Edible Products. 



152 



(February, 1909. 



all on the same day, direct from the 

 field. As the potatoes are gathered up 

 behind the diggers they are sorted into 

 the various grades and packed into 

 ventilated barrels ready for ship- 

 ment. When the barrels are packed 

 in the field they are as a rule 

 covered with burlap or similar material. 

 In parts of New Jersey the potatoes are 

 sorted in the field and gathered into five- 

 eighths-bushel baskets, in which they 

 are hauled to the depot platform, where 

 they are packed into ban els and headed. 

 More than one-half of the commercial 

 crop is marketed direct from the field 

 without the use of packing sheds or 

 storage of any kind other than that 

 provided by the transportation com- 

 panies. 



Grading and Packing. 



In sorting sweet potatoes preparatory 

 to packing, about four grades are recog- 

 nized as fancy, primes, seconds, and 

 culls. Those packed as fancy include 

 only the most select, both in size and 

 shape. The primes include all those 

 adapted to general first-class trade, 

 while the seconds include the smaller 

 and more irregular stock which goes to 

 a lower priced trade. The mils are not 

 marketed unless good stock is exceed- 

 ingly scarce, and as a rule are used for 

 feeding to hogs. 



Sweet potatoes are usually shipped in 

 barrels holding eleven pecks each. Some 

 markets require that the barrels be 

 faced and headed, while for others the 

 tops are slightly rounded and covered 

 with burlap. Small lots of extra-fancy 

 sweet potatoes are sometimes shipped 

 in one bushel-crates having raised tops : 

 also in patent folding crates. 



Throughout the process of handling 

 care must be exercised to see that the 

 sweet potatoes do not become bruised, 

 for upon this their shipping and keeping 

 qualities greatly depend. 



Storage of Sweet Potatoes. 

 Methods of Storing. 

 Unlike most perishable products, the 

 sweet potatoe requires warmth and a 

 dry atmosphere while in storage. The 

 method of storing will depend both upon 

 the locality and the quantity of potatoes 

 to be cared for. The temperature and 

 conditions of a rather living room are 

 admirably adapted for keeping sweet 

 potatoes intended for home use in the 

 North, while in the South they may be 

 placed in pits or stored in outdoor 

 cellars. The home supply may be placed 

 in crates and stored in a loft over the 

 kitchen part of the dwelling. Sweet 

 potatoes should not be stored in bags or 

 in barrels without ventilation. 



Pits and Cellars. 

 Where large quantities of sweet 

 potatoes are stored for winter market- 

 ing, the method employed in the 

 Southern States is to place them in out- 

 door pits and cellars, while at the North 

 some form of heated storage house will 

 be required. Whether the storage be in 

 pit, cellar or house, a dry, warm atmo- 

 sphere with ventilation is essential to 

 good keeping. 



Storage pits should be located where, 

 the drainage is good. First, a little of 

 the surface soil is thrown back to form 

 a level bed 8 or 10 feet in diameter, then 

 two small trenches crossing each other 

 at right angles in the centre of the bed 

 are excavated and some boards laid over 

 these. At the point where the trenches 

 cross, a loosely nailed 4 by 4 inch box 

 is set on end to form a Hue up through 

 the potatoes. The earth floor of the pit 

 should be covered with 2 or 3 inches of 

 hay, leaves, or pine straw, and the 

 potatoes piled in a large, conical heap 

 around the ventilator flue. When the 

 heap is of the desired size, the potatoes 

 are covered with hay or pine straw, and 

 soil to the thickness of 5 or G inches is 

 added, but the trenches and flue are 

 kept open until it is necessary to close 

 them to keep out the frost. In the 

 South sweet potatoes are frequently 

 kept throughout the winter by this 

 method. 



Outdoor Cellars. 

 This form of cellar, built entirely 

 above ground, consists of a line of posts 

 through the centre supporting a ridge 

 pole upon which is placed one end of 

 planks or puncheons with their opposite 

 end resting on the ground on either side 

 of the rid ge. The ends of the inclosure are 

 boarded up, a door being provided in one, 

 and the structure covered with sod to a 

 thickness of 5 or 6 inches. The sweet 

 potatoes are stored upon the earth floor 

 and the door is kept open for a time for 

 ventilation. If the house exceeds a 

 length of 12 or 14 feet, a top ventilator 

 should be provided. 



Varieties of Sweet Potatoes. 

 Of the large number of varieties of the 

 sweet potatoe there are not more than 

 ten that are now of great commercial 

 importance in the United States. For 

 the market that require a dry, mealy- 

 fleshed potato those varieties belonging 

 to the Jersey group are suitable. For 

 the southern trade and where a moist- 

 fleshed potato is desired these commonly 

 designated as yams are in damand. 

 Among the Jerseys that are extensively 

 grown are the Big-Stem Jersey, the 

 Yellow Jersey, and the Red Jersey. 



