326 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



secure greater heat in the soil and to facilitate irrigation, 

 but flat culture is also practiced, and in some regions is 

 decidedly better. After the land is well prepared and 

 harrowed down smooth, mark off the rows three feet apart 

 and set the plants eighteen inches apart in the row. When 

 the ground is thoroughly warmed by the advance of the 

 season, say in April or May, take the shoots as described 

 above. They must, of course, be kept from drying out, 

 the young roots being very tender. In taking them to 

 the field they must, therefore, be kept in a bucket with 

 water, or in a wet sack, the former being the best. Plant 

 out the shoots eighteen inches apart in the rows, one in a 

 place, settling them down in the soil deep enough to find 

 permanent moisture. 



Sometimes when the object is to get unusually large 

 potatoes, instead of pulling off and setting out the slips, 

 the potato is lifted out, and with every slip a small piece 

 of the potato is cut out and planted with the slip. This 

 method will bring the earliest potatoes, but the number 

 of sets are many less than though the potato be allowed to 

 remain in bed for their continued production. 



Recently planting out with a machine has come into use, 

 such as the transplanting machine, which digs a trench on 

 the top of the ridge and drops water at whatever intervals 

 are desired. Two boys place the plants, holding them 

 until the machine draws the dirt securely around them. 



Cultivation. Cultivation for the purpose of weed kill- 

 ing and surface stirring is continued until the vines inter- 

 fere, and after that the vines cover the ground with a 

 thick mat and discourage weed growth. 



Harvesting and Storage. Use of the sweet potatoes may 

 begin when they attain suitable size, but for keeping they 

 must attain a good degree of maturity. 



Some find the keeping of sweet potatoes somewhat diffi- 

 cult. Many pack the potatoes in dry sand and keep them 

 in the house. This is expensive and is not a sure way. 

 Many will rot, and sometimes only one-third of them will 

 keep till spring. Storage in the open air with due pro- 



