AND AGRICULTURAL CAP ABILITIES. 49 



It resembles the bean family in the appearance of its foliage and the 

 manner of its growth. It is common to sow them between the rows of 

 corn at the last plowing. They will produce from 10 to 15 bushels per 

 acre, besides a large amount of forage. On account of the luxuriant 

 growth of the vine, on poor soils even, its culture as a green crop, to be 

 turned in, is fully as advantageous as clover at the North. 



TOBACCO. 



Tobacco will grow anywhere in the State. A superior quality of Cuba 

 tobacco, from imported seed, is mostly grown in Gadsden and adjoining 

 counties, and fully equals the best imported. Before the war it was ex- 

 tensively and profitably cultivated, and mostly sold to Germany, agents 

 visiting the State to purchase. It requires careful attentin, will yield 

 from 500 to 700 pounds to the acre, and sells for from 20 to 30 cents per 

 pound. Latterly there is an increasing home and State demand by cigar 

 manufacturers, and the area of cultivation is extending. 



SWEET POTATOES. 







This crop, as an article of food, is as universal in all Southern house- 

 holds as rice is to the Chinese, macaroni to the Italian, or the Irish potato 

 to the Irishman. White or black, no family is so poor but what has a 

 potato patch. It yields all the way from 100 to 400 bushels to the acre, 

 according to soil, cultivation and season; is grown from roots, draws, and 

 slips ; planted from April to August, and maturing from July to No- 

 vember ; is of easy cultivation, and may be dug and safely banked in 

 field and yard, or housed ; is eaten raw or cooked, and the old-time cook 

 can make most appetizingdishes of it. There are many varieties planted, 

 good and indifferent, and there is no excuse for not raising the best. 

 It may be raised at a cost of fifteen cents a bushel, and brings in the 

 home market from 40 cents to $1. 



IRISH POTATOES. 



This crop does not produce as well as at the North, but is off in time 

 to be followed by a crop of sweet potatoes the same year. They should 

 be planted in December or January, although good crops are sometimes 

 obtained from later planting. A covering of muck, grass, or coarse 

 compost is very beneficial. The potatoes are fit for digging in May. 

 They can be shipped without difficulty, and at a moderate expense, to the 

 Northern markets, where they are worth from $5 to $9 per barrel. The 

 culture is essentially the same as that practiced at the North. 



ARROWROOT, CASSAVA, COMPTIE. 



All these grow well when cultivated, and produce astonishingly. 

 Florida arrowroot grades in quality and price with the best Bermuda. 

 Cassava, from which starch and tapioca are made, attains great size. 

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