1754 



SWEET PEA 



years after Mr. Eckford's introduction of a new variety 

 our seedsmen are able to offer the seed at a price within 

 the reach of every gardener. For a small outlay these 

 novelties can be planted in masses unthought of by 

 European gardeners. 



California has done much more than this for the 

 Sweet Pea, however. The Sweet Pea likes a cool soil 

 and climate, the vines shriveling up during midsummer 

 and succumbing to the red spider during the hot, dry 

 weather which prevails over a very large portion of our 

 country. To a certain extent, therefore, the popularity 

 of this flower has been confined to the cooler northern 

 states. In the effort of nature to adapt the plant to 

 changed conditions, an entirely distinct type of growth 

 soonappeared in the California fields, h:ivins a low, 



compact, spreading habit. The densf, .l.<-iv ■-! n f.'li- 



age lying closely to the soil, serves t<i In;' i' i. ■!■ umI 

 protect the strong network of roots h 1.1,1 ihc 



surface. This type is known as the ( , : - la. 



That it is apparently due to climatic inil n 1 ■ 1 n nlily 

 shown by the lar^c niiinl.n- c.f .li^tiii.'t vuriities we 



now have with this >\] 1 -n.wih, many of which 



originated directly frwin ilir lail \ ari.-ties, and not from 

 sports of the original i'u|.i.l. This Cupid Sweet Pea 

 succeeds excellently in hot, dry weather, and exposed 

 dry locations where success with the tall varieties is 

 exceptional. Conversely, the Cupid type does not suc- 



2444. Three varieties of Sweet Pea, about half 

 size, indicatine: the progress in size of flower. 

 The figure on the left shows a variety of the last 

 generation ; that on the risht an average flower of to- 

 day. The middle flower is the grandiftora type, re- 

 duced from a flower IK in. across. Larger flowers 

 ean Tje secured, but it is a question whether they are 

 desirable. 



ceed in cool, moist locations where the tall sorts do 

 best, as the dense foliage does not dry out readily and 

 is inclined to mildew. 



Two other distinct types have been originated in this 

 country, the Bush Sweet Pea, which stands half-way 

 between the Cupid and tall Sweet Peas in growth, 

 needing no trellis or support but with the foliage held 

 well above the soil and the flower-stems of greater 

 length than in the compact Cupids. This type is also 

 especially adapted to hot weather and dry .soils, having 

 a splendidly developed system of fine fibrous roots. 

 The second type is the result of breeding and selection, 

 exe npl fied in B rpee Earl e t of All wl ch 1 as 

 tl e true ne 1 ke or r n ng growth b t grows only 18 

 hes 1 gh and co es to f 11 flower greatlv n 

 a 1 ance of the taller vir eties of Sweet Peas w tho t 

 a saor fice of s ze n tl e flower r of length n tl e 

 t W tl tl ar et 1 i e I I 1 t ng a treat 



1 V of H r n 1 e 1 1 n tl e 1 rn 



t te It e rly fl lit k t tl t 



1 r lie of all V t e t f, 1 t,I f t r 



H 



SWEET POTATO r, r I It f r 



1 t 1 a c t \ I I 1 



I r ze 1 n Nortl A ill ill 



tie thern sta I I II 



Nortl The Swe t 1 I II- 



n r ng glorj fam ly Tl e 1 1 t t tl e 1 t 



The ed 1 le t hers F g '445 are home close together 



under the crown and unlike the common potato they 



' i^h runners. A 

 -ive from 3,000 



off twice. An 



-.^ I.-. 200-400 bushels 

 these are sometimes 



SWEET POTATO 



do not bear definite "eyes." The varieties differ greatly 

 in length of vine and the "vineless" Sweet Potato has 

 a bushy habit. Good commercial varieties that are 

 well cared for rarely bloom, and even then the flow- 

 ers may not produce seed. The plant is tender to 

 frost. The species is widely distributed in tropical 

 regions but is supposed to be of American origin. 

 It has been cultivated from prehistoric times by the 

 aborigines. The plant is exceedingly variable in its 

 leaves (Fig. 2446), and the varieties are sometimes 

 classifli-d on the foliar characters. In the southeast- 

 ern sian 111. ■.'1.1 "potato" usually means sweet 

 potat'.. i ..r the North being known as 



"Iri^li.' I I . I .1 ■ \s bite " potato. 



The .-. . . i r.i, rop amounts to fifty million 



busheU .uiiiuailj. i^iuge quantities are grown in the 

 Caroliuas, (ieorgia, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Vir- 

 ginia and New Jersey, the last state being the farthest 

 point north where the crop is raised on a large scale. 

 In California the yield is also large, particularly in the 

 interior valleys and in places removed from the influ- 

 ence of the coast climates. The Sweet Potato is propa- 

 gated by means of its tubers, usually from the slips or 

 cuttings which arise when tlie tubers are planted in 

 beds or frames. It is al~.. i.r.i|.aL'.Mr,l l,y means of cut- 

 tings or slips taken fn.iM ^ 

 bushel of ordinary Swe. I r 



to .5,000 plants, if the >|m - a, 



average good yield of Swcei. r..ia 

 per acre. Yields twice as high 1 

 secured. 



In the northern states amateurs occasionally grow 

 Sweet Potatoes of the southern types in a small way on 

 ridges in the garden, but it is usually for the pleasure 

 of the experience rather than for profit. A warm, 

 sunny climate, long season, loose warm soil, liberal 

 supply of moisture in the growing season and a less 

 supply when the tubers are maturing — these are some 

 of the requirements of a good Sweet Potato crop. The 

 crop should be gathered immediately after the first frost. 

 In the South a soft and sugary Sweet Potato is desired. 

 In the North a firm, dry, mealy tuber is the prevalent 

 type. Certain varieties of Sweet Potatoes are called 

 "yams " in the South, but this name belongs historically 

 to a very different kind of plant, for an account of 



There are two special American books on Sweet Pota- 

 toes, by Fitz and Price. For history, see Sturtevant in 

 Anier. Nat., Aug., 1891, pp. 698, 699. Some of the most 

 important bulletins are Farmers' Bull. 26, U. S. Dept. 

 Agric. and (ia. 2.5 by Hugh N. Starnes. Md. 59 and CO 

 deal with the insects and diseases. L. H. g. 



Commercial Ccltivation op the Sweet Potato. — 

 The cultivation of the Sweet Potato as a staple crop is 

 confined almost exclusively to the southern states. 

 While it is true that the Sweet Potato occupies large 

 areas in New Jersey and is also planted more or less 

 extensively throughout portions of Illinois, Indiana and 

 Ohio, by far the greater bulk of the crop is to be found 

 below the 38th parallel of latitude. Hence the cultural 

 details here given, as well as the memoranda on dis- 

 eases, are compiled from a strictly southern standpoint. 



Methods vary but little. Local environment enters 

 less as a factor into Sweet Potato culture than into any 

 other horticultural industry of the country. For this 

 very reason it is remarkable that tliere should occur 

 such extraordinary variations in t\ i . a- an . \ . 1 ywhere 

 noted, and for which local eiivii 1 . itliing, 



should be held re.sponsible. Soiiiai. : .. ii. .varia- 

 tions that without apparent cau^. ai. ; ■ :. lariety" 

 so-called-more correctly, perliap-. -. . . 1 1. n "-will 

 develop, when tran.sferred a few hini.lr. .1 mil. - I'r-.im its 

 place of origin, after a few years ..f euli iv ai uni in the 

 hands of half a dozen different i;i-..Aei>. Just that 

 many distinct types, each differing mateiially frum the 

 original in its more important characteristics — produc- 

 tiveness, maturity, quality and habit of growth. This 

 difference extends, sometimes, even to a change in the 

 form of the leaf itself from possibly an ovate shape 

 with margin entire and with no more trace of a lobe 

 than an apple leaf has, to a sagittate or halberd form or 

 even to one deeply cleft or indented. See Fig. 2416. 



