The Bulletin. 



27 



the pack firm and snug, so that the package will be well filled when it 

 reaches market. Fig. 2 A shows a barrel carelessly packed, that cannot 

 be expected to sell for as much as a well-filled package. Products put up 

 in this way never bring the top market price. 



Fig. 15. — Potatoes Packed in Double-headed Barrel. 



Late potatoes are shipped either in bulk or in sacks. Fig. 16 shows 

 the common type of sack used in this method of shipping. This crop is 

 usually sold by weight, each sack holding about 150 pounds of tubers. 

 The same care given the sorting, grading and handling of the parly crop 

 should be practiced in the marketing of late potatoes. 



SWEET POTATOES. 



In growing sweet potatoes for commercial purposes, the preferences 

 of the different markets must be taken into consideration. Northern 

 markets prefer a dry, yellow potato of medium size and oval shape. 

 Potatoes of the Jersey type have these qualities. In Southern markets 

 the moist, sugary kind seem to be the most desirable. 



Sweet potatoes will not bear rough handling, and for this reason they 

 must be harvested even more carefully than Irish potatoes. For small 

 areas a common turning plow may be used to throw out the potatoes, 

 but perhaps the most commonly used implement is the four-tined fork or 

 potato "hook." In harvesting large areas, a plow provided with a 

 revolving coulter, or some other device for cutting the vines, is used for 

 turning out the potatoes. Another implement used in this work is the 

 "scoop digger," which passes under the potatoes and cuts the roots, leav- 



