The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-11-25
MISS LEoLA RIED.
She Makes a Good Living Raising
Sugar Yams.

| She Makes a Good Living Raising
Sugar Yams.
Il sold 500 barrels of sugar yams last
year at S. barrel said Mss Lecla
Ried. who for the last four years. has
made a specially of raising pure sugar
yam potatoes and supplying the fashion
able winter resorts of Georgia and Flor
ida.
THE reason i began the work of
raising such sweet potatoes was sim
ply because | saw that there was
great demand for them. Everyone who
knows anything about sweet POTATOES
knows that the sugar yam is the most
delicious of all the many varieties. They
are not the most prolific, however. and
for that reason farmers have almost
given up growing them for market.
They select some variety that gives
them the greatest yield and which they
know from the average purchase will
meet with as ready sale. ! am nd of
the sugar yam. and when l began to
notice that the hotels and boarding
houses where Northerners come for the
winter were always asking for taem.
! thought out my scheme and went 10
work.
Il selected five acres of good Nat land
not hottoms-on my fathers plantation,
and had no difficulty in getting it. ! would
not borrow, but spent all the money l had
in bank, which was something less than
5000. that year in the purchase Of mule
and fer the hire of a man. / must admit
that l had to call on my father before the
year was out for the loan of some corn
and fodder 10 tide ME over un,il my crop
came in. but 1t was not much.
When my potatoes we're dug that first
year l found that my yield was fifty bush
els of good eating potatoes to the acre. l
had previously solicited orders from the
hotels and received some en- condition
that the potatoes were as ! represented
them. the very best and pure sugar vans.
When they were dug selected them-per-
haps l should say ! sorted them-taking
only those about the size of my fist Miss
Ried wears about No. kid glove). Il
had all the strings and ends taken off.
then banked them in hills containing
twenty-five bushels TO the bank. About
one month later, when the hotels began to
fill up with their winter guests, opened
four of these banks. barreled the potatoes
nicely and shipped them TO the hotels
where / had received the greatest en-
courasement. My price was S. barrel
and / claim that there are two bushels in
barrel, though there is in reality about
half bushel more. At first every hotel
keeper kicked at the price, said it was
exorbitant, as potatoes. the average va
rieties, were selling in the market at
fifty cents bushel.
Il asked them to give mine a trial and
let their guests decide. They did SO, and
as result / sold all my crop before the
winter was well begun, and had received
as many orders for the next season as |
would take.
You can see that, after returning the
amount borrowed from my bank account,
there was not very much left that year,
but as my father was willing to sell me
ten acres Of land on credit l was not en-
barrassed for money. l did rot increase
my acreage, but planted the new five acres |
in potatoes and the five where potatoes |
had grown the year before in corn and |
peas for food fr my mule. | fortified |
highly, and almost doubled my yield of |
potatoes to the acre. AS q result l lear |
ed $500, and began the next year with |
plenty Of food for my mule and corn |
enough to make meal for my one hand.
The third year was good one, and my |
profits ran up to $1,000. Last year it al |
most touched $1,000, and this year, al |
though my crop, that is. my potato crop. |
is still in the ground, think the yield |
will be even greater. ! have not planted |
more than five acres in potatoes, and do /
not expect to very soon, simply because ! |
think l can raise as many on that amount |
Of land we'll attended to as 1 could on q |
larger amount less carefully worked"