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Old February 18, 2024   #24
seaeagle
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: virginia
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Here are some old Heirloom varieties from BULLETIN NO. 38 NOVEMBER 1936
By Geo. W. Carver, M.S. AGR., D.Sc., Director, Experiment Station, Tuskegee Institute

Table Varieties — Dooley Yam, Improved Dooley Yam, Triumph, Pumpkin Yam, Porto Rico and Nancy Hall.
There are but few if any of our staple farm crops receiving more attention than the sweet potato, and indeed rightfully so — the splendid service it rendered during the great World War in the saving of wheat flour, will not soon be forgotten. The 118 different and attractive products (to date) made from it, are sufficient to convince the most skeptical that we are just beginning to discover the real value and marvelous possibilities of this splendid vegetable.
Here in the South, there are but few if any farm crops that can be depended upon one year with another for satisfactory yields, as is true of the sweet potato. It is also true that most of our southern soils produce potatoes superior in quality, attractive in appearance and satisfactory in yields, as any other section of the country.
HISTORY

It is said that the early navigators of the sixteenth century recognized such a strong resemblance between the Irish potato and the sweet potato that they called them both by the same name.
They are not only botanically different but the edible parts of each are in character and taste quite unlike. Botanically, the sweet potato belongs to the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae) and has been given the technical name of Impomoeabatatas.
ORIGIN

The origin of the sweet potato is doubtful, although there is very strong evidence that it is distinctly American, as fifteen or sixteen known species of the genus Batatas are found in this country. The ‘Indian potato,” “Tuckahoe” and “Hog potato,” which grow abundantly in this country and throughout the South, are all species of this genus.
VARIETIES

More than eleven so-called varieties make up the present list, in many of which there is a distinction without a well-defined difference. Since some varieties do well in one section and practically fail in others, I have thought it wise to list none except those that have proven the most prolific and best with us.
Table Varieties — Dooley Yam, Improved Dooley Yam, Triumph, Pumpkin Yam, Porto Rico and Nancy Hall.


All of these are available at Sand Hill Preservation. Triumph, Porto Rico and Nancy Hall are available at several places. George Washington Carver tells you all you need to know about growing sweet potatoes and how to cook with them. All the information or most still holds true today,

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/...Sweetpotatoes/

Another bulletin from 1910

https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/ip...sweet-potatoes
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