S WEET-P O TA TO 445 



418. Propagation by the use of vine cuttings. — ^^^ler^ 

 the bedded potatoes do not furnish enough shps for the 

 desired area, they ma}" be supplemented by setting out in 

 June .or early July sections of about 18 inches of \'ine cut 

 from the early plants. \me cuttings are usuallj' set out 

 jast after a rain by a stick or lath \\ith concave base, 

 pressed dovra on the center of the \-ine (Fig. 192j. 



Roots produced by vine cuttings are preferred for 

 bedding. This is because such potatoes usually escape 

 black rot, a chsease ^vhich, if present in the bed, is con- 

 veyed to the shps by the cUseased potatoes. The prefer- 

 ence for potatoes from \'ine cuttings (Fig. 194j may also 

 be due to their greater soundness, sometimes attributable 

 to the late date of planting. 



419. Distance between plants. — In the cotton states, 

 the rows are usually about -S-j feet apart. Truckers 

 sometimes plant in narrower rows. In several experi- 

 ments, a chstance of 18 inches between plants afforded 

 larger jdelds than were obtained either by closer or wider 

 spacing. 



420. Preparation of land. — It too frequently happens 

 that the land is merely thro^^"n into beds without anj- pre- 

 %4ous p)lo"s\ing. For this crop, which makes a large }ield 

 per acre and requires a soft, mellow soil for the easy trans- 

 planting of the shps and for the full development of the 

 crop, it is profitable to give thorough preparation. This 

 should consist of broadcast plomng, repeated harroTsinii, 

 and the formation of beds, which are usually thro'mi up 

 over a furrow in which fertilizer has been apphed. Before 

 bedding and after the fertilizer is drilled in, the latter 

 should be thoroughly incorporated with the soil by running 



