1 Ava., 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 143 
to be true to discipline, to respect their teachers, and respect themselves as 
young Queenslanders should do. These latter remarks more especially referred 
to the older students, who by their example and precept could do much to 
mould those of their younger fellows for good or for evil. If they had a 
grievance, let them submit it in a proper manner, and it would have every 
consideration and fair judgment from the masters and himself, and if it was of 
too weighty a nature for them to decide it would be laid before the Minister 
without fear or favour to either side. 
THE SWEET POTATO. 
Wuy should we not have a supply of sweet potatoes all the year round? 
Because the crop ripens in the fall, and is cleared off the ground long before 
planting time comes round again, say in September. But it does not follow 
that because sweet potatoes are not planted until the spring that therefore 
none should be available until the following autumn. We rarely hear of any 
~ attempt being made to keep a crop either for a rise or for home use. As soon 
as the crop is ready to cut or dig it is a race with farmers to get it to market, no 
matter what price is obtainable. If the question of storage were better 
understood, farmers might realise big profits instead of sustaining actual 
losses by this rushing into the market. In the case of sweet potatoes some 
will say they cannot be kept for any length of time; but this is a mistake. 
They can be and have been stored for months, both in this colony and elsewhere, 
merely by the use of dry sand, and we find that the same method is adopted 
in the United States by sweet potato-growers with eminent success. The 
main secret lies in not digging the potatoes till they are fully ripe, and, secondly, 
in guarding against bruising by rough handling. 
We have already given directions for storing sweet potatoes in Vol. II., 
Part 2, of the Journal, and we also explained how to tell when the tubers are 
ripe ; so we will merely add the testimony of the Hlorida Agriculturist. That 
journal says :— 
Piant more sweet potatoes. A man should consider well before leaving a 
country which produces successfully the cornfield pea and the sweet potato. 
Seventy-five to 100 bushels of potatoes can be grown upon sandy land which 
will produce only 15 or 20 bushels of corn. Besides the desirable qualities of 
the potato as a food for man, it is eaten with avidity by every species of 
stock. 
There is but one difficulty in the way of the more extended cultivation of 
this crop. Many experience difficulty in keeping it through the winter. If 
they are not dug until ripe, and are handled without bruising, the chief causes 
of failure will be removed. 
When the potato is ripe, the sap has reached what may with some pro- 
priety be termed the crystallisable stage—i.¢., when the root is cut or broken 
and exposed to the air, a white crust or artificial skin is formed over the cut 
part and protects it from the air and from the agencies of decay. If it is not 
ripe, the cut part turns black and no such artificial skin is formed. Tf, there- 
fore, proper judgment is exercised as to the time and manner of digging, 
handling, and storing, the danger of loss is reduced to a minimum. 
One of the most common causes of rot is the entrance of mice into the 
bank. ‘These little rogues gnaw the roots, and the chips which they make 
start a fermentation which rapidly spreads through the mass. This may be 
prevented by protecting the roots with hardware cloth. 
The most successful potato-growers build houses in which to store the 
potatoes. ‘These are usually constructed of poles, which are notched up closely 
at the corners and the cracks daubed with clay. Dry sand is collected in 
summer and stored ready for use amongst the roots when they are dug. ‘The 
same sand may be used annually for an indefinite period. We know one house 
