Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-12-02
WIRELESS SWEET POTATOES
Value of the New Plant Estab.
lished Beyond Question by
Various Experiments in
This Country

Some farmers of Sanganon county
Illinois, during the last season hav.
grown sweet potatoes without vines
and as this variety has never beer
grown in the north to any extent there
has been a great deal of speculation
over the discovery" of this new plant
| Vineless sweet potatoes. so called
are not very well known, though they
have been grown in some parts of the
south for many years. Doubtless the
| Illinois farmers got some of the seed
of this variety from the south without
| knowing what 1t was.
| The place Of origin OF this variety Is
somewhat in dispute and the probable
| ity is that it was independently origi-
| mated by at least two men. One report
seems to give satisfactory evidence
that it was found in 1884 on the plan
tation of George Harvey, near. Column
| bus, Miss. in field. OF the old-faSh-
toned yam" sweet potatoes. BY 1898
this variety had been written up for
most of the leading agricultural pa
pers by c. C. L. Dill Of Dillburgh, Miss.
according to his own statement.
Another report Of the origin of a
\ vineless sweet potato which seems
authentic was given In the Atlanta
Weekly Constitution for Dec. &c, 1893.
Paddleford Of Edwards, Miss. he states
that his father, L. d. Paddleford, found
the strain in 1865 in a field OF the
"old- fashioned long-vine YAM" The
particular hill from which the variety
was propagated had very short and
heavily set vines,' with the leaves
set close together on the stems, was
exceedingly productive and had pota-
toes large in size and splendid for
table use" The potatoes were found
to be set close around the stem OF
root, forming a cluster. The vines
measured two to three feet long when
fully grown and covered the ground
with a dense shade. The article goes
on to state that during the succeeding
year this new strain outyielded the
parent variety by more than one
fourth, was much earlier and easier to
cultivate 1t was then named the
Bunch YAM"
Whatever may have been the origin
of this variety, the following seems GER
tain. 1t is muta ton or sport from
the fashioned yellow yam, and. II
resembles that variety in flavor, char
acter of tubers and shape of foliage.
These "vineless or bunch" sweet
potatoes have been tested at the TeXa:
a agricultural experiment station, ans
g the following statements represent thu
: conclusions reached from these tests
~ The value of this type of sweet potato
IS is established beyond question, thu
} same as that Of the bush lima bean
n There is, however, only one strain
% which can be Endorsed. There are tw,
ID other strains which have not prove,
1t as productive, and many of the partia
= failures reported are attributed to thes
having been used instead of the on
", good strain.
\ The foliage of these two inferio
I'D strains is much less dense and tn
stems of the leaves are not nearly $
lg long nor so hea as those of the strai
n, indorsed. In one of these two strain
a not recommended there is a wide rang
" of variability in vines. tops and tuber!
r One has foliage of small size and les
n dense on the vine than the other, TIL
in vines measuring from feur to eigh
ly feet. The tubers OF one are just lik
as those of the parent variety, while thos
st of the other are reddish yellow and re
ar, semble very much the pumpkin typ
a The strain recommended is the onl
Id, true vineless sweet potato" It's vine
as are two to four feet long, with heav.
~ dAnsa foliage.