183 The Sweet Potato 



produced from draws or plants. This may be ex- 

 plained in several ways. In the first place, sweet 

 potatoes produced from draws are likely to be planted 

 early and are often left in the ground until they are over- 

 mature. When this condition exists, the late fall rains 

 so prevalent in sweet potato growing sections are liable 

 to injure the quality and consequently ease of keeping 

 of these potatoes, which have already reached their max- 

 imum growth. Another reason for the apparent diffi- 

 culty in keeping sweet potatoes grown from plants is 

 that there is a greater tendency to produce large 

 cracked-open jumbos, or as they are sometimes called 

 " mother potatoes." In handling, these potatoes are 

 more likely to become bruised and consequently will be 

 more difficult to keep in good storage condition. Many 

 growers very strongly recommend tubers grown from 

 vines as being the best keepers. 



Harvesting. — To secure the maximum yield and de- 

 velop the highest quality in sweet potatoes, they should 

 be allowed to mature before being harvested. Sweet 

 potatoes which are planted early should not be left in 

 the ground long after they are mature, since there is a 

 tendency to produce ill-shaped jumbos which will have 

 to be marketed at a disadvantage. Potatoes planted in 

 midseason are ordinarily not mature until about the 

 time of the first frost and the common practice is to let 

 them remain in the field until this time. After frost 

 has fallen, harvesting should be done immediately or 

 if necessary to postpone it for a few days the vines 

 should be cut off at once. It is well to get- the potatoes 

 out as soon as possible after the vines have been cut. 



Care in handling. — One of the most important con- 

 siderations to be kept in mind constantly if sweet pota- 



