M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1860-04-26
A9ftlaitatal.
[FrOm the Ohio Farmer.l
culture OF the swertPoiatO

more rapidly than tho sweet potato;
nor is there any vegetable, to my
knowledge, that is so frequently mis-.
cultivated. And more, ! do not be-
lieve there is a farm in Ohio, Of fifty
acres, that produces good corn, that
cannot be made to produce good
sweet potatoes, BY following the di,
rections given in this article.
Soil prefer sandy, or light
loan; but this is not saying none 9th.
or will do. Any soil that can be
MAIDS dry and mello,O, will do, being
careinI not to enrich too highly. Be.
ginners generally plant small patch
10 the garden, the richest spot (in ami
nal manure) to be found on the farm.
The result is great crcp OF vines, but
no potatoes.
4Naarrss.-The best Of manure is
decayed vegetable matter; therefore,
land newly cleared, if suitable in 9th.
CT respects, will always give good
return. If animal manure is used at
all, it should be well rOtted. | have
obtained good crops for years in sue
cession on Il steep hill side, having an
eastern, southern and western aspect,
land 80 poor that it will not produce
good crop Of corn. | have used no
mannre, except leaChed ashes, and on
some portions not even that. The
crop rather improves than deteriorates
the quality OF land.
Preparation Of SoiI.-At the first
favorable opportunity in spring, the
land should be plowed deep, and sub
soiled, if possible. When the plants
are ready for setting. which should be
by the 1st of May, the ground should
be thoroughly narrowed. If the land
is mellow, the next movement iS one
OF the most important in connection
with raising crop. | refer to form
ing the hills. The great error is to
make hills or ridges SO broad, and to
nse such vast amount Of earth, that
the hills become heavy, SO heavy that
nothing but vines can grow. My
method is as follows: Beginning at
the bottom of the hill, with two horses
and large plow, lift furrow slice;
let the team pass back without work,
the near horse in furrow; again, hav.
ing the plow set heavily to land, "cut
and cover;" that is, lift a furrow aud
place it on the width OF a furrow. In
this manner the ridges are made mar
row aud high, and with proper after
culture, will produce something be-
sides vines. After forming all the
ridges, with one horse and u large
shovel plow, cross turrow two and a
half feet. | thus getmy hills two and
q half by two and a half feet, giving
almost seven thousand per acre. If
the coil has been well pulverzed, the
the hills will need but very little hoe
OF hand labor.
Setting PtdntS.-The proper time
is when the danger of irostsis past
In Southern Ohio, this is sometimes
after the Goth of April, but generally
not until the 10th TO 18th of May
The philosophy Of transplantingi is not
generally well understood. For in
stance, after heavy rain scores OF
people will come to nle for plants, and
they will have their way; "For 1t is
such q good time to set p}ants."O |
Mr.. Editor, the skiIlul cuItivator
knows better. He takes any time
when the ground is in good working
condition, choosing the aftcr.part Of
the day, Or sometimes the morning. -
lnotance note from my Journal June
19, 1853; FINISHED setting 23,I7O /
sweet potato pIants-the mornings
have been toggy the whole time, and
! have Eet " great many more plants
mornings than evening" He never
sets plants without pouring water into
the hole made by the hand to receive
the plant. One boy will pour water
for three hands 10 set. Holding the
plant with the left hand, let water
enough be poured on to float the root.
let's, and instantly draw in the mellow
earth without the least pressure. If
we'll done, you will not lose one plant
in hundred. lset all kinds ofplants
by this method, always with good snc.
cess, and never omitted the water
without regretting it. To remedy the
effect of cut-worms, set the plants
deeply, leaving only the heart or run.
ner, with all the leaves above ground.
remembering to keep The plant as
high up on the hin as possible The
proper form OF the hill is about eigh
teen inches in diameter at the bottom,
and as high as it can be piled on that
base. Ihave tried pudding the roots,
but since it leaves chem all ir a rope,
discard it. BY the method describe,
the roots are foated into their natural
position by the water, and at the same
time the minute particles of earth are
carried amongst the roots. Never
water the plants again. Nc water
being Oh the surface, no crust forms