April, '22] EARNED & KIMBALL: SWEET POTATO INSPECTION 153 



fire or to use them for eating purposes or to boil them thoroughly before 

 feeding them to stock. He agrees to dip all seed sweet potatoes just 

 before disposing of them for 10 minutes in a solution of corrosive subli- 

 mate — strength one ounce to 8 gallons of water. 



Bed Inspections. Beds must be made of soil in which sweet potatoes 

 have never before been grown, and if old frames are used they, as well 

 as implements used in preparing the beds, must be thoroughly disin- 

 fected. Sweet potato draws are certified under the following conditions : 



Only such potatoes as have met the requirements for Mississippi 

 certified seed sweet potatoes are used to produce plants to be sold 

 or given away within the State of Mississippi. All certified seed used 

 to produce plants are hand culled and disinfected immediately before 

 bedding out, this is done under the supe'rvision of an inspector of the 

 State Plant Board. All beds of certified seed sweet potatoes are in- 

 spected by an agent of the State Plant Board not more than three weeks 

 before plants are to be removed from the beds. 



Growers outside of Mississippi must comply with the same standards 

 met by Mississippi sweet potato growers before permit tags are issued 

 that will enable them to ship into the state. The quarantine and parcel 

 post inspectors located at about 20 strategic points throughout the state 

 give us an opportunity to check very closely the movement of plants 

 into and within the state. All diseased and uncertified plants are held up. 



We believe that we have an effective inspection service and that the 

 results have fully justified the hopes we had at the start. 



Mr. Haseman: I should like to ask Mr. Hamed if the inspectors 

 shown on the map are full time inspectors or part time. 



Mr. Harned: We hope they are full time inspectors. The legis- 

 lature convenes next month and if they treat us as well as they did 

 before, they are full time inspectors. 



Mr. G. M. Bentley: We in Tennessee think this is a very important 

 measure. We have a similar department, except possibly a little in 

 addition; for example, supervising of the seed, seeing that the seed is 

 dipped, the frames and so forth carefully treated, and that the plant 

 beds have the proper environment. 



Most of you know that the South is hard hit at this time. Cotton, 

 farm products, and live stock are low in price, and the sweet potato is 

 the one product not so affected. The demand for the slips is very great, 

 not only in the state of Tennessee, but in the States of Arkansas and 

 Mississippi, and the growers of Tennessee are intensely interested in these 

 requirements. There are four counties in the state which, if they 



