23G 



Journal of the Department op Agriculture. 



Harvesting. 



Ml. Robertson practises two methods in the harvesting of his 

 street potato runners for sale and planting: — 



1. The tubers and runners are taken up simultaneously. This 

 method provides the best tubers for human consumption. 



2. The runners are cut off separately (to a certain extent late in 

 August, but principally in September) and sold as a first crop, the 

 tubers being left in the ground to provide a second crop of runners; 

 these are taken off a month later — generally some time in October — 

 when the tubers, which have deteriorated in the meanwhile and 



Fid. :"■).— Bascginsf Sweet Potato Runners at Little Brak. 



become fit only for cattle food, are dug up. This second crop of 

 runners is not sold off the farm, but is used by Mr. Robertson for 

 his own planting. 



At the time of my visit, the farm hands were all busy harvesting 

 tubers and roots by the first of the two methods above described. 



Bagging Runners for Sale, and Preservation. 



It was interesting to watch the operation of bagging the runners 

 or vines for export to other districts by rail. Four posts (fig. 5), 

 each from 9 to 11 feet high, are erected at the corners of a square of 

 4-feet side; from these posts an open bag is suspended by means of 



