218 



The Potato Crops 



do not plant sweet potatoes near infested fields. Slightly 

 injured tubers may be fed to stock, but those badly infested 

 may be buried deeply. Do not introduce the insect into unin- 

 fested localities by means of infested tubers used for seed. 



Sweet potato flea-beetle (Chcetocnema confinis). — A 

 small flea-beetle, -^ in. long, pitchy black with faint bronzy 

 reflections. It hibernates as an adult under rubbish. The 

 beetles do not eat holes in the leaves but cut channels on the 

 upper surface, causing the leaf to turn brown and die. The 

 larvjB feed on the roots of bindweed. In New Jersey the attack 

 is conflned chiefly to plants in the field. Farther south the 

 beetles injure the plants in the seed-bed. Control: Spray 

 with arsenate of lead ; dip the plants before transplanting in 

 arsenate of lead (paste), 1 lb. in 10 gals, water. 



The sweet potato is one of the leading crops of the South, 

 and it is extensively grown as far north as the light lands 

 of New Jersey. In more Northern States it is often grown 

 in a small way on ridges in the garden. Sweet potatoes 

 are shipped to all parts of the country, being one of the 

 common foods in northern parts. They are also valuable 



for live-stock. 

 They are little 

 known to the 

 people of cen- 

 t r a 1 Europe. 

 The largest 

 quantities are 

 grown in "the 

 Carolinas, 

 Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, New Jer- 

 sey. Certain varieties of sweet potatoes are called yams 

 in the Southern States, but the word " yam " properly be- 



117. A good form of sweet potato. 



