SWEET POTAPO 



Propagutiou i-^ rlTrrUMl alb.^ci lur liy niran-; nf slioots, 

 mostly tho^o I'imui tin- roi>i. Wliih- nlMuiii'- arr often 

 found on the vino^ — iiartionhtriy in tlif oxi itiiu' 8inuh — 

 tliey arc nearly always iniprrtevr ami iuvarial>ly drop 

 from the pediool. No ovarios e\or deveh.']!. Tlu'-rcforo 

 the remarkable series of rapid transfornnirions ..hscrv- 

 alile in the Sweet I'otato nin>-i lie credited eniirriy to nn 

 aetive and persistent tendeuv'y in the plant to loul varia- 

 tion—in etfeetinij; which it must he admitted to h<' a 

 veritable kaleidoscopr. 



Pro/hnjalioii.—'^ l^vnw^.- or devclo]ird sprouts frnm 

 rootdunN, supply the rradirsf and. ludred, ihr .udv 

 prai;tii.'ahle nirans ,.f pr.'pai^Mi ion. Tubers ,.f the l;i^t 

 sea-iiin's crop are " bedded " for this pur pus,-: i hat is. an 

 outdoor hotbed is constructed in whieii thi- tnbrrs are 

 placed in a sintrle layer, close together, aud .■ovrred 

 with several inches ot soil earh" in sprin--. In a Irw 

 weeks the latent bmN of the tulMTs. undiu- thr siimuUis 

 of the heat from the ferun'utmu' manui-e. will lia\c 

 sprouted, and by tlie tinu^ all damn, r Irnn^ frust has 

 passed a dense Lrri-wtli of 'Mraw-^.'" or " slips ■■ will cnvt- r 

 the bed. Thesr ar.' renu>v<-d fr>'m the tubers, sri hv 

 band in the tield in vows four teet apart — the jdanis 

 eighteen inches, ^-enorally. in the row. Tije size of 

 the bedded tubers dors not alfeet the cn-p. As ■j:ood 

 results are olitaincd from small as from larire potatoes. 

 Even the snudlest tulicrs or "strini;-'<" consisteniU 

 planted from year to year. pri>duci- as heavily as the 

 choicest selections. This is Inir lo-ii'al if we reniemhrr 

 that the Sweet Potato is merely an enlar-ed. inaxial, 

 rh-shy root, and h^'avy lulx-rs. wlieu ■^prouied. shonhl 

 h:i\"e little direct tendi.'ncy t'.' produ'/e a crofi of eorre- 

 spondiuia: ^ize. partic\ilarl_\" \vhen tlie s^ib^eijuent culti- 

 vation is indifferent. 



For later plautinu:s the "bed" may be snpph'inentcd 

 by cuttin,i;r "slips ■■ 12 or 14 inches lumj: from Tlieyoiin-- 

 vines after irrowth e,.nimences in the r>iw. and usinL;- 

 them as "draw-^." While tlie "' sli]is " do not live <|nite 

 so readily as the r-^oti-d "draws." they are said to nnd;e 

 smoother and nnu'e siirhtiy tul>ers — due. donhrh-ss. lo 

 the faL't that by this methTid the mycelium of the black 

 rot is not eonveved from the bed to the field. 



Soil <nnJ rrr/ill::iti<-'n.-A\t\u:.m'Ai a irross ron- 

 pumer of nitrog:en. the Sweet Potato cannot ad\;tma- 

 geously occupy "b.itiomhnid." With this resi-rvaiion it 

 may be said that almo-.r any land will produce potarors. 

 Yet a light, sandy loam is "best. Stiff, red soil is in I,,, 

 avoided, as in it the ])otat('> splits, cracks and " ron^di- 

 eus.'' by reason r>f tlie s!i~,i-M'nsirm and sudden resump- 

 tion of irrowth durimr variable weather. 



The nn>st apiprov-'d fertilizer formula has been fonnd 

 to he. per acre. al>oiu as folh.iws: 



Ll>s. 



Xitrogen {ammonia equiv. ao b^s. ) 40 



Phnsphorii' acid ;iii 



Potash ,'0 



This requirement WL'uld be nn-t by a compound of: 



Llis. 



Hi^h-^adeji'-id plmsphate ii-)o 



Nitrate of smbi 'Jiio 



Sulfate of iioTasli pu) 



Tot:d 1,01X1 



Cottonseed nie;d iias been fonnd in many localities 

 preferable to s ,jd mm nitrate, as ic is not so readily ^oUilile 

 and therefore ncre ^'■radual and cmuinnous in action 

 through the s.Msom It may be substituted in the for- 

 mula for sodium nitrate in the ratio of two pounds for 

 one. Potassium muriate produces as heavy a oroji as 

 potassium sulfate, but the latter considerably iu'ua.ases 

 the starch content, whieh in southern - irri.twn potatoes 

 is unusually LTrge. For potash, kaiuit may be substi- 

 tuted in the propL'rtion of four pounds of kainitto one 

 of either potassium sulfate or muriate. Stable manure 

 of nonnal composition produces excellent Sweet Pota- 

 toes, but is. of course, too X'arialde in (diaraeier and 

 too imcertain in quantity to be generally avaihdde, 



A complete summary of methods employed in Sweet 

 Potato culture would occupy too much space. They are. 

 moreoTer, too familiar to require repetition. Yet it i-^ 

 desirable to call especial attention to certain p>oinis 

 which have been insufticiently discussed in previou'^ 

 publications. First aiuong these is the practice of 



SWLET POTATO 



173 



prenniture idautim,^ A-ainst this tendmcv earnest 

 (M-oiesr should he entered. It is ihe cause" of mmdi 

 loss. When an early nnirket crop is nm the object 

 there is no need for hasie in puilirii; out the draws, 

 since the season is al.oindantly Ion-- for leisui-<d\ [.lant- 

 in--, even in rluue. after <pais and wheat are harvested. 

 If jilanted in _'\Iay, nr earlliT. wiih i)ie hmg southern 

 season, the crop is likely to mature liefore tlu^ apjiroach 



2445. Sweet Potato. 



Th. 



of cold weather permits the ].roiMT hou- 

 seipient and usual resuli is a "sei'ond -t'owth ," which 

 preiiisiioses the tnliers to ihe inroads of the "soft rot," 

 whiidi causes great loss. 



A dee]>. mellow soil-lied, wilh an exleuded sr-ason. un- 

 <pn-srionably will produce nnu'e and !ar;jer, but later, 

 toilers. Shallow preparation will yield an eai'lier crop. 

 It follows that the deeper the soil'the earlier the plant- 

 ing may be effected. 



Pn:s,.rr,itin,K-W>^vv it possilde to successfully and 

 inexpensively ]ireser\-e throni;li the winier the Sweet 

 Potato crop, southern aLrrieuli ore would be i^rac- 

 tically rev<.dutionized. Land eajialde of jirodncinL: a 

 bale of cotton, worth, say slO. will readily \ ield :W) 

 bushels of potatoes, at half ihe cost for mltivation, 

 worth, at LlO cts. per bus., ^-tin. TJiis the planter w<inhl 

 gladly take, at harvest time, hut there is then no market 

 at any price. Yet six m. ml li s later he cannot sujiply the 

 iienumd at (iO cts., or ^IM) pei' acre. These ti-aires are 

 conservative. Even on poor soil, pro^lindni; ,"('(1 pounds 

 seed cotton (one-third of a bale) i)er aere. the yield in 

 Sweet Potatoes — 1 (HI biivlicls. a ^■ery small on rj nit — could 

 lie sold in the spring for siio wore it )Missili|.. to snceess- 

 fnlly keep the tu'iers throuirh the winter, rdany succeed 

 in so doing, anil ]-eai"> the reward, bnt ii is still an un- 

 solved general probh^m. .Afeihod-. t.io, are variaVde in 

 the extreme — and this is the one notable exception to 

 the rule of unifi.irmity iire\-aiIin,L; in Sweet Potato cul- 

 ture, b'limate and loral enxironnient se).in liere to p'lay 

 an impair taut part, and means of preser"\"ati(.in found 

 sui'cessfu! in one place prove entirel}" unser\dcealde in 

 another- personality, even, entering as a factor iu the 

 ]U'oblem, one man failim^ where anotlier. by the same 

 methods, sueceeds. 3Iany wavs have lieen devised and 

 jiractieed, sonn- sim]de. some elaborate; but each 

 said bv its entlui'-^iastic originator <.ir advocate to be 

 absolutely infallible. 



Nothing' has yet been fouml that will effertually 

 su]>ersede the well - known popular method (">f "bank- 

 ing" or "hillin:^" in (p.iantities ..f fn>m 'AO to ~>0 Inishels, 

 aciMn-dinir to the ditTerent loi^al cnstouis wdiiidi prevail 

 iu eaeh connnunity. The ordinar\' jiraeiiee is to heap 

 the tuliers in a ci">nii'al jnie around a jiei'forated \voi:iden 

 line, covering them with a U-w inches of dry pine- 

 straw, then a layer of c<irn ^lalks. and finishing with 

 tliree inches of dry saiui and afterward two <'r three 

 iuclie^ of clay or other stitf s.d]. The hill may be con- 

 structed either under shelter or out-of-doors. If the 

 l.'itter it is w-eli to protect with a c<iveriug of boards to 

 kee]t olf the rain, thonch not absuliitely necessary. 



nisi'ii.^cs iniO. ^[<i]^!'Iit'.-i. — A fi'w- of the most im- 

 I'ortant maladies of the Sweet Potato— the cause, indeed, 

 of nine-tenths of the loss experienced in attempts to 

 \\ inter the crop — will lie noted in the probable order Ld" 

 their importance : 



{a) Soft Bot {Ii'Jn':r,pi,s )} l.jrir,! ».<] : This is the most 

 common form of rot, aud the one that pro<lnces the most 

 ilanmire. It is due to a fungus or nudd on abraded 

 places, chietiy of the tuber, especially when the potatoes 



