18 SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
and on his return finds his sweet potatoes dug and put into 
heaps, exposed to rain in the field, and quite rotten. 
Others who took better care of their crops have been 
equally unfortunate, because they did not understand the 
requirements of nature in preventing the early decompo- 
sion of this vegetable. Heat and moisture are the chemi- 
cal agents which destroy the organized tissues of the 
tuber ; and the farmer has only to prevent this excess of 
dampness and warmth to escape the loss indicated. Had 
the weather been dry and cold, it is more than probable 
that our potatoes would now be quite sound. The ques- 
tion to be solved is, how one can best keep recently dug 
potatoes from heating and sweating, the latter being the 
chemical effect of the first named chemical process, The ad- 
ditional warmth generated in a heap of potatoes being of- 
ten less obvious than the moisture evolved, many overlook 
the internal heat which causes sweating, and do nothing 
to guard against it. The heat is produced precisely like 
that witneesed in bins of damp shelled corn, and in the 
sprouting of all seeds and buds. Vital air is absorbed 
from the atmosphere by the tubers, which, combining 
with carbon, produces carbonic acid, as is seen in beer 
tubs and in all fermentation ; and at the same time vital 
air disengages heat that was before insensible or latent 
in the tubers, as in all other organized substances subject 
to decomposition. Simple fermentation, as in the ordin- 
ary sweating of a mass of potatoes, turnips or apples, 
does no essential harm only so far as it is the first stage 
of that putrefaction which is wholly destructive in its re- 
sults. Long experience as well as science has induced 
us to avoid all fermentation, and consequently, all sweat- 
ing and heating in heaps of tubers, roots, and other culin- 
ary vegetables and fruits, which we desire to keep for 
future use. This is done by never permiting two pota- 
toes, beets, carrots, onions or apples to come in contact, 
having each surrounded by dry sand, loam, or some other 
fine and good absorbent. The process of banking the 
vegetables named is as follows : In an out building that 
has no floor the ground is generally dry, and if not it can 
be made so, and on this our, potatoes are put up in heaps, 
being first assorted to get the large and small ones in 
separate places. A layer of potatoes is placed over dry 
earth so that no two touch each other; on these dry pulver- 
ized clay, or fine sand is spread to fill all the spaces be- 
tween the tubers, and to cover them an inch in depth ; 
and then another layer of potatoes is put on the 
former one, which is covered as before with fine sand or 
clay. In this way, any quantity of either Sweet or 
Irish potatoes may be stored up, as may also beets, tur- 
nips and apples, and kept from rotting all winter and un- 
til affected by the heat of spring or summer. According 
to our experiments, sweet potatoes require about 30 de- 
grees more heat to germinate and grow than Irish pota- 
toes ; so one can keep sweet potatoes fit for table use in a 
ecol place until Irish potatoes have been planted and 
grown to maturity for eating. 
Whoever will try our suggestions in this important mat- 
ter of domestic economy will find them worth the price 
of many volumes of the Cultivator. To some they will 
appear to involve too much labor and trouble; but a com- 
mon hand can put sand or dry loose earth over fifty bush- 
els of vegetables in a day ; the value and comfort of 
which, in a family, are hardly to be estimated in dollars 
and cents. 
Potatoes may be banked in the field where they grow 
in the manner indicated, taking care to cover the heaps 
with boards or bark to keep them dry. A thick covering 
of straw or forest leaves will serve to exclude solar heat 
when in excess, and frost when the temperature of the 
air is too low. Prevent fermentation in vegetables, (their 
heating asd sweating) and their decay is next to impos- 
sible. 
Another practice in farm economy is just now engaging 
a share of our attention. It is the collection and spread- 
ing of manure, to be at once plowed in with such seeds as 
will grow in the winter and early spring months. It is 
not so easy as some may suppose to make clear and plain 
the science of producing good manure. The process is 
based on principles derived from geology, physiology, 
meteorology and chemistry, aided in a large degree by the 
teachings of experience in the art of husbandry. No hus- 
bandman has the power to create one atom of any fertil- 
izing matter. He must work with the elements that God 
gives him. These elements are all within his reach in 
greater or less abundance. To the writer, they are most 
available in forest leaves, corn and cotton seed. When 
corn is worth 50 a barrel, at what price can one pro- 
duce fat hogs p3r 1 00 lbs. for their meat, and clear their ma- 
nure as a profit 1 
Answer— at five dollars per 100 pounds. A man needs 
considerable confidence in his skill as a farmer to pay out 
money for grain where his expectations of profit are limit- 
ed to the manure which the grain will furnish. This system 
of farm economy is practiced by millions in Europe ; and 
it is not impracticable in the cotton growing States. Its 
elements, however, are too numerous for analysis at this 
time. We prefer to have forest leaves partly rotten be- 
fore they are used as manure; neveitheless any leaves 
whether green or dry, plowed in, are better than no ma- 
nure on poor land. Therefore we collect them, knowing 
that they will soon decay buried in tilled earth. All our 
recent as well as rotten dung is to be plowed in to nour- 
ish growing crops. We can produce a crop of winter rye 
or wheat for pasturage, from the recent excrements of ani. 
mals by the time the latter will decompose in stables or 
yards. In this way, much more manure may be had in 
six or twelve months than a less active system of manori- 
al management will give to the husbandman. The busi- 
ness maxim that “a nimble sixpence is better than a slow 
shilling” applies to the use of capital in agriculture. Few 
men have studied the elements of fruitfulness and of fe- 
cundity as they deserve to be studied. Fruitfulness is a 
power and a theme every way worthy of our prOfoundest 
consideration. We wish our attainments were such as to 
do justice to the subject. On many a farm the want of 
fruitfulness is felt to be a serious misfortune. To prevent 
all surface washing, practice deeper plowing, produce 
renovating crops, keep more and better live stock, and 
