SWEET-POTATO 431 



Varieties 



400. Terms used. — Great confusion exists in the names 

 and qualities of varieties of sweet-potatoes. This is partly 

 due to the fact that many different names are locally ap- 

 plied to the same variety; partly to the ease with which the 

 tubers of different varieties become mechanically mixed; 

 and partly, perhaps, to natural variations occurring in the 

 same variety under different conditions of climate and 

 cultivation. 



The word " yam " is used as a part of a name of some vari- 

 eties. Often it is applied to those varieties having a soft, sirupy 

 texture and flavor ; it is also frequently used for varieties having 

 deeply cut leaves ; and it has even been applied to those potatoes 

 which have prominent veins on the roots. Its meaning is so 

 indefinite and variable that the term might better be dropped, 

 especially since the word " yam " is properly applied to an en- 

 tirely different genus of plants, Dioscorea, of the yam family, 

 largely grown in the West Indies and elsewhere as food for the 

 natives. 



401. Market demands. — As a rule the Southern con- 

 sumer, whether on the farm or in a city, prefers a soft, 

 sirupy potato, which, qualities are still further developed 

 by baking, the common Southern method of cooking this 

 vegetable. On the other hand, the Northern markets 

 demand a dry, mealy, or starchy potato, .probably partly 

 because the more common method of cooking consists in 

 boiUng. It is stated that in the latter part of winter there 

 is more demand than earlier in Northern markets for the 

 sirupy type, of potato. 



Among varieties popular in the Northern markets are 

 Nansemond and Big Stem Jersey. Probably the most 



