February, 1909,] 



15] 



Edible Products. 



and this bulletin on the marketing of 

 Hawaiian fruits. In the latter part of 

 this you will find'something of my ideas 

 in regard to the marketing systems and 

 the absurdity that appears to me to be 

 involved in the so-called " Commission 

 System "— " consingnig system," and a 

 better system which I think ought to 

 be inaugurated. I think we will take the 

 few minutes that remain to run through 

 a few of the sildes which will illustrate 

 s ome of the things which I have said. 



A number of slides of the different 

 fruits were then exhibited, with explan- 

 ations by Mr. Higgins. 



In answer to a question as to the 

 advantage of sealing the ends of various 

 fruits with sealing wax or other sub- 

 stances to prevent diseases, etc., the 

 speaker said that it had not as yet 

 been determined definitely whether 

 such sealing was an advantage or not ; 

 that experiments would have to be 

 conducted with the different fruits and 

 sealing materials to decide that point. 

 The advantage would be in preventing 

 infection, but in many cases the spores 

 would have gained entrance before the 

 sealing process had begun. — Hair Hun 

 Forester and Agricuturist, Vol, V., No. 5, 

 May, 1908. 



SWEET POTATOES. 



{Concluded from page J/6.) 

 Harvesting Sweet Potatoes. 



Time for Digging Sweet Potatoes. 



The harvesting and marketing of 

 sweet potatoes direct from the field 

 begins about the middle of August and 

 continues until the crop is all disposed 

 of or placed in storage for winter 

 marketing. During the early part of 

 the harvesting season the yield is light, 

 but as a rule the prices paid are good. 

 The supply for home use and those 

 potatoes that are to be kept in storage 

 should not be dug until just before frost. 

 In the localities where frosts do not 

 occur until quite late in the season the 

 sweet potatoes ripen and the vines show 

 a slight tinge of yellow when ready for 

 handling. 



Effect of Frost on Sweet Potatoes. 



The foliage of the sweet potato is very 

 tender and is easily injured by frost. 

 A light frosting of the leaves will do no 

 harm, but should the vines become 

 frozen before digging they should be 

 cut away to prevent the frozen sap pass- 

 ing down to the roots and injuring 

 them. Where there is a heavy yield of 

 potatoes the soil is frequently cracked 

 or the ends of the potatoes protrude 

 above ground and are liable to injury 

 from severe frost. 



If on account of rainy weather or for 

 any other cause the potatoes cannot be 

 dug before frost or immediately after- 

 wards, the vines should be cut away 

 and the potatoes removed at the first 

 opportunity. If cold weather continues 

 it may be necessary to draw a little 

 extra soil over the hills to protect the 

 potatoes, or the vines may be piled in a 

 ridge over the row. A very slight frost- 

 ing of the potatoes will cause them to 

 decay within a short time after being 

 placed in storage. 



Methods of Harvesting Sweet 

 Potatoes. 



For digging a small area of sweet 

 potatoes, the spading or potato fork is 

 suitable. When digging by hand, the 

 work will be greatly facilitated by first 

 throwing a small furrow from one side 

 of the row by means of a one-horse turn 

 ing plough. The removal of sweet pota- 

 toes from the soil in large quantities is 

 generally accomplished by the aid of 

 sweet potato diggers or ploughs. These 

 implements are provided with two 

 sharp rolling coulters that cut the vines 

 ahead of the plough, and differ from the 

 ordinary plough in having a moldboard 

 that does not turn a furrow and termi- 

 nates in a number of rods or an exten- 

 sion of the moldboard for separating the 

 potatoes from the soil. 



Where no special digging device is 

 available, the ordinary two-horse turn- 

 ing plough is frequently used, a rolling 

 coulter being attached to the beam to 

 cut the vines. After ploughing out the 

 sweet potatoes it will be necessary to 

 stir the soil in order to fitrd those that 

 become covered, The machines em- 

 ployed for handling Irish potatoes may 

 be used for digging sweet potatoes, but 

 are not entirely satisfactory for this 

 purpose, as they bruise and otherwise 

 injure sweet potatoes. 



It is desirable that the soil should be 

 comparatively dry at the time of harvest- 

 ing sweet potatoes, and bright, drying 

 weather is essential to the proper hand- 

 ling of the crop. Sweet potatoes differ 

 from Irish potatoes in that they are not 

 so easily injured by sunlight. However, 

 they should not be exposed for any 

 length of time if the sunshine is very 

 warm. During the handling in the field 

 it should be the purpose to remove all 

 soil and surface moisture from the pota- 

 toes. Sweet potatoes should not lie 

 exposed upon the surface of the ground 

 during the night. 



Marketing Direct from the Field. 

 Where sweet potatoes are grown in 

 large quantities for early marketing 

 it is the practice to dig, pack, and load, 



