252 



VEGETABLE GARDENING 



and packed in tight boxes. Much of that which is supplied 

 to the markets of this section comes from Kalamazoo, 

 Michigan, where it is raised on drained swamp land. 



THE MORNING GLORY FAMILY (Order Convolvulaceae) 



The Morning Glory Family includes mostly twining, 

 trailing, or rarely erect plants. (Some tropical species are 

 shrubs or trees; ours are herbs.) Commonly with some 

 milky juice, alternate leaves, no stipules, regular gamopet- 

 alous flowers; fruit a 2-to 4- valved capsule. The sweet 

 potato is the only vegetable of this group which is here 

 mentioned. This family also includes the morning glory, 

 bindweed, and man of the earth. 



SWEET POTATO (Ipomea batatas} 



Description. Native of 

 South America. Perennial, 

 but cultivated as an annual. 

 It is a near relative of the 

 morning glory and scarcely 

 resembles the common po- 

 tato in any particular. It 

 probably cannot be profit- 

 ably raised in the extreme 

 Northern states, but may be 

 grown in a small way in 

 warm, sandy soil as far north 

 as Minnesota, and will pro- 

 duce even there very large 

 potatoes. The plant never 



Fig. 108. A hill of sweet potatoes and a , t XT ^i_ j 



a portion of the vine. flowers at the North and is 



never cultivated from seed. 



It is one of the most important vegetables of the South. 



