442 SOUTHERN FIELD CROPS 



is, chiefly from the first drawing, these amounts will need to be 

 about doubled. By using vine cuttings, clipped from the plants 

 set out early, the acreage can be increased without additional 

 expenditure for " seed potatoes." 



414. Drawing or removing the slips. When the shoots 

 show a length of about 4 inches above ground, or a total 

 length of 6 or 7 inches, and when roots have begun to de- 

 velop on the lower parts of these slips, they should be 

 drawn and transplanted to the field (Fig. 191). The bed 

 should first be watered. The slips should be so carefully 

 pulled as not to move the " seed potatoes." While not 

 generally practiced outside of the trucking regions, it is 

 best promptly to dip the base of each slip in a stiff batter 

 made of clay and fresh cow manure. The object is to sup- 

 ply moisture until the plant is rooted and to insure the 

 closest possible contact of the plant with the soil-moisture. 



By keeping the bed watered, it should be ready to afford 

 a second drawing about 10 to 14 days after the first, and 

 then after a still longer interval, a third drawing can often 

 be made. 



415. Transplanting. The rows are first flattened with 

 a harrow or board, so as to destroy the crust and young 

 vegetation, and to insure a soft bed of soil. Then careful 

 growers mark the rows with suitable devices so as to make 

 the plants stand at uniform distances apart. One person 

 drops the slip near its position, and another inserts it in 

 place, carefully pressing the soil around the slip. In setting 

 out potatoes, the farmer uses either a garden dibble or small 

 trowel, or a short sharpened stick ; on soft soil the slip is 

 pressed into place by the use of special devices, about as long 

 as a walking-stick, which usually consist of either (1) a 



