SWEET WILLIAM 



5654 



SWIFT 



underground stem, not a root, and the two 

 plants belong to different families (see POTATO) . 

 There are three general classes of sweet potato 

 roots, with yellow, red and white flesh respec- 

 tively, but the yellow varieties are the most 



which for many years was the standard text- 

 book on pedagogy in the West. He was born 

 at Pittsfield, N. H., and was educated at Pitts- 

 field Academy and at Merrimac Normal Insti- 

 tute. After teaching in district schools in his 



WHERE SWEET POTATOES GROW 

 Where the dots are most numerous the yield 

 is greatest. 



common. The flesh is rich in starch and sugar, 

 and is wholesome and digestible. So-called 

 yams are really sweet potatoes. 



The plant is probably a native of America, 

 but is now cultivated in warm countries all 

 over the world. The most important sections 

 in the United States, as may be seen from the 

 accompanying diagram, are in the Southern 

 states near the coast. Sweet potatoes thrive 

 best in a warm, well-drained soil, and when the 

 plants have gained a good start they require 

 little rain. First the tubers are sprouted in a 

 specially prepared bed, and the young "sets" 

 are planted when about four inches tall. The 

 roots are harvested before frost and will keep 

 indefinitely if stored in a warm, dry place. 



Consult Nordin's The Sweet Potato: How to 

 Grow and Keep It. 



SWEET WILLIAM, one of the oldest gar- 

 den flowers, a member of the pink family, rang- 

 ing in color from white to dark red and purple. 

 The source of its name is not positively known, 

 but possibly when the plant was transported 

 from France to England the pronunciation of 

 its French name was twisted into Willy and 

 thence into sweet William. The fringed, vel- 

 vety blossoms grow in clusters usually of one 

 color, but occasionally a single stem contains 

 flowers of varied hues and markings. The wild 

 sweet William is a member of the phlox family 

 (see PHLOX). See illustration, in next column. 



SWETT, JOHN (1830-1915), a prominent 

 American educator and writer, noted particu- 

 larly as the author of Methods oj Teaching, 



SWEET WILLIAM 



native state, he was appointed principal of a 

 school in San Francisco, and in 1863 became 

 state superintendent of schools in California. 

 He received the appointment of deputy super- 

 intendent of schools of San Francisco in 1870, 

 and six years later was promoted to the office 

 of city superintendent. Thirteen years later he 

 retired from active service. The History oj the 

 Public School System of California, American 

 Public Schools and School Elocution are 

 among his publications. As joint author with 

 William Swinton, he compiled a number of 

 texts on language, grammar and geography. 



SWIFT, a small bird with strong, flexible 

 wings, but weak feet, found in practically every 

 part of the world. In color it is a mouse-brown 

 or a greenish-black, some species having white 

 throats or rumps. Swifts fly tirelessly all day, 

 capturing their insect food while on the wing 

 and seldom alighting. At dusk they return in 

 large flocks, performing many graceful evolu- 

 tions as they fly, to the cave, cliff or hollow 

 tree where they live in colonies. Their notes, 

 continuously repeated, are little more than 

 chatterings. They build curious nests, in which 

 sticks, leaves, etc., are cemented together with 

 saliva, some being almost entirely composed of 

 saliva, as the edible birds' nests of Eastern Asia. 

 See EDIBLE BIRDS' NESTS. 



