TOMATOES 431 



Some shippers divide the potatoes into three grades exclusive of 

 the seed, which might be counted as a fourth grade. The grade 

 called selects is comprised of tubers of uniform medium sizes 

 which are well formed. The large potatoes go as No. 2's, and in 

 the Washington market are known as pie potatoes. The small 

 tubers go into a class which may be called No. I's. 



In cold weather the roots should be packed in tight, double- 

 headed barrels or in lined boxes and shipped in lined freight or 

 refrigerator cars. 



Varieties. The so-called varieties of sweet potatoes are numerous, 

 but a careful test of nearly one hundred of these has revealed the 

 fact that there are not more than twenty or twenty-five distinct 

 sorts worthy of the name and of being kept separate. In the dif- 

 ferent sections a wide range of types of potatoes is grown for the 

 different markets, as indicated in figure 165. The Northern and 

 Northeastern markets, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New 

 York, and Boston, all demand a dry, mealy potato, while the 

 Southern growers and the Southern market prefer a watery sweet 

 potato one containing a very high percentage of sugar and 

 having a soft, gelatinous flesh when cooked. The Yellow Jersey 

 and the Big Stem Jersey are two of the leading sorts for culti- 

 vation in Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey, while soft-fleshed 

 sorts such as Nancy Hall, Dooley Yam, and Triumph are the 

 popular potatoes of the South. 



The difference between the two types of sweet potatoes is so 

 marked that the dry-fleshed sorts are popularly called sweet potatoes, 

 while those with watery flesh are called yams. This distinction is 

 a false and improper one. Both types are true sweet potatoes. 

 The true yam belongs to a different family of plants, Dioscorea, 

 and is not commercially cultivated in the United States. 



TOMATOES 



Origin. While few important commercial fruits or vegetables 

 can be attributed to America, the tomato is a vegetable of Ameri- 

 can origin which compares favorably in commercial importance 

 with its old-world rivals both in this and in Mediterranean coun- 

 tries. This plant, because of its relation to the Nightshade family, 



