A STUDY OF SWEET POTATO VARIETIES. 17 
in consistency, while others become very soft and moist. Their be- 
havior in canning is entirely similar. 
The first season in which these studies were carried on the canning 
of the potatoes was done shortly after digging. All the varieties 
studied gave a product which was quite firm, though the representa- 
tives of the Jersey group were somewhat firmer than those of the 
other groups. The Vineless Pumpkin " Yam " and one or two others 
were considerably less firm. The following season the potatoes were 
cured after digging and then placed in storage for a time before 
the canning tests were made, and the results obtained were very dif- 
ferent. All were sweeter and somewhat softer in consistency than 
those canned the preceding year. The Nancy Hall, Dooley, Porto 
Rico, and Vineless Pumpkin " Yam " yielded a very soft moist prod- 
uct; many others were of medium consistency, and a few, including 
the Big-Stem Jersey, Early Red Carolina, and Gold Skin, remained 
relatively firm. This matter of firmness or softness of a variety on 
cooking is held of much importance, because the soft moist type is 
in greatest favor in the South while the dry firm type has been con- 
sidered most desirable for the northern market. Since the work of 
the two preceding years had shown that the varieties differed among 
themselves with respect to this property and that changes also oc- 
curred after digging, the extent of which differed with varieties, it 
was thought advisable to make a somewhat more detailed study, in 
order to determine the amount and rate of these changes and their 
effect upon the quality of the canned potatoes. 
It was impracticable to carry on such a detailed study of all of 
the forty-odd varieties and strains under investigation, so the third 
season four representatives were chosen from the list for this work. 
The others were cured, stored, and canned as previously set forth. In 
addition to their use for comparative-quality judging and for exhibi- 
tion purposes these were all submitted to consistency tests made ac- 
cording to the method which will be described presently in the con- 
sideration of the four selected varieties. The results of these tests 
will be found in a later table. 
The four varieties used in the detailed studies were Big- Stem 
Jersey, Southern Queen, Porto Rico, and Nancy Hall. The Big- Stem 
Jersey was selected as the representative of the dr}^, firm group, the 
Porto Rico and Nancy Hall as representatives of the soft, moist 
varieties, and the Southern Queen as representative of the inter- 
mediate group. One lot from each of these varieties was canned im- 
mediately after digging; another after curing for 10 days at the aver- 
age temperature of about 85° F. ; a third lot after 10 days in storage 
at 55° to 60° F. following curing; and a fourth lot after 20 days in 
storage. Representative cans for each stage in the handling of the 
78646—22^ 3 
