Cuar. XVI.] CULTIVATION OF SWEET POTATOES. 305 
The summer productions of the hilly country are, 
of course, different from those of the plains. From 
the province of Fokien northward to the great 
valley of the Yang-tse-Kiang, the hills are amongst 
the most fertile in China. They are frequently 
terraced in the manner I have described, and their 
staple productions, if we except the rice which is 
grown on the lower terraces, are sweet potatoes 
and earth-nuts. In the southern provinces, when 
the winters are mild, the roots of the sweet potato 
frequently remain in the ground all the winter. 
In the north the cold is too severe, and conse- 
quently the natives are obliged to dig up and pro- 
tect the roots. In April those roots which have been 
saved for “seed” are planted thickly in beds near 
the houses or in the corners.of the fields. They 
begin to push out their young shoots immediately, 
and these are ready to be taken off by the begin- 
ning of May. In the mean time the ground on the 
hill sides has been prepared, and horizontal ridges 
or drills formed about two feet apart. About the 
10th or 12th of May these cuttings are taken off 
and planted, and seem to grow as readily as couch_ 
erass. It is astonishing how well they succeed, con- 
sidering the little care expended upon them; but 
we must keep in mind that this is the commence- 
ment of the rainy season at the change of the mon- 
soon, that the sky is generally cloudy, that scarcely 
a day passes without frequent showers, and that 
consequently the air is saturated with moisture. 
The earth-nuts are grown most extensively in the 
