214 TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. 



I have for years abandoned the crop. Many of the tubers 

 do not attain a marketable size in time to anticipate the 

 Virginia crop, or before August 1st, and therefore the 

 whole fails to be remunerative. The other varieties pro- 

 duce few, but uniformly large, potatoes, while the Nan- 

 semond has a great number of small ones. Still, circum- 

 stances may alter the case, and others may succeed better 

 with this variety than I have done. The sweet-potato 

 would be then a profitable crop. The other varieties may 

 produce from two hundred to eight hundred bushels to 

 the acre; but several of the Yam varieties split open and 

 become useless when highly manured and grown to a large 

 size, say from two to six pounds. This objection does 

 not apply to the Pumpkin Yam, which is also a produc- 

 tive and good table potato for home use. 



RAISING THE " DRAWS " OR SETS. 



The sweet-potato is propagated by " draws " (or 

 " slips" in the up country, and "sets" or plants at the 

 North), by " roots," as the Irish potato, and by " slips" 

 or cuttings of the vines taken from the growing plants. 



The crop of the truck-farmer is grown only by 

 "draws." The chief danger in producing these consists 

 in killing the eyes by exposing them to too much heat. 

 Tn this latitude, and further South, they are more safely 

 grown in cold-frames, prepared about the last of Janu- 

 ary. The light, warm soil of a cold frame having been 

 dug up, raked, and leveled, the seed potatoes are placed 

 on the surface, a half-inch or so apart. Specimens of 

 more than about two and a half inches in diameter may 

 be divided in two, lengthwise, and the halves laid on the 

 bed with the cut surface down. 



If the weather and the soil are dry, the potatoes may 

 be watered and then covered evenly with about three and 

 a half inches of light soil. The soil will settle a little. 

 The frames should never be closely covered with the sash, 



