S5s.li 211 J3 y 1 ^: JACKSONVILLE REAL ESTATE BOARD 1 1 ■:(i.\i, coMMrrTKK ox wahkiioi-sks for swkkt potatoes AM) 'I'llK MAMFACTrKK ()V liV-l'HODrCTS ('. I,VMAN SI'KNCKK. ('li;iiini:iri I'. .). I>. LAHMOVKUX il. II. SIMMOXS Indisihim. lii i.i.iiiiN No. 1, M\^ !), 1!)17 The CiRiXd Axi) W'.XHEiiorsixf; of The Southern Sweet Potato and Yam M AKKFTIXO. .\X1)T11K M A X F FACTLkl XC. OF ClLLS.VXD SfKI'LUS ixTo Bv- Products A PERISHABLE FOOD-CROP TIRNEI) INTO A STAPLE PRODUCT WHICH WILL KEEP FOR MONTHS AND SHIP LONC DISTANCES "huproi'rinciil of sloidf/r inclhods, milh siiildblr iHin'rlirs ami (ulcqiutlr hansporiation should put the suwcl potato on f/iiitc (i.s stable a basis as the Irish potattt crop of the \orth." Report .'W. U. S. Bureau of Markets, page If,',. "The farmer is himself a manufacturer". '^^ J 3 "This country has innumerable examples of success in manufacturing, but where can be found one in which all the thought is given to production, and no attention is given to the distribution and selling of the products?" When we observe the farmer, failing — for want of ware- houses — to "store his crops until the markets are ready to use them"; placing his products upon the market uncured, un- graded and not standardized for trade channels: raising those products in quantities which should supply a Nation, and which he attempts to sell through local markets in less than carload lots; "the conclusion is formed that his marketing methods are not worthy of the name, as they consist chiefly in dumping, rather than marketing." "The average grower is not competent to grade and inspect his own products, and, even if he were, he does not produce enough to create a reputation beyond the limits of his own private trade." U. 8. Department of Agriculture. Year Book Ifll.'/. pages 18G and 1S7. Yearbook U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1914. Plate XIV Partial View of (Jne of Two Strictly Co-operative Canning Plants in the Pacific Northwest, Developed by a Co-operative Marketing Association to Care for Its Surplus Fruit and Produce Incorporated in 1902 with a capital stock of $2,000, it has accumulated a net surplus of $100,000., its total assets exceed $340,000., and its business in 1914 was in excess of $1,300,000.: its success is due to most efficient management, and the extent of the business. It has developed an ideal combination, in that fresh products are marketed, and surpluses taken care of in the canning plants. The basic principle of all marketing associations and surplus-utilization-plants (co-operative or otherwise) is a profit to the producing farmer. Provide that profit permanently and his support and co-operation always follows. D. of D. CPP 9A 1Q17 CONTENTS What one Florida Warehouse accomplifhod in nine months . What the Jacksonville Warehouse and Manufacturing I'lai\t will accomplish 2 Introduction 3 The Sweet Potato as a mom y-crop 3 Improper handling causes great loss 4 Loss amounts to over $10,000,000. annually 4 Must be properly cured and stored in warehouses > 4 Table of production and loss by decay in \')\4 in 8 Southern Coastal States 5 Construction of warehouses for curing and storing sweet potatoes 5 Sweet potato warehouses a practical business proposition 6 Hy-products of the sweet potato crop 7 Canned sweet potatoes 7 Dried sweet |>otatoes 7 .Sweet potato flour and dessicated sweet potatoes 8 Denatured alcohol 9 Starch 9 { "ommcrcial stock feed 10 The sugars II Yields per acre 1 ) The Sweet potato industry is confined to limited areas 11 Warehouses for curing and storing come first — then increased production 13 Central warehouse and sales system the only solution 13 The Farmers' difficulties 15 The Farmer must be educated, to handle properly 16 Total proiluction tributary to Jacksonville 17 Distribution of the Crop 17 .Available market supply in Jacksonville territory 18 Markets 18 Northwestern markets 18 Northern markets 18 The moist sweet potato bug-a-boo 19 New York Hotel Chefs prefer the Southern Yam 20 New York Prodiice Men nnalilc to obtain Southern \';\m 20 Sales Methods 21 A peculiar situation 21 Tlie "milk in the cocoanut" 21 Dumping vs. Selling 22 The advantage of the large warehouse over the small oi* 22 I'lilfiirin heal anil ventilalloii wUh less kiss '^-j I/oaiis 111! HHii-liouse rweliMM 22 Cliv tin- pri.iwtlori 23 Tlu'fi friini small lofal warehouses 2.1 Overlieail expenses li-ss In large warehouse 23 Creater net lin-oine in larije warehou-ses 23 l»wer losses In large warehouses 8.1 Kales (lepartincnl eonnecteil with large warehouse 83 (iraiUng and parking In large warehouse 24 Ciiniblned selling will slalillizo prlres 24 .Sctilenu'iit of claims by warehouse company 24 riiltzalinn of culls liy manufacturing department of warehou.se company 24 SeiMl sweet imlaloes and plant.s 24 Field Department 24 Oilier lieneflls of large warehouse rompany 24 The agricultural situation in Duval County 25 Carload production the foiuidation of successful agriculture here 27 The time is opportune for establishing a sweet iKitato industry in Duval County of large proportions 28 ir.MSTKAlIONS A successful western w archouse and utilization plant A sweet potato field in Duval County 11 Loading Irish potatoes into freight cars at Hastings, .'\pril 26, 1917 26 -Steamships from Jacksonville to Creat Northern markets at low rates cover The waterfront of Jacksonville — low freight rates long distances inlau'I. cover What one Florida Warehouse Accomplished in Nine Months Handled nearly a Inindred thousand dollars worth of business. Graded Florida corn and made it equal to ^the best Western, acceptable on any grain exchange or at any port. Brought Florida black-eye peas up to the California .stand- ard and made a grocery market for them. Put Florida peanuts on the market in carlots. Established grades in Florida hay. Made general crops as staple as cotton in the cash market and enabled the growers to grow something for .sale every month in the year. Made it possible for consumers to get Florida products in standard form guaranteed, at reasonable prices, and demon strated that they were often better than imported products of the same kind. Gave farmers a place to store their produce and borrow cash on it when they wished to hold for higher prices. Introduced two valuable Southern concentrates for feeding live stock — peanut meed and velvet bean meal, .sewing the money formerly spent for Western bran. Used the Federal Reserve Bank to give Fcwmers six per cent, interest for the first time in the history of Florida. Started true productive agriculture in a county that was living on disappearing industries such as turpentine, lumber and phosphate. Won the commendation of the Federal Reserve at Atlanta and set a market example for the whole State and the South. The above is from an excellent article by James H. Collins in the Country Gentleman. May 12. 1017 It is niell worth reading. What the Jacksonville Warehouse and Manufac- turing Plant will Accomplish It will make the Southern grown sweet potato as staple as the Irish potato of the North, by curing it properly and stand- ardizing for produce trade channels. It will make .Jacksonville known throughout the U. S. as the greatest sweet potato market. Confining its business to the vegetable food products, it will not only accomplish the things mentioned above by Mr. Collins, but unit manufacture the culls and surplus of sweet potatoes and other crops into various by-products, including canning and drying. It will put a vcdue on every Duval County farm, based on its net cmnual income. Note: — Mr. Collins has examined the greater part of the folloiving data, and thinks so well of it that he tcill have an article on the subject in the Country Gentleman during the month of .June. I'liii Curing and Warehoisinh; of THE SOUTHERN SWEET POTATO AND YAM AM) llli: M AMIACTUkli OF T 1 1 K C ILLS AM) SlKI'LIS Into Bv-Prodicts INTRODUCTION With an admitted necessity for a cash crop in Duval County, an investigation was made as to the best food-crop for that purpose. In investigating the ix)ssibihties of curing and warehousing the sweet lX)tato and manufacturing the culls and surplus into one or more of the seven by-products of the sweet potato, this committee became thoroughly impressed with the wonderful results which will coiue from the establishment of this new industry in Jacksonville, not only as regards the sweet potato, but also as to other vegetables. This com- mittee considered it a duty, which it owed not only to the city and county, but because of unusual conditions, to our country, to publish the results of its investigations. We trust the bulletin will receive your careful consideration. C. Lv.MAN Spencer. P. J. D. Lar-moveix. H. H. Sl.M.MONS, Sfyecial Committee of the Jacksonville Real Estate Board. The Sweet Potato as a Money Crop The sweet potato was selected as the most suitable staple money crop for the following reasons: 1 Ever^■ native of Florida, be he white or black, knows how to grow it. 2. It is unusually free from insect enemies and plant diseases. 3. Its production per acre is enormous. 4. It can be raised with comparatively little hand labor. 5. It has a greater food value than the Irish potato. 6. "As a food for the great mass of the people living in the warmer portions of our country, the use of this croj) is exceeded only by hominv and rice." — it is the staple food of the p(X)r and rich alike. U. S. Bulletin .720. page 5. 7. Its value is increasing rapidly ; the increase in acreage for the past ten years being 25 per cent., while the increase in value was 7S.3 per cent, and "with better methods of storing and marketing their value could be doubled without increasing the acreage or produc- tion."— U. 8. Bulletin 5Jf8, page J. 8. Even now "The sweet potato is the second most important truck in the L'. S., being exceeded only bv the Irish notnt'\" (J. R. AgririiUural Department. 3 Improper Handling Causes Great Annual Loss Investigation showed, however, that the sweet potato is now handled just as it has been handled for more than three centuries, in the Azores, the West Indies and the South — A large crop is annually produced, 75 per cent, of it is placed in make-shift, out-door earth- banks, and more than one-half of the amount so stored* is lost by decay — an estimated annual loss of 37}^ per cent of the total Southern crop. "Very few of the sweet potatoes stored in pits or banks ever reach the market, for from 25 to 50 per cent, spoil, and those that remain are not of good quality. Out door pits and banks cannot be depended on. Some years a very small number of the potatoes spoil in banks, while in other years practically the whole crop is lost." U. S. Bulletin 54S. page :i. Loss Amounts to Over -1>10,000,000 Annually The eight Southern States, south of Virginia, on the coasts of Atlantic or Gulf, produce four-fifths of all the sweet potatoes and yams raised in the U. S. The annual loss by decay in those States from improper outdoor storage methods amounts to over $10,000,000 a year. U. S. Agr. Dept. Press Bull.. May 9, 1917. In Florida alone, it is estimated that over 800,000 bushels are per- mitted to decay, in this way, each year ; and in that part of Georgia and Florida within a reasonable shipping distance of Jacksonville, more than 300.000 bushels rot in out-door earth-banks annually. Must Be Properly Cured and Stored in Warehouses Specially constructed warehouses for curing and storing the Southern sweet potato and yam practically eliminates that loss. This is not a theory, but an accomplished fact. Such warehouses have been in use for years in various parts of the country. They have not only been a success financially, but the U. S. Agricultural Department states that it has a record of 230,000 bushels thus stored for a period of 124 days with a loss of only 2.45 per cent, and that refers to a collection of widely scattered storage houses operated by different men under varying conditions. A properly managed warehouse of large capacity should have a loss of less than 1 per cent. The dry sweet potato raised in the North Atlantic Coast trucking regions from Virginia to New Jersey — a potato which the South does not like — is sold right in Jacksonville from September until May, every year at from 25 cents to 50 cents more a bushel than the farmer is asking for his product — those imported sweet iX)tatoes are properly cured, ship long distances and keep well. SWEET POTATOES AND YAMS GROWN IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC COAST AND GULF STATES FOE THE YEAR 1914 Also showing loss by decay for want of proper warehousing, etc. •12 3 4 S 6 7 Estimated Total Farm Kstimatcd Bushels Lost Kstimated Total Yield Value Bushels By Decay Value of Loss State Acres in of Crop Stored in For Want of by Decay for Planted Bushels Harvested Outdoor Proper Want of Karth-banks Warehouses Proper 37 '/i '/< Warehouses Florida 19,000 2.280,000 $1,824,000 1.710.000 .S.vS.OOO $ 684,000 Georgia 79.000 6,715,000 4.633.000 5.034,000 2,.S 17,000 1.737.000 S. C. 28,000 4,0S0,O0O J..S56,000 .t.(K,().0(IO 1.530.000 1,071.000 N. C. 76,000 6,840.000 4,446,000 5,130.000 2,565.000 1.667,000 Alabama 63.000 5.859.000 3,808.000 4,3V2.000 2.196,000 1,428.000 Miss. 50,000 4,500.000 2,835.000 3,375.000 1,687,000 1.063.000 La. 59,000 5.133,000 3,283,000 3,852,000 1,926.000 1,231,000 Texas 52.000 5,252.000 4,569.000 3.939,000 1.969,000 1,713,000 Total 426.000 acres Total yield 40,659.000 bushels Total farm value of crop r. $28,256,000 Total estimated bushels stored in out-door earlh-bauks 30,492,000 Total estimated bushels lost by decay for want of proper warehouses in which to cure and store the crop 15,245.000 Total estimated loss in dollars, for want of proper warehouses $10,594,000 Total production for U. S. in 1914 56,000.000 bushels Total production for U. S. in 1<>15 74,000,000 bushels Total production for U. S. in 1916 67,000,000 bushels The eight States named produced four-fifths of the entire crop. Estimated percentage of loss by decay in eight States named is 37 J/j '"'''■■ Columns 1 to 4 taken from U. S. Year Book, 1914, page 565. Columns 5 to 7, Estimated by C. Lyman Spencer. April 1. 1917. On May 9, 1917. the U. S. Department of Agriculture estimated the loss in column 6 at"over 30%'* Warehouses for (hiring and Storiiuj The warehouse may be of frame construction, sheathed on tlie inside with building paper and board ceiling, nailed to the studs. A temperature from 80° to 85° is maintained for ten days to two weeks, for the purpose of curing the sweet potatoes and yams. After curing, an average temperature of 55° should be maintained ; it should not rise above 60° nor go below 45°. X'^entilators are provided in the roof. thn)ugh which the moisture is carried off, antl through which the temperature is kept at .^5° after the curing period lias passed. That is a type of building which should be built on every farm, for the puri)ose of storing the sweet ix)tatoes needed by the farmer for food and stock feed. Properly handled such a warehouse can store sweet potatoes with a loss of less than 3%, and their construction is described fully in Farmers Bulletins No. 520 and 548. A large central warehouse located at Jacksonville is the onlv ])ractical solution for curing, warehousing, grading and selling the surplus sweet potatoes and yams. See page 13 of this bulletin. Sweet Potato Warehouses a Practical Business Proposition Prof. P. H. Rolfs, Director of the Florida Experiment Station, says: — "A sweet potato storage warehouse such as you suggest is an entirely practical proposition. It is merely an enlarged form of what has already been established in scores of places. Jacksonville really ought to have had such a warehouse, for sweet potatoes long ago. The annual loss from sweet potatoes, stored under such conditions, will be largely eliminated." (April 27, 1917.) The U. S. Department of Agriculture referring to reports on a number of small warehouses, shows that a total of 230,000 bushels stored in those warehouses for a period of 124 days, there was a loss of but 2.45%. Those small warehouses were scattered at different stations, in several states, each managed by a different man, making it impossible to have uniform conditions. It should be clear that in a large, properly constructed warehouse, the temperature and ventilation would be more uniform, and a competent force being in attendance at all times, the loss would be much less than the 2.45% mentioned by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and in fact, as Prof. Rolfs says, will be "largely eliminated." The U. S. Department of Agriculture, in co-operation with the Experiment Stations of Alabama and Mississippi, operated warehouses for the curing and storing of sweet potatoes for several years in those two States and wonderful results were obtained. Warehouses of as much as 60,000 bushels capacity have been con- structed for curing sweet potatoes and yams, and have been operated with financial success, by local companies or merchants. Sweet potato warehouses for curing and storing have been success- fully used for years in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and throughout the Texas sweet potato region. Mr. C. B. McRae, of Baldwin, Florida, has tried this method out in a small way, and found he could keep sweet potatoes raised in that section until the following May. Mr. Julius F. Zetzsche, of Jacksonville, who is familiar with the sweet potato section of Southern Illinois, says that when he was living in that section, the farmers successfully kept their sweet potatoes for months by methods similar to those now approved by the U. S. Depart- ment of Agriculture. In many parts of the country cured sweet potatoes are known to the Trade as "kiln-dried" sweet potatoes. A produce man in the great anthracite coal region of Scranton, Wilkesbarre, etc., Pennsylvania — a territory containing a population of about 1,500,000 who has been in business there for twenty years, says : That in the early days, he had as much as 30 cars of sweet pota- toes from Southern New Jersey decay on the side-track before they could be dis]X)sed of and unloaded, but that since that time, when the producers of New Jersey and Northern Virginia sold what is known to that trade as the "kiln-dried sweets," they handled them as late as May, without material loss. "The only safe and practical method of storing sweet potatoes is in a storage house." U. 8. Bulletin 5J,S, page S. BY-PRODUCTS "Under the very best cultural methods, there is always a percentage of the crop that will not grade sufficiently high to justify shipment. The preservation of dropped and cull fruits has got to be an industry within itself." U. S. Year Book, I'JIJ,, page 108. Sweet potatoes shipped to Jacksonville in field boxes, hampers or in bulk, to be cured and then stored in warehouses of sufficient capacity to meet the requirements of the producing territory within a reason- able shipiiing distance of Jacksonville, would result in the accumulation of a large quantity of culls. These culls can now be profitably manufactured into seven different by-products. They may be canned or dried, like dried apples ; they may lie ground into flour, or dessicated, or they may be converted into denatured alcohol, starch or commercial stock feed, and a large amount of sugars is also available. When the crop is first dug, large quantities are rushed to markets by the farmers, resulting in a depression of prices, and at such times the supply needed for manufacturing can be augmented by purchase in the open market. The surplus of other Florida crops can be shipped to Jacksonville in bulk or in field crates after the profitable shipping season is passed, and thus the manufacturing plant kept busy the greater part of the year, and the farmer will receive some income for vegetables that now rot in the fields. Canned Sweet Potatoes In 1914, there were marketed 369,000 cases or about 9,000,000 No. 3 cans of canned sweet potatoes. One bushel of sweet potatoes is sufficient for 15 No.. 3 cans. Last vear at Cheraw, S. C, a canning factory was established for the purpose of canning sweet potatoes and yams ; it has a capacity of 400 cases, or 9.600 No. 3 cans per day ; its profits were such that it expects to double its capacity this year. Sweet potatoes being canned after most of the fruits and vegetables have passed out of season, and the canning season thus lengthened. Contracts can now be made with large dealers, at remunerative prices for every can which can be produced this year. Dried Sweet Potatoes "Uncooked sweet potatoes may be sliced, and then dried, either in the sun, or in evaporators. Their preparation is described as follows:" "Cleanly washed potatoes are placed in a suitable basket and im- mersed in boiling water for a short time; when taken out of the ba.sket, 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 ofT before slicing." "They arc j)repared for the table by soaking and baking. Dried sweet potatoes were ex- hibited among the products of Japan at the Columbian Exposition." U. S. Bulletin 26, page 2.T. Dried sweet potatoes thus prepared are one of the commercial food products of Japan. Sweet potatoes and yams, prepared in this way should he as common as dried apples in our markets. Recently the methods of drying, or "dehydrating" has heen per- fected, so that the cell structure is retained, together with the full garden flavor of the fresh vegetable. Sweet potatoes prepared in thisi way contain less than 10% of moisture — less than one-seventh of their original weight. Drying establishments of this kind are now in opera- tion in Middle River, California; Webster, New York, and Bound Brook, New Jersey. Popular Science Monthly, pages H98-101. In recent lectures, Dr. Lund, an expert from the U. S. Department of Agriculture, demonstrated the process of drying in Jacksonville and other points. He stated that the dried product could be pressed into loaves and wrapped in waxed paper, with an outer layer of tinfoil as a protection against the atmosphere. Sweet potatoes prepared in this way should find a ready market in all parts of the country as pie- *fillers, and for sweet potato pies. By the new method, less heat is used than in the old method of evaporation, and there is a greater circulation of air. The Board of Trade, at Ogden, Utah, secured the location of a large drying establish- ment at that point, which has successfully dried potatoes and vegetables for shipment to the Northwest, and has made good money. Mr. Gore, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, has completed successful experiments in drying potatoes, and his report should be published soon. The Department has conducted a successful drying plant at Arlington Farms, which we hope to know about soon. The plant was used for drying Irish potatoes, but it should have an important bearing on sweet potatoes as well. Dried sweet potatoes would make excellent ship supplies. Sweet Potato Flour and Dessicated Sweet Potatoes "There is doubtless a great field * * * for the production and sale of dessicated sweet potatoes and sweet potato flour * * * especially for ship supplies." U. S. Bulletin 32^, page 38, Sweet ix)tato flour mixed with wheat flours produces exceptionally fine pastries and cakes. A flour made from the Irish potato, mixed with wheat flour is used in making the German "war-bread," but it has less nutriment, less sugar, and the taste does not compare with the flour from the sweet potato, which is attractive. A factory at Miami has sold its entire output for a year to one concern. They make the flour from arrow-root, which grows wild there. Sweet potato flour is more salable. Denatured Alcohol "It is possible that the sweet potato will become one of the chief sources of alcohol in the United States." U. 8. Bnlletin 32',. page 3otato can be grown in great abundance. The cx])erinients at the South Carolina Station show that as high as 11,000 pounds of sweet potatoes can be grown per acre. In addition to starch, the sweet potato contains notable quantities of sugar, sometimes as high as six per cent, being present, so that the total fermentable matter in the sweet potato may be reckoned at the minimum of 2}^ per cent. A bushel of sweet potatoes weight 55 pounds, and one-quarter of this is fermentable matter, or nearly 14 pounds. This would yield, approximately 7 pounds, or a little over 1 gallon of 9S% alcohol. It may be fairly stated, therefore, in a general way, that, a bushel of sweet potatoes will yield one gallon of industrial alcohol." U. 8. Bulletin 268, pages 30 and 31. In most of the eight Southern States referred to herein, the manufacture and sale of alcoholic liquors has been prohibited by law, and large numbers of distilleries and brewers are idle. Such plants could be utilized for the manufacture of denatured alcohol and other by-products of the sweet potato. The cereals from which alcohol is now produced being high in price and for the next few years, at least, being needed for food con- sumption, it is probable that their use for distillation will be prohibited by law. Under these circumstances the sweet potato would become a main source of supply, and it might me found that the cost of pro- duction was sufficiently low to permit its use in internal combustion engines in automobiles, trucks, motor boats, aeroplanes, etc. Starch In Maine, especially throughout the Aroostook potato regions, the cull, damaged and lower grades of Irish potatoes are converted into starch in local starch factories. The average starch-content of the Maine Irish potato is 18.29 per cent. Maine Agr. Expt. Sta. Bulletin 51, page /-'/7. Dr. H. W. Wiley says, of the sweet potato: "The percentage of starch is markedly greater than in the white or Irish potato. In all cases over 20 per cent, of starch was obtained in the South Carolina sweet potatoes, and in one instance over 24 per cent. As high as 2,600 pounds of starch were produced per acre." The yield of 2,600 pounds of starch per acre, referred to by Dr. Wiley was based on a yield of 11,000 pounds per acre, but under proper methods of cultivation, it is ix)ssible to produce in Florida yields as high as 25,000 pounds of sweet potatoes per acre. The apparatus for the manufacture of starch could also be used in obtaining starch from cull Irish potatoes, from the cassava root, and from the dasheen or taro. A starch factory was established at DcLand, Fla.. .some years ago, but was discontinued for the reason that it relied entirely upon the 9 cassava root, which was produced in insufficient quantities. It manu- factured a high grade of starch, tapioca, etc., which sold readily. It could not supply the local demand. Commercial Stock Feed The U. S. Secretary of Agriculture says : "The value of sweet potatoes as feed for live stock is not yet generally understood. Three to four bushels are the equivalent of a bushel of corn for hogs, and in connection with rich concentrates, the potatoes are a good feed for cattle. It is not unlikely that by artificial drying a product may be ob- tained which will keep as long as is desired, and because of its re- duced bulk may be shipped long distances at a comparatively low cost." U. 8. Dept. Ag. Press Bulletin, May 9, 1911. "Three bushels of sweet potatoes are nearly equal to one bushel of corn in feed value ;" the former contains 4.5 pounds of protein, while the latter contains 10.5 pounds. One-half pound of cotton-seed meal, or one pound of soy peas for each ten pounds of sweet potatoes, supplies the deficiency in protein. Cotton-seed meal is produced in Jacksonville, and ground velvet beans and cow-peas are manufactured at Gainesville. Fla., and other nearby points. Ground soy beans are also valuable. For manufacture into commercial feed the sweet potato would be thoroughly dried, ground and mixed with the other ground feeds men- tioned. It should be remembered that the air-dry sweet potato contains 32.74 per cent, of sugar, and the undried sweet potato after 40 days storage contains 11.07 per cent, of sugar, practically the same amount of sugar as the sugar beet, before extracting the sugar. While no experiments have been conducted along this line, yet it has been found that sweet potato flour keeps well, and there is no reason why the dried ground product should not keep as well mixed with other feed stuffs as beet pulp and other sweet feeds. Florida annually imports large quantities of sugar-beet pulp and sweet feeds, and because of the high cost of same, milk sells in Jack- sonville as high as 18 cents per quart. A commercial stock feed of this kind should find a ready sale right in Jacksonville and nearby points. Every dollar's worth of sweet potato stock feed, properly prepared that could be produced the first two years can be sold direct to locaj minimunr of 25 per cent. A bushel of sweet potatoes weighs 55 that could be produced the first two years can be sold to local dairymen and other large consumers through the usual trade channels. The Sugars The North Carolina Experiment Station, reports the percentage of sugars in six varieties of Southern sweet potatoes and yams, as follows : New sweet potatoes and yams 5.79 per cent. Stored sweet potatoes and yams 11.07 per cent. Air-dried sweet potatoes and yams 32.74 per cent. The above is quoted with approval, by Dr. H. W. Wiley, in Bulletin 268, page 31, and as a basis of comparison, he says that sugar 10 beets in France contain 11.33 per cent, of sujjar. as compared with 11.07 per cent, in the stored sweet potato and yam. In our W^estern States, however, the average sugar content of the sugar beet is about 14 per cent., with percentages less than 12 per cent and as higli in rare cases as 24 per cent. There seems to have been little investigation into the utilization of the sugars contained in the sweet potato, but if it should be ascer- tained, that these sugars, (possibly in the form of glucose, to be used with our cane syrups in the manufacture of table syrup, or in some other form) could be prolitably rec^)vere(l. it should mean much to the South, ami might give us some of the agricultural wealth which has accrued to the agriculturist in the sugar-beet territory of the West, and possibly more so, for the sweet potato can be produced with much less labor than the sugar beet. And many an acre of Southern land not suitable for sugar cane will grow a good cro]) of sweet }x>tatoes. YIELD PER ACRE The U. S. Agricultural Year Book, for 1914. shows that the eight Southern Coastal States herein named produced on an average 91.12 bushels of sweet potatoes and yams per acre ; while Morida jjroduced 120 bushels per acre. On good Florida lands, with average methods, 11,000 pounds of sweet ix)tatoes are produced per acre ; and yields of 25,000 pounds per acre have been produced, at a production cost of $2. per thousand pounds. As an instance of high yields, the Baton Rouge, La. Experiment Station, in 1893, reported yields of 13 varieties of sweet potatoes and yams, ranging from 28.600 pounds to 58,600 pounds per acre. Field of Sweet Potatoes at Duval County Stocka. Last Fall, when sweet potatoes should be plentiful in Jacksonville, and were being offered by the farmers to whoever would buy at 75 cents and less per bushel for sound potatoes, the produce firm of A. F. Dechman & Co., of this city, being unable to obtain Southern sweet potatoes properly prepared for market bought from the producers in Eastern Virginia 1,500 bushels of "kiln dried" Big Stem Jerseys. They kept them thirty days, and in a market which prefers a moist sweet potato, this firm obtained 25 cents more a bushel from the retail dealer, than the farmer was asking the consumer- — the farmers' product was not prepared for trade channels. And that took place in what should be the best sweet potato producing section of the United States, where over 2,250,000 bushels of sweet potatoes were produced within a reason- able shipping distance of Jacksonville. Shipments to Northern, Northwestern and Western points during the period of intense eold, could not be made by the farmer, for he lacks the experience and special knowledge required. "Sweet potatoes, shipped during the winter must be protected from cold. When a sweet potato becomes chilled, its quality is impaired and decay sets in." U. 8. Bulletin .7,',8, page V,. They are protected from cold by lining the crates with paper, and shipping in uniced refrigerator cars, with just sufficient ventilation to prevent their heating. The Farmer Must Be Educated to Handle Properly Sweet potatoes, to keep well, should be dug with care, and care- fully placed in field boxes or hampers, loaded on spring wagons and loaded with care in cars for shipment to the warehouse. The broken and bruised potatoes should be sorted out in the field and either fed to stock, or shipped separately as culls to be manufactured into one of the by-products. They should not be dug in cold weather, for chilled potatoes do not keep well. Some one must educate the farmer in proper methods of handling, unless that work is performed by an organization of this kind, he will remain uneducated in an important part of the sweet potato industry. 16 TOTAL PRODUCTION TRIBUTARY TO JACKSONVILLE Some one said that he was afraid that the Jacksonville market would be flooded with sweet potatoes and the price obtained be un- profitable. With a plant to take care of the culls and surplus above market requirements, with the great markets of the Northwest and West unsupplied and North asking for our product a competent, ener- getic Sales Manager will have no difficulty in selling all that can be cured and standardized. However, to satisfy this man, some investigation and consideration was given to the matter. From the standpoint of production, the Jacksonville territory would cover the region within which sweet potatoes could be delivered at the warehouse of the Products Co., in wagons, or in carlots, for a reasonable cost of hauling or freight rates, and arrive at destination before beginning to decay. The total Florida crop is about 2,500,000 bushels, and the total Georgia crop is 6,715,000 bushels. On the high estimate that 40% of the Florida crop, and 15% of the Georgia crop is within Jacksonville producing territory, we have a total of 2,072,500 bushels. The question as to the distribution of that total is taken up under the next heading. Distribution of the Crop There is no published data on the distribution of the total estimated above. The various factors entering into the distribution are given below, and percentages are extended opjxjsite to same. It is not claimed that these percentages are absolutely correct, but from the best information we have, we believe they are not far from right. SPRING CROP 11% The Spring crop is consumed before Noveml)er 1st, on farms and nearby markets. FALL CROP— (a) Used on farms as food, and varieties suitable only for stock feed, fed to hoRs and cattle 2S% (b) Lost by decay in outdoor earth-banks 15% It is estimated that one-half ot the crop thus stored is lost by decay. This estimate is made on the basis that 30% of the total production will be stored in outdoor earth-hanks. (c) Sold before December 1st, by farmers in nearby towns and com- munities. Being uncured and perishable the product is soon consumed 15% (d) Sold before January 15th, by farmers in nearby towns and com- munities, for local consumption. These are the sound sweet potatoes removed from outdoor earth-banks, and separated by the farmer from those which have decayed 7% (e) Available after December 1st for marketing through Jacksonville and "points beyond" exclusive of amount stored or manufactured by Sweet Potato Products Co 9% (f) The Sweet Potato Products Company will have a capacity for curing, storing, grading, packing and properly preparing for market the first year, and selling same for the farmer, or manufacturing into by- products of 18% TOTAL FALL CROP 89* 100% 17 Available Market Supply in Jacksonville Territory Items "e" and "f" above would represent the available market supply in Jacksonville territory, or 186,000 and 373,000 bushels re- spectively; a total of 559,000 bushels. The item "e" will be disposed of as usual through peddling, hucksters, small retailers and a small amount by produce men. It would constitute about one-third of the available supply. The item "f" would be handled by the Products Co., and would constitute about two-thirds of the available supply. A total of 373,000 bushels of sweet potatoes, or 124,000 barrels the first year. Considering the local market, some Southern markets, the East Coast of Florida, the Northern, Northwestern and Western markets, that seems a small business even for the first year, and surely nothing to be frightened about. It is probable that a larger amount would be necessary to meet the requirements of the Products Co. and if so it would either call out stocks in the territory designated in the above table as used for other purposes, or go into other sections for its supply. 1 MARKETS Improvement of storage methods, with suitable varieties and ade- quate transportation, should put the sweet potato on as stable a basis as the Irish potato crop of the North." U. 8. Bureau of Markets, Bulletin 98, page 16^. The daily consumption in Jacksonville is about 450 bushels per day, and a considerable percentage is shipped here from Virginia and sold to Jacksonville consumers at from 25c to 50c more than the farmer asks for his potatoes; the Virginia product is properly cured, graded and packed, and the loss to trade is small ; those conditions are not true as to Southern products. The Southern market being well understood ; we will divide the other markets into two heads — ^Northern Markets and Northwestern Markets. Northwestern Markets We include under this head the Chicago market, and nearby States, and the markets of the West and Northwest. "A great opportunity is afforded the farmers of this region (the South) to develop the sweet potato industry depending upon the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains area for a market." TJ. 8. Bulletin 520, page 5. Mr. A. F. Dechman who has operated in the West and Northwest states that there is a great opportunity in that region ; that in the Fall he has seen sweet potatoes sell in Denver, Colorado, for ten cents a pound ; and that in his opinion, if a Florida crop is shipped thirty days ahead of the Texas crop it will sell at high prices as far west as Portland. Oregon. 18 The Chicago market was developed to a considerable extent by cooking demonstrations held in the large department stores of that city, showing the Southern methods of preparing its sweet potato. So successful were the methods pursued that during the years 1915 and 1916 it was the Nancy Malls from Mississippi that brought the highest ])rice paid for sweet potatoes sold in the Chicago market. Northern Markets It is believed that when the markets of Pennsylvania, New Yints a representative of the commission firm opens the car, inspects the con- tents, and reports the results by telegraph or telephone to the Pitts- burgh office, which is kept informed of market conditions in dift'erent cities. The agent at the diversion point will then receive orders as to the final destination of the car." [7. .S. linrrau of Markets No. its. page /7. 27 The Southern Field Issued from the office of the Southern Railway System Development Service, Washington, D. C, M. V. RICHARDS, Commissioner H. E. WAERNICKE. Assistant Commissioner THE SOUTHERN FIELD is published in the interest of the territory in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Southern Illinois and Southern Indiana, reached by the lines of the Southern Railway System, Southern Railway in Missis- sippi, Mobile & Ohio Railroad, and Georgia Southern & Florida Railway.! The services of the Southern Railway System Develop- ment Service are at the command of all who seek a location in this section. WASHINGTON, D. C. MAY. 1917 f New Use for Yams Greenville, S. C, has a factory making nuts, puddings and flakes from the South- ern yam. The nuts and flakes appear much like the average light breakfast foods now on the market. The pudding is turned out in grains the size of sugar, and is turned into pudding for the table ac- cording to instructions given. The com- pany operating the factory has now only a small plant, but it has organized with a capital of $250,000 and the construction of a new plant to have a capacity of 1,000 bushels a day will soon begin. It has been paying 70 to 8.5 cents a bushel for pota- toes, and has contracted for a large sup- ply after March 1 at $1 a bushel. Clipping from the Southern Field. } A similar plant in connection with a sweet potato curing and storage warehouse is pro- posed for Jacksonville. May 19 igij 9F( Fi-ve Cents the Copy e COUNTRY GENTLEMAN ■TRe OLDEST AGRICULTURAL -JOURNAL in the WORLD TliG 1917 food crisis is the greatest iii the history of the world. The ^ast majority of our people refuse to realize tlie enicrgencv. I I hey express alami over rising prices, y 300.000,000 bushels of 191^ wheat. Unless Federal regula- tion intervenes wheat may sell at*5.00 or c\en *4.00 a bushel. It is up \o the American Ftirmcr to sta\« off a graver calamity than anv that has so tar a^avAfiA the World Var. Fjilixicfs (roin llw first ofa serifs of articles beginmn^ m <)Ssil)lc to overcome the CMiditi. n created."— Frank /:'. Gone!!. Scc'y Xaticual Can 11 r is' .issofialioii. I'ig-tin is imported. Today we do not feel the iiinch. liecausc we must keep our foodstuffs fcir want of ships to move them: tomorrow a vast fleet of new shijjs will make a ditTerent situation. I'nder tliose conditions, we will consume more vegetahles. The sweet potato is second only to the Irish [Kifato as a vegetahic crop: properly cured they keep for months and staml long-distance-railroad shipment well. The U. S. May Crop Report shows that the farm-price of sweet potatoes in .\pnl was $1.24 and in May $1.41 — that price means cured, standardized sweet potatoes. The time seems opportune to estal)lish the sweet potato ii\dustry in Duval County. LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 002 685 646 2 The Cheapest Carrier of Farm Products. One of Many Steamships Between Jacksonville AND THE North The five States of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Alabama produce about one-half of all the sweet potatoes annually produced in the United States. Jacksonville is the nearest seaport to the center of that great sweet potato industry. About one-third of the total production in these States is annually lost by decay in make-shift, outdoor earth-banks. Jacksonville can save cdl the sweet potatoes avcdlable for market within a reasonable shipping distance this year, by the methods outlined in this bulletin — and make money doing it. I'uu I r.l jAi I I AS Lnu I'Kl K.I IT l\AI