Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-09-10
Weekly Bureau of In
J formation for All Who
TIL the Soil or Are In
>terested in Making Homes
SWEET POTATOES AS FOOD
RATHER NEGLECTED. CROP
Production Can and Should he Largely
Increased I'm All Parts OF
Virginia.

Comparatively few Virginia farmers
raise sweet potatoes to sell. Those
who did raise them for the markets
this year made money. Many more can
do the same thing next year, and n
chapter on the subject is now in order.
Sweet potatoes can be made an i'm
portant and cheap source of food 1t
is quite easy to increase tho acreage
enormously and the adoption OF better
methods of handling and storing would
improve the product to such an extent
that the demand would be greatly slim
ulated.
Storing sweet potatoes has always
been more difficult problem than
producing them. \ large part of the
Southern crop is kept in pits and
banks. with the result that probably
80 per cent of the potatoes decay, and
even those which arc fit TO put on tho
market do not keep we'll Moreover.
the pits and banks cannot be opened
during wet or rainy weather without
FISK of injuring all the stock in them.
so that it is not uncommon for grow
ers to be unable. because of weather
conditions. to get out their potatoes
AZ the very time that the market de
mand for them is greatest.
These difficulties can be done away
with 10 great extent by the proper
use, management and construction OF
sweet potato storage houses. Records
covering the storage in such buildings
Oh 22s,3ls bushels of potatoes for an
average period of l24 days show the
average decay to be only 245 per cent.
II they were 10 he adopted generally
by growers in the South, IL is estimate d
that at least sl0,o0o.CoO would be add
ed to the value of the crop each wear.
The sweet potato is, however, like
practically all other crops, subject TO
disease In the field we'll as to decay
In storage. Black rot scurf and soft
rot are found wherever the crop ia
grown. Stem rot. foo. rot and other
diseases OF minor Importance are Sc
we're only in isolated centers and. with
the exception of foot rot, all the dis
eases do more damage in the North,
where the crop is grown intensively,
than in the South. In the North the
loss from disease is estimated at from
10 10 10 per cent Of the annual crop.
IN the South, including storage dis.
eases. at from 10 TO 20 per cent
1t must be remembered. too. that
lhe value of sweet potatoes as feed for
live stock is not yet generally under
stood Three 10 four bushels are the
equivalent of a bushel of corn for hogs
and In connection with rich concen-
trates the potatoes are a good feed for
cattle On light soils that produce
from twenty to twenty-five bushels OF
corn. the same care and attention will
return 100 TO 200 bushels OF sweet 20
tatoes. Finally, it is not unlikely tina,
by artificial drying a product NAV be
obtained. which will keep as long AZ.
rs desired. and, because OF its reduced
bulk, may be shipped long distances at
q comparatively low cost Government
experiments along this line, however.
nave not been carried far enough as
yet 10 recommend drying on a CONNER
cial scale
Sweet potatoes must be harvested
and stored with the utmost care ~
their production is to prove profitable
any bruisinE Of the roots. either In the
ne!d or IN storage. will greatly increase
the percentage of loss. In storage the
temperature at which the potatoes are
Kept is also an important factor in de-
'eEHih!nS their keeping qualities
should select time wnel. tho ,--ot,nd
Growers should be sure before digging
mat The roots are mature ana.th.y
IS dry and the day bright II fros,
nips the plant the roots should be dug
within the next few days and, II this
is impossible. the dead plants should
be cut OF az the ground with , hoe
50 that in rotting they will no, carr,
The decay 10 the roots
care should be taken in blowing
out the potatoes to avoid all bruisinc
by contact between the implements
used and the roots. The soil should
tAen be scratched away from the pota
toes and they should be left exposed