Propagation 55 



conference held in connection with the annual meeting 

 of the Association of Southern Agricultural Workers 

 in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1919, the terms " slips," 

 " sprduts," " draws " and " plants " were officially de- 

 cided on as designating plants derived from bedded po- 

 tatoes, while " cuttings " and " vine-cuttings " should 

 refer to the cut ends of vines used for rooting. 



In the extreme southern part of the United States, 

 notably in southern Florida and also in some of the 

 neighboring tropical islands, the potatoes are sometimes 

 left in the ground from one year to another. This 

 practice would be more widely followed but for the 

 excess water often present in the soil in these southern 

 areas, which causes the tubers to rot. In a dry season 

 or on high ground even near the water where the winters 

 are always mild, as in southern Florida, the crop may 

 remain in the ground without injury. In such cases, 

 the tubers are removed for use as needed and in the 

 spring those which are left sprout and produce slips 

 which may be transplanted or allowed to remain on 

 the same ground. 



JBy far the most important method of propagation and 

 that which is primarily depended on by practically all 

 commercial growers of this country, is the use of 

 plants produced in the artificial or preliminary seed- 

 bed. In fact, the recent gain in popularity of the 

 sweet potato as a food crop has created such a demand 

 for sweet potato plants of pure varieties by the general 

 public, that individual growers have found the " slip " 

 business a very profitable commercial enterprise. In 

 many sections individuals have developed this business 

 into an industry of no mean economical importance. 

 Several dealers in the Central West bed annually more 



