230 



Soft rot is controlled entirely by carefully sort- 

 ing and handling the tubers throughout the entire 

 process of harvesting and storing and by maintain- 

 ing the proper temperatures, especially in the 

 earlier stages of storage. Treatment of the roots 

 before bedding for propagating purposes with the 

 ordinary formalin solution used for potato scab has 

 proved very effective in a number of experiments. 



A long list of varieties is found under cultiva- 

 tion, but the leading ones are the Big Stem Jersey 

 Yellow, Jersey Red, Southern Queen and Red Ber- 

 muda. The term yam is often improperly applied 

 to the soft-bodied, moist varieties of the sweet po- 

 tato. This type is not shipped to any great extent, 

 because the tubers do not handle well and are 

 extremely subject to rot. 



TOMATO 



The tomato is a native of America and a member 

 of the nightshade family. It was formerly consid- 

 ered to be poisonous and for this reason its cultiva- 

 tion made slow progress in many sections for a long 

 time. This prejudice proven fallacious, its popularity 

 increased rapidly, until at the present time the tomato 

 may be looked upon as one of the vegetables grown 

 everywhere. It is a plant rarely found missing from 

 the home garden, and is cultivated in large areas as 

 a truck crop in the vicinity of every market. Thou- 

 sands of acres are grown for canning purposes, and it 

 has become one of the three leading vegetables ex- 

 tensively forced under glass during the winter 

 months. The tomato is a tropical plant, requiring 

 . relatively high temperatures and an abundance of 

 sunlight for its best development. In spite of this 

 fact, however, it is successfully grown as an out- 



