324 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



of the finest tomatoes are raised by the latter method. The 

 prmiing checks the growth, which induces earher fruiting 

 and permits the growth of more vines in a row of given 

 length. If the vines are not pruned and they are found 

 making plant growth at the expense of fruit growth, the 

 terminal buds should be pinched out. 



Sweet Potatoes. — In the South, 

 Rweet potatoes are called -potatoes, 

 while other potatoes are called 

 Irish potatoes. This goes to 

 show that the sweet potato is 

 really most at home in the warm, 

 sandy soil south of the Ohio and 

 Missouri rivers. 



Young plants may be secured 

 by planting the sweet potatoes, 

 either whole or split once length- 

 wise, in the hotbed' and covering 

 them vnih four or five inches of 

 sand. When the plants have 

 attained some size, and the soil is 

 warm, they may be transplanted 

 to ridges in the open ground. 

 These ridges are usually made 

 three feet apart, and the plants 

 on the ridges are set from one to 

 two feet apart. Special cultiva- 

 tors, or the hand hoe, are used to keep the soil free from 

 weeds. 



Celery. — One of the most unsatisfactory crops to at- 

 tempt to grow is celery. 



The seeds start very slowly in the hotbed, — the plants 

 are delicate, can not endure hot, dry winds, and they 

 demand a cool, very rich, and very moist soil. Moreover, 



Fig. 148. — A roasting ear. 



