Show a faai yA Ai I 1 agriculture 5 IN INDUSTRY Is by florence C weed i f this is one of a series of articles show ing bow farm products ate are ending an important market is in industry sweet potatoes an old negro la undress probably was the first to discover that excellent laundry starch could be made from the sweet potato she mashed the potatoes soaked them in water then drew off this liquid and boiled it to make a fine starch the first commercial venture was a small operative cooperative co plant set up in mississippi to make sweet potato starch now another plant is being started in texas their product is used for sizing in the textile industry since many varieties of the sweet potato contain as much as 20 per cent starch it seems likely that this new industry has good possibilities ties the pulp left after the starch is extracted is being used for feed for beef and dairy cattle sweet potatoes have been experimentally converted into a thin transparent sheet which one day may be a competitor of cellophane during the world war sweet potato flour was used in the south george washington carver famed negro scientist has uncovered many possibilities in this crop of the south he has used the sweet potato to obtain vine vinegar gar shoe blacking ink library paste dyes candy ginger synthetic tapioca chocolate compound coffee substitute molasses and rubber the commercial crop of sweet potatoes is raised chiefly in virginia louisiana tennessee and new jersey since many southern varieties tend to grow oversize there is a large quantity of culls in each crop some are fed to cattle but more are wasted these conditions have led to an insistent demand tor for some means to use these in industry |