The Savannah morning news., 1901-08-26

Peabody is grown because of its great
productiveness. The bulletin suggests
that the farmers in regions of a short
summer may start the plants in pots.
But there is not the slightest need for
this anywhere, since in the North the
potatoes can be bedded in warm green
houses or even in boxes in a warm
room and sunny window and the plants
drawn off as needed. We once saw
curious result from starting sweet po-
tatoes in pots. The gardener was an
Englishman who had never before
grown sweet potatoes. He sprouted his
roots and set the plant in four-inch
pots early in the spring and kept them
in the pots till quiet pot-b bound before
set them out They grew off
finely and promised a good crop. But
at digging time all the potatoes were
cork-screw shaped, having started to
form in the pots and kept the shape
they started with. 1t was the most
singular looking lot of sweet potatoes
we ever saw. So if you start them
in pots do not keep them long in them.
While sweet potatoes can be grown in
almost any dry soil, as a rule, and are
of finer quality in a sandy soil than in
a clay loan, and the further North the
crop is grown the. more important it is
to have a warm, light soil. The chief
manurial needs of the sweet potato
are potash first, phosphoric acid next,
and nitrogen in small amount. While
nitrogen is essential to any plant the
sweet potato can get along with less
than many other plants. The expert
ments made at Southern Pines, NJ c.,
by DR.. Robinson, are quoted and show
that in 1899 the largest crop was pro-
duced from an application of z40
pounds of potash, $50 pounds of phos-
phoric acid and 120 pounds of nitrogen
per acre. The same application in the
extremely hot and dry season of 1900
failed to produce as good results as
might be expected, as the experiment
was on a barren, sandy soil with little
humus to hold the moisture, and the
fertilizer was not dissolved or used by
the crop In the Peninsular of Mary
land Delaware Virginia the growers
cover the whole land in winter with
leaves of the pine and pillow them un-
der. These, while adding little fertility
to the soil, act as a mulch and prevent
loss of moisture. and are supplemented
with commercial fertilizers. The sweet
potato blooms all oyer the South, but
rarely makes seed north of Southern
Florida. The methods of preparation
and planting are we'll described in the
bulletin, and it is also stated correctly
Ltdl IL Is IlOl llcCcSSdIy anu may Oe III
furious to pull the vines loose when
they root between the rows. The diff
ference in price between what are
known in the market as Jersey
Sweets" and Southern potatoes. the
writer states, is largely due to the SUI
perior culling and packing of the po-
tatoes that go under the first name,
though most of them never were in
New Jersey. We know from experience
that the great fault with the Southern
growers is lack of care in sorting and
the sending of culls with good pota-
toes in the same barrel The result is
a lower price for the Southern potatoes,
though in quality they are superior to
Northern grown ones. A series of
modes for cooking the sweet potato is
given, which will be of interest to
housekeepers. Accounts of the expert
ment in exporting the roots are also
of interest. Insects and diseases come
in for treatment as also the use of the
roots for stock feeding. Anyone can
get copy of this bulletin by writing
to the Secretary of Agriculture and
asking for it, stating the name and the
number of the bulletin which is wanted.