94 The Sweet Potato 



methods employed for other crops are all that are neces- 

 sary for sweet potato cultivation. In the South it is 

 customary to keep the weeds and grass from the row by 



FiQimi; 9. — Mulch harrow. 



giving at least one hoeing. The potatoes are plowed 

 two or three times or until the ground is covered by 

 the vines. Cultivation should cease when the vines have 

 thoroughly covered the ground. In the small patches 

 and fields, the one-horse plow or cultivator is ordinarily 

 used, or sometimes the spring-toothed harrow. 



In flat lands on the coast where the soil is wet, farmers 

 often use a plow to throw up a high ridge. While this 

 assists in drainage, it is not thought to be of much 

 value from the standpoint of cultivation. 



On larger farms where potatoes are grovsm for com- 

 mercial purposes, cultivation is done by one- and two- 

 horse cultivators. In this way a row is completed at 



