166 
FIRST BOOK. 
few days ago," he added. ^'Tell me how they 
did it." 
" They cut the plant away from the tubers, and 
put it in the ground/' said Harry. 
5. '^Yes; but that was only the first step. 
Soon a number of plants will bud from the top 
of each head that was planted, and then the men 
will cut them away, and place them in the ground 
one by one." 
6. The boys wanted to know if that was the 
way to plant sweet potatoes. So Mr. Hill told 
them that those plants are raised by cuttings 
taken from the growing stem. 
7. " The sweet potato plants bear crops aftei 
three or four months," he said. " When the 
tubers are dug, if the soil is again thrown over 
the roots and stems, a second crop will grow in 
a short time. 
8. '^But you must bear in mind, boys, that, if 
we wish for good crops, something more must be 
done than just to put the plants into the ground. 
The land must be tilled over and over again, to 
let in the air and the rain, and to break up the 
clods. 
9. " Lazy people may say that there is no use 
in tilling, because heavy rain afterwards washes 
away the soil. But rain will not wash away as 
much of it as it would if we do not till. 
