39 



tailing the processes of different persons, we prefer to annex the 

 following letter from Mr. Loring Johnson, whose long residence 

 at the South, and whose skill in matters of gardening, enable him 

 to speak with confidence : — 



Walpole, Oct. 24, 1857. 



Rev. J. M. Merrick — Dear Sir : — In answer to your inquiries 

 as to the mode of culture and the yield of the sweet potato, I 

 would say that I have cultivated this crop to a limited extent for 

 the past three years, and have secured a yield of from 150 to 

 200 bushels per acre ; varying in quantity as well as quality with 

 the season — one of high average temperature and comparatively 

 dry, suiting them best. 



A Hght sandy loam with a southern aspect, is best adapted to 

 this crop. The ground should be prepared with a dressing of 

 well-rotted stable manure, ploughed in. If any thing further 

 is needed, apply ashes to the hill, either before or after planting 

 the slips. 



As the tubers strike down to a considerable depth, the soil 

 should be worked deep, and the hills elevated a foot or mOre be- 

 fore setting out the plants. The hills should not be less than 

 four feet apart. 



The sweet potato succeeds best when raised from slips or 

 sprouts. These can be obtained in the market, or raised from 

 seed potatoes usually to be found at seed stores in the spring. 



Potatoes from which slips are to be raised should be placed in 

 a hot-bed, between the first and the fifteenth of April, about one 

 inch apart, covered at least two inches deep with light loam or 

 mould, and kept moist but not wet. 



Slips, when from four to six inches high, are ready for trans- 

 planting. The larger ones can easily be drawn from the bed 

 without disturbing those not yet grown, by gently pressing the 

 ground with one hand, and drawing the slip with the other. 



The most suitable time for transplanting is between the 20th of 

 May and the 1st of June. Three slips are placed in each hill, 

 or, if planted in drills, place them about a foot apart. The vines 

 will begin to run early in July, at which time the hills should be 

 cleared of weeds and put in good order. After this they will 

 need no further culture.* 



* The Committee has been favored with the following note from Mr. 

 E. C. Larrabee, of Salem : — 



" In a sandy soil I set, the present year, between four and five hundred 

 slips of the sweet potato on a pieee of jjround ten feet by one hundred and 

 twenty, from which I obtained a little more than two barrels. I used horse 

 manure and ashes. Last year my potatoes were considered, by competent 

 judges, to be equally as good as those from the South. This season they 



