SECTION XXVII. SWEET POTATOES 



Sweet potatoes. This is another of the crops that grow 

 from buds instead of from seeds. These buds can be seen 

 after the potato has been kept moist and warm for a num- 

 ber of days. Sweet potatoes are placed in a potato bed 

 to make the buds grow into shoots, which are called slips. 

 The bed is made warm by spreading a layer of manure on 

 the ground and covering this with a few inches of soil. 

 The potatoes are pressed into the soft earth and covered 

 with another layer of soil. As the manure rots or ferments 

 it forms heat, which warms the soil above. 



The bed should be made about six or seven weeks before 

 the time when the slips are to be placed in the field. 



Setting the slips. When there is danger of frost, the 

 bed must be covered. After all danger has passed or after 

 the time when cotton comes up, the slips are gently pulled 

 from the mother potato and transplanted to the field. 

 They are usually placed about two feet apart in rows or 

 beds three to four feet wide. They must be quickly put 

 into the ground so that their roots may not dry. 



If the soil is dry, a little water should be poured around 

 each slip, thus settling the earth about its roots. Then be 

 sure to cover the wet spot with a layer of dry soil, so that 

 the water added may not pass off into the air. After the 

 slips have made vines more than two feet long, these may 



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