CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT. 65 



damp lands will not do ; high, dry, warm and mellow or 

 loamy soils are best, and the fresher the better; new lands 

 are always best. Lay off rows three and a half to four 

 feet apart, and if convenient have them run north and 

 south. In these furrows apply two to four hundred 

 pounds per acre of ammoniated superphosphate, contain- 

 ing potash. If home-made manure is used, be sure that 

 it is old and thoroughly decomposed, and if possible mix 

 some wood ashes and acid phosphate with it. Cover this 

 furrow by running on each side of it with a one-horse 

 turn plow, thus making a narrow ridge, on which plant 

 the slips eighteen inches apart ; keep clear of weeds and 

 grass until the vines begin to run freelv ; then hill up 

 and lay by. It is better not to permit the vines to take 

 root between the rows, as this will diminish the crop of 

 large roots, and here they will not get large enough for 

 use. Loosen up the vines occasionally. A prong-hoe is 

 good for this purpose. Just before or directly after frost, 

 dig the potatoes and store them away in a dry, warm 

 place for winter and spring use. 



The Importance of the Sweet Potato as an Ad- 

 junct to Other Farm Crops. — The appreciation of the 

 value and use of this desirable esculent seems to be rap- 

 idly on the increase. We predict for tho sweet potato 

 much more accurate knowledge of its range, nature and 

 requisites in the future than has yet been attained. 

 Doubtless a "boom" in the near future is at hand, 

 and the sweet potato will be more generally cultivated 

 and appreciated than ever before. 



The sweet potato flourishes in light, sandy or loamy 

 and warm soils, but it may be cultivated with advantage 

 in almost any soil that will produce fair crops of Indian 

 corn, tobacco or cotton ; but if the soil be ligh f , with 

 southern aspect, so much the better. It should be planted 

 as early as frost will permit. Land on which corn will 

 burn and dry up is just right for the sweet potato ; and 



