Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-06-21
STATES SWEET POTATO
CROP LEADS UNION
Value of This Product in 1919
Was More Than Two
Million Dollars.

Special Correspondence Every Evening
Newark, Del. June 21.--Throush In
formation gained from the United
States Census Bureau and careful In
vestigation by the extension workers,
tho Extension Department OF the
University GA Delaware has compiled
some interestiNg Y figures relative to the
vegetable cropA OF Delaware. These
figures show that Delaware leads the
Union In the growing of sweet po-
tatoes and that this crop has increas-
ed 400 per cent in acreage since 1900.
The Extension Department has given
out tho following statement relative
to the Delaware vegetable crop:
THAT vegetable crops play an i'm
portant part In the income OF the
farms In Delaware IL shown by the
value OF Sl.903,0l7 for all vegetables
| in 1919 not including white potatoes
valued at $950.953 and sweet potatoes
valued at s2,634,2s7. or the ten
thousand farms in the state 6S5 per
cent are growing some truck or vege-
table crop for the market. The crops
most extensively grown arc tomatoes
and potatoes. GIG per cent OF the
farms growing the former crop. and
609 per cent OF them growing the
latter crop. While sweet potatoes are
grown by 44S per cent of the farmers
of Delaware the acreage is restricted
TO few communities IN Sussex and
Kent counties where Il becomes a
very intensive crop. The per cent Of
farms reporting the other crops fol-
low: Cantaloupes. 12.7 per cent:
peas. Z per cent; cucumbers. Ga per
cent: sweet corn, Sc per cent and
watermeons b.S per cent. All other
vegetable crops are grown on fewer
than five per cent of the farms such
as asparagus. beans. cabbage. etc.
THE acreage Of vegetable crops
range as follows in Delaware: To
matoes, 22,797 acres; sweet potatoes
9,Sl3: white potatoes. S255: canta
loupes. $500: sweet corn. 2,976; peas
2,145: and the remaining crops ar
each under 1000 acres. Peas. corr
and tomatoes are all grown mainl,
for canning purposes and the othe
4 crops are sold on the market
Delaware leads the Union In grow
ing sweet potatoes. While there ar
= larger states growing more acres {
. sweets, Delaware leads in quality @
u production with an average yield G
1884 bushels per acre, followed b
Maryland and the Eastern Shore c
Virginia.
Sussex county. Delaware, leads a
the counties OF the country in tn
: average acre return from sweet pc
= tatoes OF S295. Seventy per cent {
- all the farms in Sussex county or
total of 3.770 are producing sweet pc
tatoes with a total acreage OF SOC
a Sussex and Accomsc, Va. count,
II lead the world IN the acre yield
y, sweet potatoes with 1855 and l76
p. respectively. The total value OF tn
lie crop IN SUSSEX county in 1919 WAS tt
Of ported as s2.s77.4 on a total produ
n ton OF 1.35S.sS7 buahels.
The State OF Delaware grows 6
Of average Of ISIS acres Of sweet d
TO tatoes with a total production Of ]
NJ 505.2TS bushels. valued in 1919
ns S2.6S4. .237. IL is worth Observing tn
s. in 1900 Delaware grew but 2.2e5 acr
n, OF sweets and in 1910. 5.229 acres whi
III is 100 per cent increase in the produ
p ton OF the crop in the past two d
~ cades. Realizing the strides that ha
been made IN recent years in CONNIE
" cializing this crop in Delaware, w
can predict the future possibilities
a. lower Delaware as a trucking centr,