The courier-index., 1919-10-24
HOW ID HANDLE SWEET POTATOES
COUNTY AGENT WHITAKER GIVES GOOD ADVICE ON BEST WAY TO GATHER AND STORE THIS IMPORTANT CROP.

Anyone having sweet potatoes to sell in carload lots would do well to consult Andrew Nixon, secretary of the Marianne Sweet Potato Growers Association, or E. B. Whitaker, county agent for Lee county.
 Mir. Mixon's association has affil- lated itself with the state associa- tion that has been organized by the demonstration forces of the state, and either of these men will be glad to give you any information possi- ble as to the best method of selling your crop.
 According to these men a great deal of the success of storing sweet potatoes depends on the way in which the crop is handled in the field.
 Except for the early market. sweet potatoes should not be har- vested until they are mature. as immature potatoes are of poorer quality and much harder to keep in storage than those that have fully matured. Sometimes an early frost prevents full maturity, but ordinarily the growing season is sufficiently long for the potatoes to mature.
 The natural yellowing of the foliage is usually good indication that the potatoes are ready to be harvested. A still safer guide, how ever, is to cut several potatoes. The cut surface of mature potatoes will dry and white in a short time, mains moist and usually turns to a darker color.
 A turning blow with two rolling
 coulters attached to the beam to
 cut the vines and several steel
 prongs on the moldboard to sepa-
 rate the soil and vines from the
 potatoes makes a handy implement
 for digging. A middle buster"
 with the rolling coulters also does satisfactory work. A common mis-
 take is made in not going deep
 enough with the blow and thereby
 cutting a good many potatoes.
 It is very important that the po-
 tatoes be handled carefully in har-
 vesting, as they are easily bruised, and bruised potatoes rot easily and
 are hard to keep in storage or in
 shipping. Even if they should keep in the storage house, they are prac- tically unfit for market, because
 whenever potatoes are bruised the skin becomes dark and corky, and
 hence they present a bad appear
 ance. They should be handled as carefully as peaches or even eggs, | for the best results, and never
 thrown in piles or windrows, placed | in sacks or hauled loose in wagon
 box as is so often done. It IS well to allow them to dry somewhat m the field before gathering, provided the sun is not too hot. They should be graded in the field, while being gathered and carefully placed in crates and then hauled to the stor- age house, preferably in spring wagon. If spring wagon is not available, layer of hay or straw should be placed in the bottom Of the wagon box The baskets or crates should be full enough so that the lid fits tight on the pota- toes. This prevents them from jolting up and down in the con ta;ners on rough roads, which otherwise would cause them to be- come bruised, no matter how care fully they were handled in the field.
 These directions may seem rather hard, but as a matter or fact they are quite simple and can be easily followed, and 1t IS much better to exercise time, than to lose them because of rough handling Tn the field. Potatoes that are nan dled carefully can be easily kept in curing house, while those that are bruised or diseased are the ones that cause trouble.