KEEPING SWEET POTATOES. 327 



tection against too great temperature changes and 

 moisture is better. This method has been approved in 

 Fresno county - 



Take stout stakes, say five to six feet long, and drive 

 them into the ground in a row and five feet apart, in some 

 dry place that is not sheltered by trees. Dig the potatoes 

 and throw them up around the stakes to the height of four 

 feet. For a large field a great many such rows may be 

 necessary ; for a small patch perhaps one single stake will 

 suffice. When all dug, put four inches of straw as cover- 

 ing. 



After a week or ten days, according to the weather, 

 the potatoes will have undergone a sweating process. 

 They first cover themselves with moisture, as if they had 

 been dipped in water. This moisture gradually begins to 

 disappear, and as soon as it does so it is time to throw off 

 the straw. This should be done when the wind is blowing ; 

 the potato hills should be left open for three or four hours, 

 or until the potatoes appear entirely dry. If the straw 

 covering is taken off in the morning, the potatoes will be 

 dry at noon. Then cover them again with three or four 

 inches of fresh, dry straw, and on the top of the straw put 

 three or four inches of soil to keep out the cold. On the 

 top of this must be placed a roof, which is easily made of 

 shakes nailed to strips of two by three and made in the 

 shape of panels, to allow of easy handling and of repeated 

 use year after year. Potatoes kept in this way will pre- 

 serve perfectly until next spring. Very few, if any, will 

 be found decayed. 



Varieties. Probably all the improved varieties have 

 been introduced in California. The California demand is 

 for a variety which is rather dry and mealy when cooked, 

 although the softer, sweeter sorts have some advocates. 

 The most common variety is called the Californian, but it 

 is a Chinese sort introduced in early days. The Southern 

 Queen and the Nansemonds are also popular and the 

 Jersey Red is grown to some extent in southern California. 



