64 The Sweet Potato 



of seed-bed to be used and the manner in which it is to 

 be prepared will be governed very largely by prevailing 

 climatic conditions, the number of plants to be produced 

 and peculiar conditions that may be present in indi- 

 vidual cases. In the Gulf states, plants are either 

 grown in the open or in coldframes, while a little far- 

 ther north hotbeds are employed quite extensiveljy. 

 These may be heated with decaying manure, a coal or 

 wood furnace with flues running under the beds or 

 with a hot-water system. 



O-pen teds. 



By far the greater number of sweet potato plants in 

 the South are produced in open beds. Farmers who 

 grow an acre or two for home use and who bed out a 

 few bushels of seed instead of ordering their plants 

 from a dealer, seldom go to- the trouble to provide a 

 permanent plant-bed of any kind. Nor would they be 

 justified in so doing when such a small acreage is in- 

 volved and since frequently the bed would be used for 

 no other purpose than for the potatoes. Even when a 

 considerable acreage is to be planted, the open bed 

 method is often preferable in the more southern areas. 

 Because of the longer growing period in this section, 

 extra early plants are not always desired, consequently 

 the seed may not be bedded until late when the ground 

 has become sufficiently warm to make bottom heat un- 

 necessary. The growing of plants in the open is verj' 

 widely resorted to as being most consistent with con- 

 venience and economy. 



The open bed must be so located as to allow thor- 

 ough drainage. Although an excavation is usually de- 

 sirable to provide room for the extra sand that is 



