342 GARDEN FARMING 



Harvesting. As soon as they are fully grown, but before they 

 begin to color, sweet peppers are cut with only a short stem adhering 

 to each fruit and packed in small splint baskets like those used for 

 peaches, These baskets fit into a carrier which usually holds six 

 baskets. The cayenne pepper is seldom handled in this way. As a 

 rule, the stem with its fruits is cut close to the ground and carried 

 to market. These peppers are also dried and handled in bulk. The 

 old-fashioned way is to put them on long strings for drying. 



POTATOES 



The potato is of great economic importance as a food for man ; 

 in addition it is valuable for starch, cattle food, and alcohol. It is 

 grown extensively as an early market-garden and truck crop, and 

 even more extensively as a field crop in the northern part of the 

 United States. In some sections the same land can be made to 

 produce two crops of potatoes in a single season, thus rendering 

 it a very important and profitable industry. 



Varieties have been developed which adapt it to the great range 

 of climatic conditions. It has been found, however, that certain 

 varieties are peculiarly fitted for certain climates. The repeated 

 attempts which have been made to introduce European, and par- 

 ticularly English, varieties of potatoes into the United States have 

 proved very discouraging, thus showing that varieties which are 

 of great importance in one section or country may not be adapted 

 to conditions in another. Some varieties are especially adapted to 

 the sandy lands and short season of the Southern states, while 

 others are preeminently adapted to the cool and retentive, heavy 

 soils of the Northern states. Some require only a short season 

 for maturity, while others demand the entire growing period to 

 perfect their crop. With this great diversity of character it is 

 evident that the potato can be modified to meet almost every con- 

 dition of soil and climate which exists in the temperate zone. 

 This is not saying, however, that every soil and climate can be 

 made to produce a profitable yield of potatoes. There will always 

 be certain regions possessing the peculiar soil and climatic con- 

 ditions which will make them the leading commercial areas for 

 the cultivation of this product. 



