Vol. VII. Xo. 164. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



253 



SWEET POTATOS. 



UiidiT the above title a very iisofiil and iiitei-est- 

 ing j)aniphlet {Fariiin-s' Bidlctln -J. '4) has hitely been 

 issued bv the United States Department of Agricidtiire. 

 It contains a good deal of information as to the climatic 

 and soil conditions needed by the sweet potato crop, 

 the fertilizers that are most suitable, methods of 

 preparing the land and .'ietting out the plants, after- 

 cultivation, harvesr.ing of the produce, different varieties, 

 etc., as well as details in relation to storing the crop, 

 which, however, do nota|i])ly t<j West Indian conditions. 



.Sweet potatds thrive be.st on a iiicjilerately fertile, sandy 

 loam, which does not cdiitaiii an e.vce.s.s of organic matter. 

 Farmers in the Soutlicrii States of America put a special 

 value on tlie crop because it is one that can be grown upon 

 soils ^vllicll arc too poor for the production of the majority of 

 farm ci'ojis. 



Oodd ih-ainage is essential toi- the successful culti\atioii 

 •of sweet potatos. When the soil is too loo.se the potatos 

 tend to he long and irreguhir in .shape. For this reason it is 

 not advisable to plough more deeply than G or 8 inches in 

 preparing the land, since the best-shaped potatos are [irodu- 

 ced in a fairly loo.se surface .soil overlying a lirin sulisoil. 



Abundant application of organic fertilizers has been 

 found to stimulate the growth of tlie potato vines at the 

 •expense of the roots. It is not advi.sable therefore to apply 

 heavy dre.ssings of pen manure directly to the crop, ^^ucli 

 dres.sings should, in preference, be plouglied into the soil 

 with the croj) of the previous season. As a general rule 

 .i5weet potatos will pay for judicious mamiiing witli artiticial 

 fertilizers. It is recommended that a mixed fertilizer suitaljje 

 for use on most sweet potato lands should contain from 3 to 6 

 per i-ent. of nitrogen, 6 or 7 jier cent, of jihosphoric acid, 

 and S to 10 per cent, of potash. Such a mixture as the 

 billowing would meet the aV)Ovc requirements : 200 lb. of high- 

 grade sulphate of ammonia, 200 11). of driwl blood, 1,200 ft. 

 ■of suiierphosphate, and 400 lb. of high-grade muriate of 

 jKitash. ]']xpei-ience has indicated the necessity of having 

 an abundant sui)ply of potash in order to secure the best 

 return with the sweet potato o-op. In manurial experi- 

 ments with the crop, the lilieral application i>f pota.sh has 

 resulted in an increa,sed yield of from 40 to GO per cent. 

 When large (piantities of artificial njanure are given, it is 

 better to distribute the fertilizer at least ten days before 

 planting and thoroughly to incorporate it with the soil, than 

 to apply it in the rov.- at the time the crop is being planted. 



In the West Indie:; sweet potatos are regulaily ])ropa- 

 gated by vine cuttings and this method is also followed in the 

 Gulf States of America. In other States the crop is raised 

 from ' seed ' potatos, which are in some cases cut in several 

 pieces, and planted in the row where the plants are to mature, 

 or more fieipaently, allowed to sprout and grow for .some time 

 bi the .soil, and the vines .so produced, taken and divided 

 into cuttings from which the next.ci|oi3 is obtained. Propa- 

 gation by vine cuttings is, of course, as a general rule, cheaper 

 and more convenient, but the rcstdts of experiments have 

 shown that it is advisable occasionally to have i-ecourse 

 to i)lanting 'seed' potatos, .since the crop certainly tends to fall 

 off in yield when reproduced from vine cuttings only, year 

 after year in succession. 



Small potatos only need be used tor planting purjioses, 

 or for the production of vine cuttings. 'I'hey .should, however, 

 be uniform in size, and of the shajie desired in the following 

 crop. 



Land that is best suited for .sweet potato growing is 

 •easy to cultivate, and thorough picparation of the soil will be 



repaid by increased return, and greater ease in handling the 

 eroj) later. Sweet potatos can well be grown in a rotation 

 which includes cotton and a green forage crop, such as cow- 

 peas, beans, woolly pyrol, etc. 



In many parts of the Southern States sweet potatos are 

 grown on lan<l in the level I'ondition, which has not been rai.sed 

 into hills. The vine cuttings or young plants are set out 

 about 24 to 30 inches apart each way, so that from 7,000 to 

 11,000 plants are required per acre. Where the crop is 

 grown on ridges, or hills, it is customary to have the ridges, 

 from 36 to 42 i]iches apart, from centre to centre, and to 

 place the plants 14 to 18 inches apart in the rows. It is 

 alwaj-s well tfi plant the crop when the conditions are most 

 suitable to a <piick start into growth, either just before a rain, 

 or as soon afterwards as the land can be worked, since the 

 sweet potato ]ilant is one uhirh responds readily to a moist 

 condition of the soil. 



After-cultivation of the ci-oji consists chiefly in hoeing 

 for the ]>urpose of maintaining a mulch of loose surface soil, 

 and for keeping down weeds. This surface cultivation should 

 receive attention, more especially when the .soil is drying 

 after showers of rain, since at that time the upper layer tends 

 to cake. 



The varieties of sweet potatos reconunended to jilanters 

 in the above-mentioneil pamphlet are few in number. They 

 include Southern (,)ueen, Pumijkin ^ am, Georgia, Florida, 

 and Ked Bermuda, and the -Jersey group, i.e., Big-Stem 

 Jersey, Yellow .Tcrsey, and Bed Jersey. The Jersey potatos are 

 drier and more niealv than the iither varieties mentioned. 



TOBACCO EXPERIMENTS IN THE 

 BAHAMAS. 



The accom|iaiiying notes on experiments in tobacco 

 cultivation in the Bahamas appear in the Ann mil 

 Report (1907) of the Board of Agriculture of those 

 ishmds : — 



Experiments in the production of cigar leaf tobacco from 

 Cuban .seed have been continued during the year. Seed was 

 sown on .August 28, 1906, plants set out from October onward, 

 moulded from I)ecembei 10, and the first ripe plants cut on 

 Jarutary 31, 1907. The drietl tobacco was bulked for fermenta- 

 tion on May 30, taken down anil rel)ulked on June 11, 

 and stripped and rebulked on July 8. The temperature in the 

 pile rose to 120° K. 



The area grown under tobacco was ^ acre, and the laop 

 resulted in a yield of 340 ft. cured tobaccf>. There has been 

 a decided iniiirovement in the (piality of the tobacco grown 

 in this experiment. The imjirovement of the quality of the 

 Bahama leaf has called the attention of capitalists to the 

 possiliilities of this crop in the colony. 



The cost of cultivation, cuibig a]id stripping was 

 X8 9.S-. 6d. 



Sanqiles of tobai.'co grown and cured at the station 

 have been submitted to leading leaf dealers and experts in 

 England and America for their opinion. On their reports, 

 which are favourable, the lioard feels justihed, if funds were 

 available, in conducting further work upon a considerably 

 larger scale. 



The growing of tobacco has not been taken up .so readily 

 bv tlie farmers, because of the lack of knowledge of the 

 proper methods in cultivating, harvesting, and 

 croi'. A special • Bulletin 



curing the 

 the tobacco industry was 



>.■.[.. .1 ..i-.^. - 



published an<l distributed free in the tobaccc-grownig districts 

 in the Out Islanils. This bulletin contained full infonnatiou 

 on .soil planting, cultivation, harvesting and curing 



