44 SWEET POTATOES. 



imal ; the holes or pores in the alburnum, are the 

 veins ; the leaves are the lungs, and the delicate corti- 

 cal layers, the veins. The only difference is, that 

 the organs and functions of the animal are much more 

 complicated than those of the vegetable. In Winter, 

 when the circulation of the tree ceases, and the leaves 

 are no longer required as lungs, they drop off, and 

 give back to the earth vegetable matter, spreading be- 

 fore man as they fall, a beautiful emblem of mor- 

 tality. 



ON THE 



CULTIVATION OF THE SWEET POTATO. 



The seed of the sweet potato should be selected 

 in the Fall, when the crop is housed. Potatoes in 

 Winter should be put away in dry sand, in a hole 

 made for the purpose under the kitchen floor, near the 

 hearth, where they can neither be frosted nor freeze. 

 About the first of March, a hot-bed should be made 

 large enough to contain whatever quantity of seed 

 you should wisli to plant. The piece of ground you 

 intend for a hot-bed, should be in a warm place on the 

 south side of your house or fence. Dig up the 

 ground from fifteen to eighteen inches deep, remove 

 that dirt, and then fill up the space thus made with 

 the best rotted stable manure, nearly to the top ; say 

 within four inches. 



