January, 1909. » 



45 



Edible Products. 



Distances to Plant. 

 Where level culture is practised, the 

 plants are set from 24 to 30 inches apart 

 in each direction. On the eastern shore 

 of Virginia the greater portion of the 

 crop is planted 24 inches apart each 

 way, requiring about 11,000 plants to an 

 acre. By planting 30 inches apart each 

 way, only about 7,000 plants are required 

 to set one acre. Where the crop is 

 grown on ridges it is customary to have 

 the ridges from 30 to 42 inches apart 

 from centre to centre and to place the 

 plants 14 to 18 inches apart in the row. 

 By this method an acre will require 

 from 8,000 to 12,500 plants. An acre of 

 good sweet potato land will readily 

 support 9,000 to 11,000 plants, and the 

 number most commonly planted by the 

 several methods will fall within these 

 figures. 



When planting for level culture the 

 location of the plants will be indicated 

 by cross marks, but for planting upon 

 ridges it is necessary to provide some 

 means of indicating the distances. This 

 may be accomplished in several ways, 

 but a roller having cleats nailed at equal 

 distances around its surface is desirable 

 and serves the purpose of both rolling 

 and marking the ridges. Another 

 device is contructed along lines similar 

 to those of the ordinary wheelbarrow, 

 pegs being placed upon the rim of the 

 wheel to mark the planting distances. 

 In using the wheelbarrow marker it is 

 simply pushed along the top of the ridge. 

 Another device of this class is con- 

 structed by placing three or four wheels 

 upon a long axle and drawing it with a 

 horse, the wheels being so arranged 

 that they can be set at any poiut on the 

 axle to provide for change in width 

 of row. 



A very cheap and efficient can marker 

 be constructed of 1 by 3 inch laths. 

 This marker can be used to indicate 

 planting distances along one row, or by 

 dragging it across the ridges the entire 

 field can be marked before beginning to 

 plant. The machine transplanters are 

 provided with a spacing device which 

 indicates the distance between plants ; 

 also with a row marker to show the 

 location of the next row. 



Setting By Hand. 

 Where a few hundred plants are to be 

 gi own for home use or if only an acre 

 or two are to be planted, the hand 

 method of planting will answer every 

 requirement. A trowel or a dibble is 

 used for opening the soil to receive the 

 plant, and the earth is closed about the 

 roots by a second thrust with the imple- 

 ment, or the heel of the shoe is used to 

 press the earth about the plant. For 



hand planting, the plants are dropped 

 ahead of the "dibblers" by boys and 

 girls. Seven thousand to ten thousand 

 plants, or an acre, is an excellent day's 

 work for a planter when everything is 

 in good conditiou. Where a few 

 hundred plants are set in the garden it 

 is always desirable to water them before 

 closing the earth about the plant. 



Planting with Tongs. 

 Setting by hand is at best a back-break- 

 ing process, and numerous devices have 

 been invented to save the bending of 

 the body in hand planting. One of the 

 simplest of these is a pair of wooden 

 tongs with which the plant can be 

 caught by the root and thrust into the 

 soil. The plants are either dropped 

 ahead or carried in a small basket 

 strapped to the waist of the operator. 

 The tongs are provided with a spring 

 to throw the jaws apart, and are held 

 in one hand while the plants are insetted 

 with the other hand. In case the plants 

 are dropped ahead, the root portion is 

 grasped between the points of the tongs 

 without the use of the hand. 



An implement, known as a shovel, 

 which is sometimes used in conjunction 

 with the tongs, consists of a piece of 

 lath sharpened to a flat point. This is 

 used to open a hole in the soil ready 

 for the plant. In using the tongs and 

 shovel, the plants are dropped as for 

 hand planting. The person doing the 

 setting carries the tongs in the left 

 hand and the shovel in the right. The 

 plants are picked up by means of the 

 tongs, while a hole is made by inserting 

 the shovel in the soil at the point where 

 the plant is to be set. The plant is then 

 inserted and the earth closed about it 

 either by a second thrust of the shovel 

 or by the foot of the operator. A man 

 who is expert in the use of these home- 

 made tools can set plants quite rapidly 

 without bending the body sufficiently 

 for the work to become tiresome. 



A tool that is sometimes employed 

 where vine cuttings are planted is a 

 long dibble or a cane having a notch 

 coveied with cloth or leather in the 

 lower end. The droppers lay the cuttings 

 across the row at the proper distances 

 and the planters place the notch over 

 the middle of the cutting and force it 

 jnto the soil with both ends protruding. 



Setting with Machines. 

 Where a large acreage is grown, the 

 work of setting the plants in the field is 

 greatly facilitated by the use of trans- 

 planting machines, of which there are 

 several makes upon the market. The 

 essential features of these machines are 

 a device to open a small furrow, a tank 



