Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-01-31

VIZ WASHINGTON, Jan. 27.-An. army
w army of big, red, juicy southern
sweet potatoes is marching on the
northern markets to compete with the paler
and drier Jersey sweet potato, which has for
generations held the field almost unchal-
lenged. In fact, some of the southern in
vaders are already here.
A good many carloads of them have reach
ed Washington, which has always used some,
and points north should be prepared for the
invasion. The southerners have planned an
intensive advertising campaign, and associa-
tions are being formed all through the south
for the purpose of pushing the sweet potato
campaign.
If you want to help the south, which is
JuStnoW having a struggle with hard times
and the boil weevil, and incidentally add a
new delicacy to your table, buy southern
sweet potatoes. Serve them candied and
make sweet potato pie out of them. If you
do not know how, you can find the recipes
in any complete cookbook
Nor does this necessarily mean abandoning
the Jersey potato for it's more succulent
southern rival. The people of the United
States could proftably eat great many more
sweet potatoes than they do, and there is
every reason why they should eat both kinds
for the southern and northern potato differ
enough to be considered two distinct yege-
tables.
1t is possible 20 debate at great length
their respective merits. The Jersey sweet po-
tato is dry, almost powdery when cooked, and
has low sugar content compared to the
southern variety. The southern potato is sue
culent and high in sugar content. 1t candies
beautifully, and when rightly cooked is a
real delicacy. Any southerner can become
eloquent on short notice about his native
sweet potato He does not see how anyone
can eat the dry and sugarless northern pota-
to when he might have a big red sweet po-
tato that is really sweet. He also makes the
claim that this southern sweet potato is an
especially digestible article. Not only is the
potato easily assimilated ITSELF he claims,
but it acts as a digestive for other foods and
especially for rich meats so that roast pork
and 'possum are always served with sweet
potatoes in the south. The southerners go so
lar as to claim that Indigestion is rare
complaint In the southern sweet potato belt,
and they attribute this largely to the high
dgest1Ve value of the sweet potato.
Advantages of Southern Potato
Whatever there may be in this claim, there
is no doubt that the southern sweet potato
deserves much larger place on the Amer1-
can bill of fare than it has. Even IL you pre-
fer the dry northern potato for BAKING, the
southern potato is better for pie and 1. alone
can be successfully candied. Furthermore,
the southern potato is higher in sugar con-
tent and therefore in food value 1t also
keeps better and ships better, although any
sweet potato is a difficult commodity to dis
tribute. Again, the southern potato by rea-
son OIL the rlcn southern SOIL, Tic IOuS S1OW-
ing season and the cheap labor of that region
can be produced somewhat more cheaply
than the northern potato. once the soutnern-
ers have perfected a system Of distribution
through the north, they will be able to give
the northerners an excellent food at low
price.
The troubleois that preferences in matters
o. eating are formed almost entirely by hao-
it, However fine the southern sweet potato
may seem to a southerner, it is not going TO
be acceptable at first to northerner VINO Is
accustomed to the jersey potato. Most north
ern people regard the sweet potato as SUD-
stitute for the Irish potato, to be used once
in while for a change. They want some
thing about the same consistency as an irish
potato, which they can mash up with fork
and eat with gravy. "Mealy'' is the adjective
that describes a good potato of any kind to
the northerner, and the southern potato is
no more mealy than an apple. 1t is succulent.
The southerner likes it baked or candied,
and he is apt to cut it in chunks and eat it
with lot of butter.
These little dinner table habits are the de-
Gliding factors in the fate of any food. What
! the southerners must do is to educate the
country to appreciate their potato 1t can be
| done and they know it, for it has been done
! before Intensive advertising has multiplied
| the distribution of the California orange
many fold When the growing of rice in the
! southwest began, there was almost no north
! ern market for Americana grown rice. The
| Carolina rice fields had long been out of bust
ness. The north erners did not know how to
eat rice The rice-groWers formed an asso-
citation and opened rice kitchens in northern