Evening star., 1901-05-31
SWEET POTATO FARMING
PAPER BY MR.. ID. II. NESBIT, A
MARYLAND GROWER.
Department of Agriculture Considers
the Product In Developing and
Extending Foreign Market.

A paper on Sweet Potato Farming in the
| United States" prepared by Mr.. D. NJ.
| Nesbit, a practical sweet potato grower of
| Maryland, at the request Of the Depart
! ment of Agriculture. has just been printed
| by the latter and will soon be distributed
| to those interested who make application
| therefor
I Through Major Henry Z. Alvord, chief of
the dairy division bureau of animal indus
try, by whose efforts the sweet potato was
included among the products for bureau
| consideration in promoting the develop
| ment and extension of foreign markets,
| Mr. Nesbit laid before the department GER
| tain data relative to the availability Of
sweet potatoes and their products as ar
/ ticles of export, and was appointed special
| agent to take charge of the experimental
| shipments which were subsequently made
| by the department. The information MIR.
| Nesbit acquired regarding sweet potato
| farming in the United States, in part, fol-
| lows:
| The increase of interest in the sweet po-
! tato an article of food is both cause
| and result of improvements in varieties
| methods of propagating, planting, fertiliz-
| ing, cultivating. harvesting storing. ship
! ping and cooking. A few years ago sweet
| potatoes were rarely seen in the northern
! parts of the United States after Novem-
! Der. Now. by the of suitable cars,
| they shipped long distances In winter
| with safety, and through the introduction
| of canning their use is still further extend
| ed Dried sweet potatoes and sweet potato
| flour starch glucose and alcohol are not
! new products. but they have never been of
! commercial Importance. Now inventors
! are active in perfecting machinery and
! processes by which they expect to be able
| to make these products of such excellence
and so cheaply as to insure a large demand
! for them in home and foreign markets.
! The value of the sweet potato vines and
roots for stock feeding is only beginning to
! be understood.
! The sweet potato thrives only in a warm
climate. Where there is no frost it is per-
| ennial. A temperature below 45 degrees
| Injuries it, and frost is Immediately fatal.
| On soils suited to the sweet potato it may
be grown wherever the large dent varieties
| of maize reach maturity, but when grown
near its northern limit or at high attitudes
it generally lacks sweetness and flavor.
This loss of quality must be attributed to
the cool nights which are likely to prevail
! in high latitudes and at considerable ele-
vations in lower latitudes during the latter
part of the growing season, condition
which does not admit of the growing of
sweet potatoes in a large way. 1t is quite
possible, however, for farmers to have their
own supply of excellent sweet potatoes and
| enough for sale at good prices to pay all
expenses by starting plants in pots and
transferring them to the open ground when
danger of frost is past. If threatened with
frost after the plants are set out they may
| be easily covered, and for this purpose
nothing is more convenient than the COM
Matter of TransplantinR.
In transplanting 1t is not necessary to
remove the cylinders. BY starting the
plants early the tubers formed under as
favorable conditions as prevail later in
lower 1atitudes at less elevation. For
profitable general field culture the sweet
potato requires at least four months Of
warm weather, free, not only from frost,
but from cold winds and from the cool
nights that prevail in summer at the north
and at high attitudes everywhere. Sweet
potatoes do not suffer quickly as Irish
potatoes from drought, but are injured by
excessive rainfall and oyer-lrrigat1on.
In suitable climate and with good cul-
tivation the sweet potato will thrive on
any well-drained soil. Nevertheless, 1t
should not be planted on heavy or peaty
soils unless intended for stock feeding 1t
is not always practicable to harvest the
crop when the ground is dry, and such
soils unless they are very dry, adhere to
the tubers and so detract from their value.
Moreover, the quality of sweet potatoes
grown these soils is relatively low. The
best soil for the sweet potato Is light,
well-drained but not leachy sandy loan,
that will not adhere to the potatoes. If
the best quality is desired, soils which have
an excess of organic matter should be
avoided. Excellent sweet potato lands
abound on the Atlantic slope from New
Jersey to Florida, and are not unknown In
the Mississippi valley and in the arid
regions, where irrigation is required. In
the Atlantic coast region there also
large tracts of barren sand having no re-
tentive subson Even such land, with judi
| cious fertiliZing and in seasons of we'll
tributed rainfall, produces fair crops Of
sweet potatoes, which are of excellent quail
ity. Where suitable sandy soils are not
available. good substitute is sometimes
found in those of slaty origin.
The question of fertilizers is so closely
related to that Of soils that the two can
/ rn ha tod 'ha frct
| function of the soil in it's relation to the
| plant is to give the plant a place. A soil
| which should do not more than this would
| be q plant hotel on the EurODean plan fur
nishing room without board. Every SOIL
| however poor, does more than this Every
soil contributes of its own substance TO
the nourishment of the plant. 1t will be
understood that reference is made to
! natural soils. not to sand which has been
| sterilized artificially for experiments in pot
| culture.
| The sweet potato needs potash, nitrogen
ana phosphorfc acid. One of these elements
| or fertility is not more essential than an
other, but in point of quantity thew are
taken In the order given If either of them
| is not available in the soil in sufficient
| quantity it must be supplied or the crop
| Will suffer. 1t is of Importance to a planter
| TO know approximately the deficiencies at
| the least cost, and he can learn much from
the experience of others without copyina
| blindly.
Sweet Potato Yield.
| The yield Of sweet potatoes varies widely.
accoroing to variety, quality of land, sea-
| son, fertilizers, culture etc Under favor
able conditions, in check planting a barrel
OF primes from 100 hills is a good yield or
a barrel from 125 plants IS inches apart In
| a row In q good crop there may be a bar
| rel of seconds to every five hsrra,s or
/ primes more or less, according to the
method of sorting. Extremes of weld 90
Tar above and drop as far below the figures
| here given.
| Sweet potatoes do not bear rough ham
| oling, and for this reason they are more
commonly shipped In packages than in
bulk as are Irish potatoes. Barrels are
preferred. but many are shipped In half
barrel crates, particularly early In the sea-
| SON Second flour barrels and new End
secondhand produce barrels are commonly
used They vary in cost, according to
, quality, supply and demand from to 20
! cents each. New half-barrel crates cost
| in small lots from II to Is cents each
| The disadvantages of transporting to
ana selling In distant markets are reduced