to talk intelligently to you
about your nancemonds.
If your nancemond is the rough>skinned
potato carrying that name at Fort Worth,
then we can say to you that there are sew
eral better varieties that might be made to
fill its place. The nancemond of the Eastern
coast is a much better potato. 1t is not
quite so early or quite SO yellow rs the
Fort Worth nancemond, but it is far more
attractive in appearance, does well and maya
be handled to advantage on the local mar
ket when not more than half grown.srNo
other variety is so popular about st. Bouis,
where. as already stated, it goes BY theu
name of Southern Queen. S>ss---s
This rough-skinned nancemond til
Spanish potato of other regions-tends to
run out rapidly. Twenty years ago it had
quite boom in South Alabama, and when
first introduced it was really very fair
potato, but in a few years it had deterior-
ated and grown Improbable, hence it is
now seldom seen there
We would like to hear from our readers
relative to what they know of the best
sweet potato for Texas.