CHAPTER XXI 



THE SWEET POTATO 



THE article which follows consists of extracts 

 from *' Farmers' Bulletin 324" of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, 

 and is by W. R. Beattie of the Bureau of Plant 

 Industry: 



"With the passing of each year the sweet potato 

 is becoming of greater importance as a commercial 

 truck crop in the United States. During a long 

 period it has formed one of the principal sources of 

 food for the people of the Southern States and of 

 tropical America. As a commercial truck crop the 

 sweet potato would be included among the five of 

 greatest importance, ranking perhaps about third 

 in the list. As a food for the great mass of the 

 people living in the warmer portions of our country 

 the use of this crop is exceeded by hominy and rice 

 only. In many of the islands of the Pacific, espe- 

 cially in the Philippines, the sweet potato is the 

 principal vegetable food for large numbers of the 

 lower classes, at certain seasons being almost the 

 only food available. 



"The sweet potato industry in this country is 

 readily divided into two classes of production: (1) 

 For home use and (2) for market. A quantity 

 sufficient for home use can be grown under a wide 

 range of conditions, while production on a com- 

 mercial scale is somewhat restricted by climate and 



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