32 The Sweet Potato 



yet no means have been perfected by which they may 

 be converted into a condensed stock food on the farm 

 economically. It will be noted (Table VIII) that both 

 the protein and fat-content are relatively low. If pea- 

 nuts, which are rich in these two elements, are ground 

 in the shell and mixed 1 bushel to 3 of sweet potatoes, 

 a well-balanced ration will be secured. Three bushels 

 of sweet potatoes are usually considered equal in feed- 

 ing value to 1 bushel of com ; but experience has shown 

 that supplemental concentrated feeds and especially 

 ones rich in protein should be used if a satisfactory 

 feed is obtained. 



Vines. 



The vines of the sweet potato when properly cured 

 make a fair quality hay for feeding cattle and sheep. 

 Though the vines turn black when dried, they are greed- 

 ily eaten by all kinds of stock. The principal objec- 

 tion to saving vines for hay is the difficulty of harvest- 

 ing. They not only lie flat on the ground but root 

 freely, making them very tedious and expensive to 

 gather. Cattle, hogs and sheep readily eat the green 

 vines in the field but the food value is relatively 

 small in this state. In chemical analysis, however, 

 the cured vines compare favorably with some of our 

 prominent hays. Keitt ^ gives the following compari- 

 son of the average analysis of red clover, crimson clover, 

 cowpea and soybean hays with that of hay made from 

 sweet potato vines. The analysis of the potato vines 

 represents an average of four varieties ; Brazilian, Polo, 

 Southern Queen and Nancy Hall. 



1 T. E. Keitt, Bull. 146, S. C. Exp. Sta., p. 16. 



