The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1917-05-25
SWEET POTATOES WILL
Be N LARGE DEMAND

Dr. III lafUE ONWARD
Washington, D. c., May 18.-Sweet
potatoes can be made an important
and cheap source of food say special
lists in the U. S. Department Of Ag-
riculrure. 1t is quite easy to increase
the acreage enormously and the
adoption of better methods of handl,
ing and storing would improve the
product to such an extent that the
demand would be greatly simulated.
Storing sweet potatoes has always
been more difficult problem than
producing them. A large part of the
southern crop is kept in pits and
banks, with the result that probably
thirty per cent of the potatoes decay
and even those which are fit to put on
the market do not keep well. More
over, the pits and banks can not be
opened during wet or rainy weather
w thout risk Of injuring all the stock
in them, so that it is not uncommon
for growers to be unable, because or
weather conditions, to get out their
potatoes at the very time that the
market demand for them is greatest.
These difficulties can be done away
with to a great extent by the use CT
sweet potato storage houses, the
management and construction of
which are discussed in detail in Far
mers' Bulletin 548 of the Department
of Agriculture. Records covering the
storage in such buildings of 288,3lS
bushels of potatoes for an averag2
period of 124 days show the average
decay to be only 2.45 p@ cent. II
they we're to be adopted generally by
growers in the South, it is estimate,
that at least ten million dollars woulc
be added to the value Of the croE
each ear.
The sweet potato is, however, like
practically all other crops, subject tt
disease in the field as we'll as to deca!
in storage. Black rot, scurf and sol
rot are found wherever the crop i
grown. Stem rot, foot rot and othe
diseases of minor Importance are Sc
we're only in isolated centers and
with the exception of foot rot, all tn
diseases do more damage in tn
North, where the crop is grown IN
tensively, than in the South. In tn
North the loss from diseases is est
: mated at from ten to forty per cen
of the annual crop; III the South, IN
Guiding storage diseases, at from tie
G to twenty per cent. The best method
: for the control of the various dis
J eases are discussed in Farmers Blu
letin TIA.
Partly because of the difference j
e their ability to resist disease an
partly because of market demand
r more attention should be paid to tn
a example, Yellow Jerseys, Big Stel
Y Jerseys, Nancy Halls and Early Ca
n o!inas are particularly susceptible
# stem-rot, whereas most of the oth'
h commercial varieties are more or lei
d resistant. On the other hand, tt
2 Yellow and the Big Stem Jersey
$ which are dry and mealy when COO
ed, suit the northern consumer al
t; are the varieties commonly sold
.e him However, the markets of tt
W Central West and West will take Il
Is semi-moist varieties such as Nam
n Hall and Dooley, if they are proper
e, graded and packed. The hlghe
ne price paid for carload lots of swe
i'd notatoes on the Chicago market
We two successive seasons was for sout
,, ern grown Nency Hall. In the Sou
err a most fleshed potato is preferred
x knowledge of such fact is essential
profitable marketing of the crop
Ike at the present time most produce
nd especially in the South, grow nu
nd Der of different varieties in the sal
he field and store them miscellaneous
lot together. The result is unprotita
he confusion.
do Even as it is, sweet potatoes a
ny in point of value, the second most
wo portant crop in the United States,
CIV ing exceeded only by Irish potato
The production, however, can be
creased almost definitely for tn
are millions of acres Of cheap c
~ over lands in the South well adap
NJ to the crop. By adopting the
provements suggested the demand