THE SWEET POTATO 



THE sweet potato is a delicious food for man and, a very profitable crop 

 for the farmer. If his soil is adapted to sweet potatoes and he com- 

 plies with the necessary requirements, his net profit from the crop will be 

 far greater than from most other farm crops. The tops or vines are 

 nearly as rich in nutrients as clover, alfalfa or cow peas, making a splen- 

 did food for live-stock. If the vines are worked into the seed-bed, it is 

 improved both chemically and mechanically. 



In a fair soil 150 bushels per acre is considered a good crop, but in an 

 ideal soil and by pursuing intensive methods, three or four hundred 

 bushels can be raised on an acre. Sweet potatoes usually command a 

 high price, especially in the north. A suitable soil will make from $100 

 to $200 per acre. 



Soil 



An ideal sweet potato soil is a light, sandy loam, rich in organic mat- 

 ter, although a medium crop can be raised on any soil containing a fair 

 amount of sand. A very light sand can be made to yield an enormous 

 crop by mixing with the soil leaf mould or muck. Dense clays, heavy 

 black muck or soggy land will not produce good sweet potatoes. 



Seed-Bed 



The seed-bed should be made deep, be thoroughly pulverized and 

 aerated. To secure a maximum yield, the farmer should select a sandy 

 piece of land, manure thoroughly in the spring, plow shallow and sow to 

 cow peas or soy beans. When the crop is well advanced, plow the 

 growth under, running the plow about nine inches deep. If weeds grow 

 after the ground has been plowed, they should be destroyed by discing 

 or harrowing. The following spring the ground should be disced thor- 

 oughly after it is warm and plowed again. If wood ashes can be secured, 

 make an application of 400 or 500 pounds to each acre and disc in thor- 

 oughly. If the ashes cannot be secured, apply 250 pounds each of 

 kainit and finely-ground lime rock or hydrated lime to each acre and 

 disc in. Well-rotted manure, leaf mould or muck are all splendid fer- 

 tilizers. 



The ground should now be made into low, wide ridges; that is, the top 

 of the ridges should be eight or ten inches wide. If the soil is inclined to 

 be heavy and cold, splendid results are secured by making a trench 

 eighteen to twenty inches deep and placing in the bottom three or four 

 inches of well-rotted horse manure. The trench should then be filled 

 and rounded up and subsequently rolled with a heavy roller in order to 

 make the soil and manure compact. It should then be ridged and 

 immediately planted. The manure not only enriches the soil, but 

 warms it very perceptibly, an important matter in the northern states, 

 where the nights are cold. The roots are stimulated to make a rapid, 



