64 RICHARD FROTSCHER’S ALMANAC AND GARDEN MANUAL 
elongated, very uniform and quite pro- | excellent table quality; more mealy 
ductive. Eyes flat on the body of the | than the Early Rose, but smaller. 
tuber, but compressed on the seed end. White Elephant. This variety has 
Skin white, flesh very fine grained, and | again given entire satisfaction the past 
when boiled, snow-white. season. The tubers are large and of ex- 
Beauty of Hebrom. I have tried | cellent quality; planted alongside ofthe 
this variety thoroughly and found itin | Peerless, it produced fully one third 
every particular as has been repre- | more than that variety. 
sented. It is earlier than the Early Rurai Blush. Second early, tubers 
Rose, which resembles it very much, | roundish flattened, blush skin, flesh 
being a little lighter and morerussetted | slighted with pink. Very dry and of 
in color. It is very productive and of | excellent quality. A heavy yielder. 
THE SWEET POTATCG. 
Convolvulus Batatas. 
The sweet Potato is next to corn the most important food crop in the South. 
They are a wholesome and nutritious diet, good for man and beast. Though cul- 
tivated to a limited extent on the sandy lands of New Jersey and some of the middle 
States, it thrives best on the light rich lands of the South, which bring their red 
and golden fruits to greatest perfection under the benign rays of asouthern sun. It 
is a plant of a warm climate, a child of thesun, much more nutritious than the Irish 
Potato on account of the great amount of saccharine matter it contains, and no~ 
southern table should be found without it from the first day of August till the last 
day of May. Some plant early in spring the potato itself in the prepared ridges, 
and cut the vine from the potato when large enough, and plant them out; others 
start the potatoes ina bed prepared expressly for that purpose, and slip off the 
sprouts as they come up, and set these out. The latter method will produce the 
earliest potatoes ; others who set the vines, say that they make the largest tubers. 
In preparing the land the soil should be thoroughly pulverized, the ridges laid off 
about five feet apart, well drawn up and rather flat on top. If every thing is ready, 
and time for planting has arrived, do not wait for a rain, make a paste of clay and 
cow manure; in this dip the roots of the slips and press the earth firmly around - 
them. Old slips are more tenacious of life than young ones, and will under cir- 
cumstances answer best. Watering afterwards, if dry weather continues, of course 
will be beneficial. Otherwise plant your vinesand slips just before or after a rain. 
Two feet apart in the rows is considered a good distance. The ridges should never 
be disturbed by a plow froin the time they are made until the potatoes are ready to 
be dug. 
Scrape off the grass and young weeds with the hoe, and pull up the large ones 
by hand. Crab grass is peculiarly inimical to the sweet potato, and should be 
carefully kept out of the patch. The vines should never be allowed to take root 
between the rows. Sweet potatoes should be dug before a heavy frost occurs; a 
very light one will do no harm. The earth should be dry enough to keep it from 
sticking to the potatoes. The old fashioned potato bank is the best arrangement 
for keeping them, the main points being a dry place and ventilation. 
Varieties generally cultivated-in the South. 
The Yam. Taking into considera- Southerm @weem. Very similar to 
tion quality and productiveness, the | the former, but smoother, the tubers 
Yam stands at the head of the list. | having no veins or very few; it is earlier. 
Frequently, when baked, the saccharine | Shanghai or California Yam, 
matter in the shape of candy will be seen | This is the earliest variety we have, 
hanging to them in strings. Skin and | frequently, under favorable  circum- 
flesh yellow and very sweet. Without | stances, giving good sized tubers two 
a doubt, the best potato for family use. | months after planting the vine. Very 
