The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-23
The Sweet Potato.

Usage has given to some of our most
| common vegetables names which in the
/ science of botany. and the history and
| geography of the plant are misnomers,
says the Stockman and Farmer. The
sweet potato-bat edu--is not a potato.
but simply the yam. In all its numerous
varieties it is simply a yam. The So
{ called irish potatO-sOl tubs not Irish
| but of American origin. This tuber in all
Its varieties is the true potato. The veg
I etaole known as the sOuthernIfield pea
| with its many varieties, cultivated as
! both field and garden crops, is not a pea
! but bean in It's botanical character.
! While what IS sold in the seed stores as
the 'soja bean, ~ is not bean but a pea.
But usage has fixed these and other in
! correct names of our tlora.
No root crop, nor indeed, any other
! crop, pays the farmer III the south
where plants that furnish the root crops
OF the northern states fail to yield paying
crops-as well as the sweet potato. Its
use as food for stock where the most pro-
| lIllc varieties are cultivated, is second to
no other crop, containing as 1t does a
large per cent. of amylaceous and sac
charine elements. 1t is not only nutri-
tlous, but very appetiEng article OF food
for stock. But the sweet potato must no0
| be fed to pregnant females. as it might
cause abortion. In the culinary arts of
] the southern home no vegeta Die is adapted
to greater variety of uses, and it is both
nutritious and healthy No family with
| room for a truck patch should fail TO raise
| sweet potatoes.
The sweet potato will grow on almost
any soil that grows other products, but it
| delights most in deep, sandy loan where
best results are obtained. The soil in
| preparation should be deeply broken and
thoroughly lined by harrow or other in
strument. in painting the rows should
be 81 to feet in width, and raised so as
to give a good depth for the patOtoes to
penetrate and grow. Cultivation with a
light plow and hoes should keep the soil
clear of weeds or grass till the vines
cover the ground, when further work is
usually not necessary.
We usually delay the digging of the
crop till after the vines are killed by
frost. Some prefer digging before frost
We save our crop by putting in Lanks
well rounded up, Of fifteen to twenty
bushels each, cover with corn stalks and
soil, leaving air space at top and cover to
keep out rain, and with the advent OF the
cold. snaps close the air hole and cover
with more earth; others construct long
ricks and put their crop in for saving,
while some construct houses or cellars
We have had good luck with the banks
as above described. When the weather
becomes warm and potatoes begin to
sprOut in the bank, they should be taken
out and put on dry, cool floor and the
sprouts kept rubbed of, when they can
be kept good till new potatoes come in
again.
The sweet potato is usually propagated
from slips drawn from the potato after
beading, or from vines cut from'the grow
ing slips, but some cut the potato and
I, plant it, The slips should be set from
eighteen to tWenty-four inches in the row,
il best results are wan,ed. Perhaps no
other cultivated vegetable furnishes
gree ter number of varieties than the yam.
Where seasons and soil are favorable the
old fashioned white yam. sometimes
called the yellow yam, is the most popu-
lar, but III dry climates and soils this va
riety often fails TO yield profitable re-
turns. This variety is q slow grower and
late, and unless we have August and
September rains it fails here.
There are three or four early maturing
kinds that seldom ever fail in growing
profitable crops. While these are nO5
| best for the ia Die they are very prOtita BILE
when grown for stock. The pink yam,
Haytl Spanish, queen of the south or
Hayti yam, are the earliest and most pro-
ductive of the early varieties, and should
be extensively grown for stock. The yell
low yam, sometimes called the pumpkin
yam, is potato of early maturity, pro-
duces we'll and is a superior table variety.
A few years since | obtained seed of a
sub-variety of the yellow yam, said to
have originated in Florida and known as
the orange yam, that in edible qualities
is superior to the old fashioned yam. and
has proven a sure crop. l am now plant
ing the orange yam for table use in pref
erence to all others.
During the past few years | have seen
several communications and advertise
ments in the agricultural papers eXtollng
what was called bunch or vineless yam,
claiming that it grew in a thick cluster,
more than doubled other varieties and
was the best of all in edible qualities,
while the vines could be cut and cured,
Welding a ton or more per acre of supe-
rior forage This seemed like [ was los
ing sight of good thing by not having
this remarkable wonder. So, selecting
an advertisement, a year ago, ] forwarded
money for seed. This advertiser and his
potato were both frst-class frauds When
the seed came l found lot of strings
in an old sa k with some craOgrass mixed
in, three-fourths being rotten and Of those
that were sound not one was more than
quarter of an inch in diameter. care
fully bedded these and obtained slips
enough to plant a few rows on one side OF
the potato patch. These were planted
and worked Just as the Others IN the
patch Each slip sent off from three TO
five vines, which grew from three to i've
feet long At digging time L got two
thirds of bushel of strings from ground
that would have yielded several bushels
from other varieties.
How 70 Raise Melons.