Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-10-14

sands Of inquiring sportsmen, 1t may
be stated that 1t has been decided
that doves are not covered by the new
Federal law, but may be taken dur
ing the open season provided by the
state game laws. st
a..... '.
ABOUT THE SWEET POTATO
A sweet potato, eight or ten inches
long, ten or twelve inches round and
weighing three or four pounds. red on
one side and white on the other. with
the line of demarkation as distinct as
II cut with knife and running on to
the tip Of small root that extended
several inches beyond the main bulk Of
the rather peculiar specimen, was
shown to number Of Yorkville peo-
pie by Mr.. A. C. McCarter last Satur-
day, and very few were found who
could give a reasonably plausible
theory as to the probable cause Of the
freak. s4
Mr.. McCarter was unable to offer
any explanation Of the freak, except
that he had been raising potatoes
since he was small boy and never
saw anything like this before. He
was inclined to think the specimen
must be some kind Of mysterious
cross between a red Hayti and Ca
tawba yam but as he had never seen a
potato bloom in his life, he was at a
loss to know how such cross could
come about. So far as he knew his
red Haytis and Catawba yams had
been bedded separately, and he could
think Of no conditions Of growth that
could have contributed to hybridiza-
ton. :.
The nearest to an explanation Of the
probable cause Of the freak came from
a gentleman who prefaced what he had
to say with a positive declaration that
he did not know; and here Is the way
this gentleman put It "The sweet po-
tato sometimes blooms in this climate,
but very rarely. I have never seen a
sweet potato bloom in this locality.
but have heard reliable men say they
had seen such blooms occasionally.
The natural home Of the sweet potato
is in tropical and semi tropical cli-
mates. have seen sweet potato
blooms in Florida. Down in that state
expert growers pay lot Of attention
to hybridization and the production Of
new varieties. They cross one potato on
another, and after more or less devel-
opment, test the final results for new
varieties. Many Of these crosses turn
out to be no good; but occasionally
there Is produced new variety supe-
rior in richness and favor to anything
previously known. I would suggest
that the -eculiar marking Of this par
ticular potato is probably traceab!e to
some cross, accidental or otherwise
that has occurred in the native home
of the original seed"
This writer does not remember just
when, or by whom. but Is quite posi-
tive that specimens very similar to
that brought by Mr.. McCarter, have
been brought to The Enquirer office
before. Mention has been made Of
such specimens previously, and there
are no doubt readers who remember
the circumstance.
Asked further about his potatoes
Mr.. McCarter said that his crop this
year will aggregate about $50 bushels
from half an acre. Among the sepa-
rate varieties he plants are Hayti, Vine
less, Nancy Hall and Catawba yam
and all Of them are doing we'll He has
been careful to keep the different va
rieties separate.
Because from what he said, 1t was
evident that he has long been success
full not only in raising potatoes; but
in keeping them through the winter,
Mr.. McCarter was asked for a state
ment as to the method he pursues, es-
pecially in the saving process, and
here is the way he gave 1t in:
1.-The potatoes must be dug before
frost. If you fail to dig before frost,
then turn the patch over to the hogs
IL you have any. There is no use to
try to save them. The frost will strike
through, and even though the potato
may be preserved in as good condition
as when the frost hit 1t, there will al
ways be a flavor Of frost bite.
II want the ground dry when go to
dig potatoes, and after I dig them
leave them where they are for two
days and nights. I want them to get
the benefit Of the sun-to shrivel up.
If It rains, no particular harm is done
except for delay. Next I pile the po>
tatoes up in piles for two days to go
through a kind of a sweat; but cover
them over at night with bagging,
blankets, quilts or anything of that
kind. Then ! spread them out to sun
for another day. covering them up at
night again. After the potatoes nave
been we'll shriveled, / am ready to
commence hacking. The first thing Is
n nail together in triangular form,
three pieces Of plank six inches wide,
and four, five or six feet long, and
bore augur holes on all sides from
bottom to top. Then pile up my po-
tatoes with this ventilator contrivance
unrieht in the centre. Then / put on
a coating of pine tags, lay cornstalks
over that and pile on dirt ranging
from six inches in thickness at the
bottom to four inches at the top. After
that 1 consider my potatoes safe.
whenever l want to go into the hack
7 omen a hole in the south side, stick
in my arm and take what want. In
this way I never have any trouble
keeping my potatoes as long as want
to keep them"