FARM CROPS 177 



fact often neglected by Southern growers who raise for a 

 Northern market is that the Northern markets demand a 

 potato that will cook dry and mealy, and that they will not 

 accept the juicy, sugary potato so popular in the South. 



The storage of sweet potatoes presents difficulties, owing 

 to their great tendency to decay under the influence of the 

 ever-present fungi and bacteria. This tendency can be 

 met by preventing bruises and by keeping the bin free 

 from rotting potatoes. The potatoes should be partly dried 

 and cleaned and then stored in a dry, warm place. 



The sweet potato vine makes a fair quality of hay, and 

 with proper precaution may be used for ensilage. Small, 

 defective, unsalable potatoes are rich in sugar and starch, 

 and are therefore good stock food. Since they contain 

 such a large per cent of water, they cannot be regarded as 

 a concentrated food, and must be used only as an aid to 

 other diet. 



SECTION XXXVIII RICE 



The United States produce only about one half of the 

 rice that this country consumes. There is no satisfactory 

 reason for our not raising more of this staple crop, for five 

 great states along the Gulf of Mexico are well adapted to 

 its culture. 



There are two distinct kinds of rice, upland rice and 

 lowland rice. Upland rice demands in general the same 

 methods of culture that are required by other cereals, as, 

 for example, oats or wheat. The growing of lowland rice 

 is more complicated, involving the necessity of flooding the 

 fields at proper times with water. This is a much too 

 difficult subject to enter upon here. 



