Agriculture for beginners . he storage of sweet potatoes presents difficulties owing totheir great tendency to decay under the influence of the ever-present fungi and bacteria. This tendency can be met bypreventing bruises and by keeping the bin free from rotting po-tatoes. The potatoes should be cleaned, and after the moisturehas been dried off they should be stored in a dry, warm place. The sweet-potato vine makes a fair quality of hay andwith proper precaution may be used for ensilage. Small,defective, unsalable potatoes are rich in sugar and starchand are therefore good stock food. Since t
Agriculture for beginners . he storage of sweet potatoes presents difficulties owing totheir great tendency to decay under the influence of the ever-present fungi and bacteria. This tendency can be met bypreventing bruises and by keeping the bin free from rotting po-tatoes. The potatoes should be cleaned, and after the moisturehas been dried off they should be stored in a dry, warm place. The sweet-potato vine makes a fair quality of hay andwith proper precaution may be used for ensilage. Small,defective, unsalable potatoes are rich in sugar and starchand are therefore good stock food. Since they contain somuch water they must be used only as an aid to other diet. 206 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS SECTION XLI. WHITE, OR IRISH, POTATOES Maize, or Indian corn, and potatoes are the two greatestgifts in the way of food that America has bestowed on theother nations. Since their adoption in the sixteenth centur)asa new food from recently discovered America, white potatoeshave become one of the worlds most important i-iG. 204. Cultivating and Ridging roTATuES No grower will harvest large crops of potatoes unless hechooses soil that suits the plant, selects his seed carefully,cultivates thoroughly, feeds his land sufficiently, and spraysregularly. The soil should be free from potato scab. This diseaseremains in land for several years. Hence if land is knownto have any form of scab in it, do not plant potatoes insuch land. Select for this crop a deep and moderately light,sandy loam which has an open subsoil and which is rich inhumus. The soil must be light enough for the potatoes, or FARM CROPS 207 tubers, to enlarge easily and enough to prevent rot orblight or other diseases. Potato soil should be so close-grained that it will hold moisture during a dr}- spell and yetso well-drained that the tubers will not be hurt by too muchmoisture in wet weather. If the land selected for potatoes is lacking in humus, finecompost or well-rotted manure will greatly increase the y
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