THE POTATO 249 



midsummer, but as a rule the real damage caused 

 by this insect is slight. 



"The harvesting and marketing of sweet pota- 

 toes direct from the field begin about the middle 

 of August and continue until the crop is all dis- 

 posed of or placed in storage for winter marketing. 

 During the early part of the harvesting season the 

 yield is light, but as a rule the prices paid are good. 

 The supply for home use and those potatoes that 

 are to be kept in storage should not be dug until 

 just before frost. In the localities where frosts do 

 not occur until quite late in the season the sweet 

 potatoes ripen and the vines show a slight tinge of 

 yellow when ready for handling. 



"The foliage of the sweet potato is very tender 

 and is easily injured by frost. A light frosting of 

 the leaves will do no harm, but should the vines 

 become frozen before digging they should be cut 

 away to prevent the frozen sap passing down to 

 the roots and injuring them. 



"In sorting sweet potatoes preparatory to pack- 

 ing, about four grades are recognized i. e., fancy, 

 primes, seconds, and culls. Those packed as fancy 

 include only the most select, both in size and shape. 

 The primes include all those adapted to general 

 first-class trade, while the seconds include the 

 smaller and more irregular stock which goes to a 

 lower-priced trade. The culls are not marketed 

 unless good stock is exceedingly scarce, and as a 

 rule are used for feeding to hogs. 



"Sweet potatoes are usually shipped in barrels 

 holding eleven pecks each. Some markets require 

 that the barrels be faced and headed, while for 

 others the tops are slightly rounded and covered 

 with burlap. Small lots of extra-fancy sweet po- 

 tatoes are sometimes shipped in one-bushel crates 



