TJ1 



AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



JaNI w:\ 





SWEET POTATOES. 



Sweet potatoes probably contribute a larger pari t" the 



'd of the greal nn-~.it' the] pie living in the sma 



Wesl Indian islands, than anj other one article. From 

 several of the islands there is information of a larger area 

 being put under this crop this yea*. In view therefore oi 

 these facts the following maj be of interest. 



The sweel potato (Ipomoea Batatas) is a native of the 

 Tropics, its original habitat being probabl) the West Indies, 

 or Central America. It is now largely grown in the tropical 

 and subtropical pi gions of both hemispheres. 



The soil best suited to the cultivation of the sweel 

 potato is a moderately fertile, sandy loam. Ets requirements 



are, however, modest,for a fairly g I crop can be grown 



"ii soil- thai are too poor for the production oi most roots oi 

 cereals, especially when sweel potatoes are used in rotation 

 with leguminous crops. With the potato, as with other 



crops, judicious rotation conduces to success. G I drainage 



is essential. Probably one oi the reasons for the ven 

 general planting of sweel potatoes on ridges is to secure 

 better drainage. 



Well rotted stable or pen manure is to be recommended 

 for use with the sweet potato. Too heavy applications oi 

 manure to the [and, shortly before planting, tend to stimulate 

 the growth of the vines at the expense of the root,. Prob- 

 ably, the best course to pursue i- to manure thoroughly the 

 previous rotation crop, so that the manure ma] be somewhat 

 reduced before the sweet potatoes are planted. As it lias 

 been proved that they need also .1 good supply of potash, the 

 use of wood or vegetable ashes along with the pen manure 



"ill be of advantage. To obtain g I results on soils 



deficient in lime, this should be liberally applied, preferably 

 some months before planting. 



In th.- West In. lie- sweet potatoes are grown almost 

 universally from cuttings, though the small tubers that are 

 now used as food for hogs might be employed for that 

 purpose. Reference to this point will lie made further on. 



The varieties of sweel potato are numerous. Ven 

 useful work has been done in the different experiment 

 stations ,,f the Departments of Agriculture in these 

 islands with regard to varieties, their yield, their char 

 acteristics, their adaptability to local conditions. Anyone 

 desiring information on these points should consult" the 

 annual reports oi these stations, or preferably refer to the 

 agricultural officers in charge of them. 



The sweel pot.it., does not usually keep well when 

 stored, at least in the We-t In. I|.-. This i- probably attii 



butable in some degree to carelessness in harvesting the 

 crop, and to want of proper storehouses. Farmers' Bulle- 

 tin, No. 520, issued by the Tinted States Department of 

 Agriculture, on the storage and marketing of sweel potatoes, 

 gives advice on this point, which, allowance being made for 

 different climatic conditions, should prove useful to the West 

 Indian grower. The following i- an abstract of the directions 

 in the above mentioned bulletin as to harvesting the crop. 

 The first point to l,e considered i-, that if the sweel potatoes 



are to be Btored, thej must not lie reaped until they are fully 

 ripe. Farmers Bulletin, No. 548, with reference to this, 

 gives the following test of ripeness: 'Fanners can judge when 

 Bweet potatoes are ripe, by breaking or cutting the tubers, 

 and leaving them exposed to the m foi a few minutes. If 

 the cut or broken surface dries, they are mature, hut if the 



Surface remains moist, they are not read) to he dug.' 



The most important factor in keeping sweet potato 



ireful handling Theyshouldbe dug without cutting or 

 bruising the tubers. If possible, the digging should he done 



on a bright sunshim day, so that the potatoes may lie e: 



Mi.l the wind for a couple ..f hours before being 

 taken to the storehouse. In harvesting and storing, sweet 



potatoes ought to l.e handled as carefully as if they were 



B torinj! they should he graded, the main 



being to separate from those intended to he stored for any 



period, all th.- . ut, broken, or bruised root-, as well as those 

 that , i.-l\ large, or to., -mall. 



With regard ises, the bulletin says thai .dry 



m, «ell ventilated, with an equable temperature oi from 



80 to 85° P. is requisite. The besl results are obtained by 

 placing the potato,- in bins. Th.-.- are constructed .,1 



inch scantlings, placed 01 the floor as sleepers, and a bott 



of 1 by I inch slats nailed on them, leaving .', inch 



between the slats. The sides of the bins are made bj 

 the same sized scantling, of the height required, upright, mil 

 nailing the same sized slats to them, onlj the -par. • 1., 

 maj be 1 inch. A space of at least G inches should b 

 between the bins, and also between the bins and the « 

 the house, to ensure ventilation and a free circulation 1 

 A g I size of bin i- 6 x lo x 10 feet. 



In -I. .ring the potatoes in the bins, care in hat d 



again emphasized. When the potatoes are brought from the 

 field they should be placed in a layer about 2 feet deep over 



the il ■ of the bins. As a rule, it i- well to allow tin 



to dry for a day or two before a second is put in. In order 

 to carrj thesecondla er to the back of a large bin w 

 walking on the first layer, and so bruising them, a few 

 tilled with straw are thrown on the potatoes, and on 

 planks ue placed for the workmen to walk on. After 1 day 

 or two a third layer i- added, the depth of potato 



about ti feet when the bin is filled. \.. straw ..1 

 material is placed between the layers. 



Tin- potatoes thus stored give off a quantity ,.i moisture. 



A week or ten days i- required to cure them properly. 1 >ne 



test of curing is the ease or difficulty with which the skin of 



th.- potato can l.e scraped off. As long as il em I asily 



removed the curing process is not complete. The main thing 



after this j- t,, k ee p t)|,. roots perfectly dry, an. I 



ventilated. 



Increased production of sweel potato,.- might lead to an 

 '\port trade. There i- already some export of this crop 



from Barbados to some of tl ther islands and to 



Demerara; but there seems t.. be a possibility of 'lien. 

 being a remunerative market for sweet potatoes in r, 

 where climatic conditions forbid the cultivation of them. 

 Here emphasis mu-t he again laid upon the necessity 

 of careful grading and packing. Each package, barrel, ,,1 box 

 should contain tubers of uniform size, shape, and variety. 



To cram indiscriminately int ie package, big and little, 



round and long, red aid white, dry and moist potatoes, means 

 poor value ill the market. 



In the tir-t place, experiments would have to be made 1- 

 to the best keeping varieties "I potatoes, and then as to the 



size, shape, colour, etc.. most likely lo i,e acceptable in the 



market. Probably a medium sized potato, of a somewhat 



long, oval shape, would be found to be the inosl attra 

 Barrels with ventilating spaces provided in the staves would 

 be about the most convenient packages to use for shipping. 

 These should he carefully packed, s,, a- t,, avoid crushing 

 ami bruising the potatoes. 



In this connexion it may he remarked that according to 

 Farmers' Bulletin, \... 324, of the United state- Department 

 ol Agriculture, if th.- -mall tubers mentioned above ire 



used for planting, it is well to select them of uniform i/e 

 and of the shape desired in the next year's crop 



