138 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



the information comes too late, perhaps, for the 

 growing crop, we avail ourselves of the oppor- 

 tunity afforded by a visit from Mr. Gordon, to 

 transfer his views to our columns for the fu- 

 ture use of the reader. 



Land intended for sweet potatoes should not 

 be manured too highly — a light, sandy loam, 

 which would bring five or six barrels of corn to 

 the acre, is to be preferred. If the ground is 

 too rich, a luxuriant growth of vine and a large 

 quantity of small and indifferent roots will be 

 produced. 



To grow the plants, prepare a hot-bed by lay- 

 ing down ten inches of strong, fresh, stable ma- 

 nure, and cover it with an inch of good surface 

 mould. Upon this lay down the potatoes, as 

 thick as they can be placed, and when the 

 sprouts begin to break ground, cover your bed 

 an inch thick with the poorest sand you can 

 find. This will smother the grass and save the 

 labor of hand weeding. The proper stage for 

 setting out, is when the sprouts just begin to 

 turn down, preparatory to running into vines. — 

 When they have arrived at this state, they are 

 to be plucked off by introducing the finger and 

 thumb as closely as possible to the parent root, 

 taking care not to bruise the plant more than is 

 necessary in the process. 



To prepare the field for the reception of the 

 plants, it should be deeply and freshly stirred : it 

 should then be thrown into ridges, ten inches 

 high, four feet apart ; if the plough does not 

 make the ridge of sufficient height, the earth 

 must be drawn up with the hoe ; as it is impor- 

 tant that the plants should be placed in a high 

 and dry position. After the top of the ridge is 

 levelled, proceed to set out the plants, fifteen 

 inches apart. As soon as they have taken hold, 

 run the plough as close as possible to ihe plant, 

 turning the earth from it on each side ; clean 

 out the ridges between and about the plants 

 with the hoe and hand, taking particular care 

 never to let the grass grow upon the ridge. — 

 The next process is to hill up the plant by 

 throwing the dirt to it on each side, when the 

 hoe and hand should be again put in requisition, 

 if necessary, to complete the hilling or to un- 

 cover the bud. After every rain, the vines 

 should be examined, and wherever a joint has 

 put forth a root, which many will do, it should 

 be severed from the earth, else your product will 

 consist in a great number of little tubers, instead 

 of a smaller quantity of fine potatoes. 



This is all the cultivation that will generally 

 be necessary ; but the crop must at any event 

 be kept clean and free from grass. 



Mr. Gordon has never succeeded well in keep- 

 ing the potato, although he has tried many 

 plans ; if he could discover a mode of keeping 

 in which he had confidence, he would prefer the 

 crop, as a food for stock, to any he ever raised. 



CURE FOR WORMS IN CHILDREN. 



A writer in the Farmers' Register, who being 

 a slaveholder has a large family under his care, 

 says that for nearly thirty years he has found 

 the following preparation a certain cure for 

 worms : " Take the fat of old bacon, sliced and 

 fried in a pan until the essence is all out of it, 

 take out the rind first, then put in as much 

 wormseed (vulgarly called Jerusalem oak,) as is 

 necessary, as much sugar or molasses as will 

 make it palatable, and give it three mornings in 

 succession. The children will eat it freely — 

 some, you will have to restrain from eating too 

 much. Incredible as it may appear, I have 

 known as many as one hundred and twenty or 

 thirty large worms come from a child three or 

 four years old. I usually give the medicine 

 spring and fall. 



For the Southern Planter. 

 RECIPES. 



Messrs. Editors, — The following are the re- 

 cipes obtained in Maryland, to which I alluded 

 in my last : 



Recipe for Dyeing Green. — Take \ lb. of oil 

 vitriol, 2 oz. indigo — put in a bottle and let it 

 stand three or four days ; shake it well every 

 day ; then boil a strong liquor of hickory bark ; 

 dissolve 2 lbs. alum in water, put 6 lbs. yarn in 

 the alum water, pour all the ingredients into the 

 dye, put it all on the fire, and boil it well. The 

 same dye will then color 6 lbs. more of a paler 

 green. After it is dyed, and dried, it must be 

 washed out with good soft soap. 



To Dye Red with Red Wood. — 1 lb. red wood, 

 (hacked) 2 oz. alum, powdered; the red wood 

 must stand twenty-four hours in river or spring 

 water ; then boil it well, and after straining, mix 

 your alum and aquafortis and boil it well for 

 several hours. Mix 1 oz. aquafortis, 1 oz. block 

 tin, in a tumbler, and set it in the sun about one 

 hour. The above will color 2 lbs. of yam. — 

 After being dried, wash out with soft soap. 



To Dye Pink. — 2 oz cochineal, \ lb. cream 

 tartar, 1 lb. alum, the whole put in a kettle of 

 soft water ; then put in 6 lbs. clean yarn, and 

 boil it well ; not to be washed after being dried. 

 I saw several very beautiful carpets that were 

 dyed with the above recipes, and for brilliancy 

 of color, they would compare with the finest 



