350 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



in the field shortly after a rain. In order to avoid delay in planting, 

 the hands should begin to get out the sets as soon as the rain ceases 

 falling and place them in crates or baskets ready for transportation to 

 the field. Tne sets are not all produced at once, and only those that 

 have formed good roots are "drawn," the others being left until later. 

 In drawing the sets the seed potato is held down with one hand while 

 the plants are removed with the thumb and finger of the other hand. 

 It often happens that five or six plants will cling together at the base, 

 and these should be separated in order to avoid loss of time in the 

 field. The roots should all be kept in one direction, and if the tops 

 are long or irregular they may be trimmed off even by means of a 

 knife. While drawing the sets it is a good plan to have at hand a 

 large pail or tub containing water to which there has been added a 

 quantity of clay and cow manure which has been stirred until it forms 

 a thin slime. As the plants are pulled from the bed they are taken 

 in small bunches and their roots dipped into this mixture. This 

 process, termed "puddling," covers the roots with a coating which not 

 only prevents their becoming dry in handling but insures a direct 

 contact with the soil when they are planted in the field or garden. 

 After removing the sets that are ready, the bed should be watered to 

 settle the soil where it has become disturbed and then left for the 

 younger plants to develop. 



Packing for Shipment. In preparing sweet potato plants for 

 shipment or for sale, they are "drawn" from the bed and tied in 

 bunches of 100 each with soft string. Sweet potato plants will not 

 withstand excessive moisture and should always be packed while the 

 tops are dry. A little damp moss or paper may be placed in the crate 

 or basket and the roots bedded in it, but the tops should remain dry 

 and have free ventilation. If the roots of sweet potato plants are care- 

 fully puddled without the mixture coming in contact with the tops, 

 they will keep in good condition for a week or ten days. 



Preparation of Land. The character of soil devoted to sweet 

 potato culture is generally quite easy to prepare. In preparing land 

 for planting to sweet potatoes the plowing and fitting are practically 

 the same as for corn. It should be borne in mind, however, that the 

 work necessary for thorough preparation will be well repaid by the 

 increased ease in handling the crop later. It is always desirable that 

 a crop like sweet potatoes be grown as a part of the regular farm 

 rotation. In the northern portion of the sweet-potato-growing area 

 the crop will occupy the land the entire growing season, and a three 

 or four year rotation should be practiced. Where the climate, will 

 permit, a crop of early snap beans, peas, or cabbage may precede the 

 sweet potatoes, but in any case the land should not be planted to sweet 

 potatoes oftener than once every three years. A good rotation is to 

 devote the land to corn one year, sowing crimson clover in the alleys 

 between the rows at the time the corn is given the last cultivation. 

 During the following spring the crimson clover should be turned 

 tinder and sweet potatoes planted; then in the autumn, after the 

 potatoes are harvested, the land may be plowed, fitted and sown to rye 

 or winter oats with plenty of grass seed. In this way a crop of grain 



