280 THE POTATO 



"A test of scabby and healthy tubers of the 

 Delaware variety showed a higher starch content 

 in the scabby tubers than in the healthy ones, thus 

 showing that scabby potatoes are not necessarily 

 poorer in starch than those free from scab." 



The manufacture of starch from sweet potatoes 

 is discussed in "Farmers' Bulletin 334" of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture as fol- 

 lows: 



"With a view to the more complete and profit- 

 able utilization of the sweet-potato crop the 

 South Carolina station several years ago began 

 investigations to determine the starch content of 

 different varieties of sweet potatoes and those 

 most promising for starch making, how much 

 starch can be recovered commerically from the 

 potatoes, and the quality of the starch for com- 

 mercial purposes. 



"As it is usually managed at the present time, 

 only a fraction of the crop is disposed of, all un- 

 imarketable potatoes being usually a dead loss, and 

 frequently, through inability to market the crop 

 promptly, great loss is suffered through damage 

 by rotting, etc. Where the crop could be dis- 

 posed of to starch factories the grower would have 

 the following advantages: (1) All potatoes 

 could be sold, regardless of their size. (2) No 

 barrels or containers would be required in market- 

 ing the crop. They could be loaded into a wagon 

 in the field and hauled directly to the factory, or 

 to the nearest railroad and loaded into cars for 

 shipment. (3) Grown on such a large scale, 

 modern machinery could be employed in plant- 

 ing, cultivating, and harvesting the crop, thus 



