66^ THE TROPICAL 
regular and uniform throughout the year. The ques- 
tion of the storage of sweet potatoes ia a fresh state is 
one which has attracted a considerable amount of 
attention in different parts of the world. In the West 
Indies it has been found that some varieties keep 
fairly well if left in the ground and dng in small 
quantities as required. This method has disadvatitages 
and a better one is very desirable. The problem of 
storing sweet potatoes is discnased in Farmers' |Bnile- 
tin No. 26 qf the U. S. Department of Agriculture en- 
titled SweU Potatoes : Culture and Uses, by Professor 
J, F. Dnggar of Alabama. He says (p. 18) ' There is 
need for further investigation to determine the best 
method of storing sweet potatoes, for the losses oc- 
curing during storage are sometimes enormous. The 
conditions in the States are however very different to 
those obtiinjng in the West Indies and although it 
tnight be of interest to put on record the methods 
. there employed, the contrast in climatic conditions 
must not be lost sight of. 
The best results are apparently obtained by storing 
the potatoes in dry cellars or rooms, in which the 
roots are placed either with or without packing of 
sandi straw, hay, or other dry material. Mr. Duggar 
in summing up says ' Sweet potatoes during storage 
should be kept in a dry atmosphere with ample venti- 
lation, and a temperature between 50° and 60° F, 
except during the sweating period, for which time 
the temperature recommended by those who use 
artificial heat is 80° F.' Later (p. 29) he says ' The 
atmosphere of the storage room should be kept dry. 
The condensation of moisture on the roots affords 
conditions favourable to decay.' The essential points 
for success by this method of storage, namely per- 
fectly dry conditions and a comparatively low temper- 
ature, are almost impossible to obtain economically 
in the West Indies where the air usually contains a 
very large amount of watery vapour, and the temper- 
ature is higher than in northern latitudes. 
DESSICATED SWEET POTATOES. 
Setting aside the possibility of keeping -the whole 
potatoes in a fresh condition, it remains to be seen 
whether any other economical method is feasible. 
Mr. Dnggar describes two modes of preserving 
sweet potatoes for use as a table vegetable. He says 
(op. cit. p. 25) ' Uncooked sweet potatoes may be sliced 
and then dried either in the sun or in evaporators. 
They are prepared for the table by soaking and 
baking. Dried sw.et potatoes were exhibited among 
the products of Japan at the Colombian Exposition. 
Their preparation fs described as follows: — ''Cleanly 
washed potatoes are placed in a suitable 'basket and 
immersed in boiling water for a short time : when 
taken out of the basket they are cut into thin slices 
and spread over mats and exposed to the sun for 
two or three days. In order to make a superior 
quality, the skin of the potato is peeled off before 
slicing." Ab an indication of more recent develop- 
ments it may be mentioned that a company has 
been lately started in New Jersey, America, with a 
capital of $1,000,000, to make flour from sweet 
potatoes. The early results are reported as being 
very successful, and it is proposed to erect mills 
all through the sweet potato growing region. The 
more important States in this region are North and 
South Carolina. Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, 
Virginia and New Jersey, 
PREPAEATION OP MEAL, 
The remarks above, based on the irregularity of the 
supply of food throughout the year, apply with especial 
force to Angnilla, one of the Leeward Islands, situated 
about mid-way between St. Kitta and the Virgin Is- 
lando. Sweet potatoes are grown in Anguilla and are 
usually very abundant during one short season of the 
year. The peasants exhaust their stock during the 
two or three months following crop time, and for the 
remainder of the year are practically reduced to Hvhig 
oil pigion-peas {Organue indicus) and any other chance 
fgod plftut which is capable of withstanding a six 
AGRICULTURIST. [April 1, im. 
months' drought. The possibility of preserving th 
potato in a palatable form is of the greatest import 
ance to the peasantry of the island. The experimentf 
recorded below are, to a large extent, the outcome o 
a request for information and advice made by Dr. 
J. Numa Eat, Magistrate of Anguilla, to the Depart- 
ment. Great credit is due to Dr. Eat for the trouble 
taken by him in the interests of the island. 
EXPEEIMENTS IN ANGUILLA. 
In November 1S99, Dr. J, Numa Rat requested ad. 
vice from the Department as to a good method of 
preserving sweet potatoes. He was recommended to 
try slicing and drying, as described above, this pro- 
cess having been found to give satisfactory results 
in various parts of the tropics. Early Experiments. 
In May 1900, Dr. Rat forwarded a box containing 
sweet potato meal which had been prepared in the 
following manner ; — The potatoes were peeled and 
grated, the pulp squeezed in a cloth and then dried 
in the sunshine for two or three days. The dried 
pulp was sifted and the coarse parts powdered in 
a mortar. By this method twenty pounds of unpeeled 
potatoes gave one pound of meal, that is, a return 
of only five per cent. The potato used for the early 
experiments was a variety known in Anguilla as 
' Hug 'em fast.' The cost of preparation was about 
Is. per pound. One obvious objection to this method 
is the great loss of material caused by squeezing 
the wet pulp. This point was noted by Dr. Rat, 
and is emphasized in the following remarks by Pro- 
fessor A. H. Church, F.R.S., author of The Food 
Grains of India, etc., to whom a sample of the meal 
was submitted. Professor Church says : ' The method 
of preparation involves much loss oi that one con- 
stituent which one can spare least — namely, the pro- 
teid or albuminous substance . . . The expressed 
juice of succulent roots and tubers usually contains 
much soluble vegetable albumen.' A subsequent ana- 
lysis of the meal by Professor Church confirmed hia 
anticipations. The meal was found to be deficient 
in flesh-forming nutrients. ' The ratio of nitrogenous 
matter to digestible carbohydrates being 1 : 24.' Pre- 
vious analyses of whole sweet potato roots had 
yielded the more satisfactory ratio of 1 : 13. 
The detailed figures of Professor Church's analysis 
of the Anguilla meal are as follows : — 
per cent. 
Water ,, ., 126 
Albuminoids and proteids* ,, 3'6 
Digestible carbohydrates ,., ... 77'6 
Oil or Fat „. ... ... 0 6 
b''ibre „. ... .. 3-5 
Ash or mineral mattert ... .., 2'1 
Professor J. P. d' Albuquerque, Island Professor 
of Chemistry at Barbados also analysed a sample of 
the meal with very similar results. 
Later Experiments. — In order to avoid if possible 
the loss occurring in the previous method, Dr. Rat 
prepared some more meal by grating the sweet potatoes 
and sun-drying the pulp without subjecting it to 
pressure. This method was found to be a prac- 
ticable one. The yield of meal wai from fifteen to 
twenty per cent, of the original weight of the roots 
instead of only five per cent, as in the earlier 
method. A variety called the ' Dominique ' was used 
instead of the ' Hug 'em fast.' The labour entailed 
being the same as before, but the yield four times 
as much, the cost of production was accordingly 
reduced to one quarter, namely, 4d. per pound of 
prepared meal. The meal so prepared was ana- 
lysed by Professor Church. Its composition waa 
found to be very similar to the former sample, but 
strangely enough it did not contain quite so much 
proteid matter. ' The results ' Prof. Church says 'tend 
to show that the variety " Dominique " is inferior to 
''Hug 'em fast" in this respect." 
• Calculated by multiplying the nitrogen by 6'25' 
By the phenol method 8'5 per cent was found, 
t Of this ash 012 was phosphorus pentoxidsi 
