SWEET POTATOES. 223 



refers to an entirely different vegetable. It will un- 

 doubtedly pay to raise some mealy, early varieties for 

 shipping. These always bring a good price in the 

 Northern markets, bat are usually a home grown pro 

 duct, because the Southern vaiieties are not shipped in. 



USES. 



Evaporated sweet potatoes were exhibited from 

 Japan at the Columbian Exposition. They are pre- 

 pared by slicing and drying in the sun (in an evapo- 

 rator would be better). For the table, they are pre 

 pared by soaking and then baking. 



In 1893, a factory in Mississippi canned 1000 bushels ; 

 the potatoes were bought for 40 cents a bushel and sold 

 for 95 cents a dozen cans of three pounds each ; a 

 bushel will make fifteen such cans. The undertaking 

 is certainly to be commeaded, and ought to be tried 

 throughout our section, in connection with the early 

 vegetables. 



One of the most promising uses is to feed to stock. 

 "Three pounds of sweet potatoes afford as much dry 

 matter, quite as much carbonaceous material, but less 

 than half as much protein as is contained in one pound 

 of corn. By using one pound of cotton-seed meal or 

 one pound of cow peas (seed) for every ten pounds of 

 sweet potatoes, this deficiency of protein is supplied. 

 We can find no digestion experiments with sweet pota- 

 toes." The vines may be used for hay, and as such 

 are nearly equal to cow-pea vines. 



COST OF PRODUCTION. 



Data was collected and a compilation made to ascer- 

 tain the cost of producing an acre of this crop. The 

 results given were as follows: "Seed potatoes. $1.25 

 to $4.75; preparation of the land, $1.25 to $4.50; 

 transplanting, $1 (doubtless for vine-cutting) to $6; 



