VEGETABLES SWEET POTATO. 297 



worthless. In the Northern States, Sweet Potatoes must 

 always be used previous to December, unless they can be 

 kept in a warm place. 



In the Southern States they are kept in pits in the 

 open ground in much the same way as we keep ordinary 

 Potatoes at the North ; but the temperature of the soil 

 is of course much higher in Florida and other extreme 

 Southern States than at the North. Most of the Sweet 

 Potatoes that find their way to our Northern markets in 

 the winter and spring months, are grown in Georgia, 

 South Carolina and other Southern States. They are 

 preserved in the South by storing them in houses specially 

 built for that purpose. The Potatoes are packed in boxes 

 not more than eighteen inches deep, which are placed in 

 tiers one above the other, leaving spaces between for ven- 

 tilation. But in extremely cold weather it is necessary 

 that the apartment should be heated in some way so that 

 the temperature at no time is allowed to fall below fifty 

 degrees. There is no necessity for packing anything 

 around them ; if the heat in the apartment is sufficient, 

 they will keep by the air circulating around them among 

 the shelves or boxes in which they are placed. Probably 

 the best temperature at which Sweet Potatoes can be kept 

 in winter is sixty degrees. The following are the sorts 

 mostly grown : 



Nansemond. This is the earliest sort ; tubers large, 

 from three to four inches in diameter at the thickest 

 part, tapering to each end, and from five to eight inches 

 lon^ ; flesh dry, sweet arid well flavored. 



Red Skinned, This variety is claimed to be hardier 

 than the preceding, but it is doubtful if this is the case. 

 It is a long, slender variety, mostly grown in private 

 gardens, and is thought to be of a richer flavor than the 

 yellow or white sorts. 



Yellow Skinned. This sort is mainly cultivated in the 



