83 The Sweet Potato 



packing is in a burlap bag wbich has been split open and 

 cut in half or for large bundles left whole. The sack is 

 first split and laid on the ground or packing-table, placing 

 on it an old newspaper which has been dampened with 

 water. The bundles of plants are then placed roots 

 down on top of the wet paper, putting them in a circle 

 with a bundle in the center. A second and even a third 

 layer of bundles of plants may be placed on top of the 

 first. Each succeeding layer should contain fewer bun- 

 dles than the first, thus building the pile up into a com- 

 pact cone-shape. The package is tied by bringing the 

 corners of the sack together in the center, much as a 

 bundle of clothes would be tied in a sheet. Although 

 the roots need moisture, the tops had best be kept dry. 

 When packed in crates or baskets, damp moss is fre- 

 quently placed around the roots. From 2000 to 4000 

 plants can ordinarily be packed in an average size bur- 

 lap bag which has been split open and the plants ar- 

 ranged as described above. When in crates or baskets, 

 the plants are perhaps not bruised so much as when 

 packed in burlap. • 



TJSE OF VINE-CUTTINGS 



The value of vine-cuttings in the control of certain 

 diseases is now universally recognized throughout the 

 sweet potato area. When vines are cut from the grow- 

 ing plants and transplanted in new fields free of disease, 

 the potatoes produced will be disease-free. Practical 

 growers have long since discovered the value of this 

 means of propagation in the eradication of black-rot. 

 For this reason, vines or " vine^cuttings " are widely 

 used in producing tubers which are to be employed for 



