102 AGRICULTtf^te rOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



/ Sweet 1^0 tato'eSc-^ While the sweet potato is called a tuber 

 it is really only a thickened root. The sweet potato is of trop- 

 ical origin and does best in the southern states, but is grown 

 more or less in nearly all the northern states. The quality, 

 however, is not so good as when grown farther south. Sweet 

 potatoes are best adapted to sandy loam soils. The plants 

 are started by planting seed potatoes in hot beds. Sprouts 

 soon start up. These are pulled off and reset where they are 

 wanted to grow. The plants soon begin to grow rapidly and 

 need little care after the vines begin to form, except to keep 

 down large weeds. The vines should be cut loose from the 

 hills before killing frosts, as the potatoes are injured in quality 

 if the vines are killed by frosts while still attached. The po- 

 tatoes should be dug before cold weather and stored in a cool, 

 dry place. 



Artichokes. — The artichoke is a tuber. It is a tall grow- 

 ing plant with a yellow blossom resembling the sunflower. 

 Artichokes are not raised extensively and are used almost 

 entirely for feeding hogs, although sometimes for table use 

 also. They are planted like potatoes and are usually not cul- 

 tivated very much, but cultivation gives best results. The 

 plant lives over from year to year and does not need replanting. 

 In fact, when they are not cared for, artichokes run wild and 

 become troublesome as weeds. Hogs are turned into the field 

 in autumn and are allowed to harvest the crop by rooting out 

 the tubers. Enough will be left in the ground to produce a 

 good crop another year. Hogs are very fond of artichokes and 

 gain in size and flesh quite rapidly while feeding on them. 



Onions. — The onion is a bulb and is used by almost every 

 one as an article of food. Onions are never used as food for 

 live stock. Onion growing in some states has become quite 



