The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-05-21
Metals.
NEW YORK, May 20.-Lead dull.
Culture Of tI,e sweet Potato.

Correspondence Home and Farm.
Soil best suited to early maturity and full de-
velopment a rich, sandy lean. Stiff clays or
low, wet bottoms with wilrtish or pipe clay
foundation are not at all suitable to the growth
of this valuable plant.
The best special mantlres are potash and piIos-
phates which can be supplied by wood ashes
leached or unleached larger quantity required if
leached) and dissolved bone. If these are not at
hand, deoomposed leaves, or drifted fence corner
woods dirt constitute good manure, and, in
deed, materially improve both crop and land if
used in connection with ashes and bone dust
Strong amnoniacal niannres produce too much
vine at the expense of the TUDOR. in both quality
and size. My mode of preparing the ground for
the reception Of the slips is as follows;
Break the ground closely with a long narrow
pillow with small short wing, then cross with "a
one horse Avery pony pillow, then use the roller
till all clods are crushed, then bed out and out
three and a half feet In the waterfurrow de
post manure then slbsoil the water-fulrow as
deeply as the pillow you use and the strength OF
your team will allow This at the same time
mixes the manure with the dirt, a far better
plan than simply bedding on the manure; then
shift the beds with Avery pillow or with the Or
binary twister You now have q Large, high
and well -pulverized bed. Then slightly harrow
this bed down with an ordinary one-horse top
harrow; then, with very narrow pillow, say two
and a half or three inches, without wing lay OIL
on center and along with the bed small, shallow
furrow one-and-a-hah to two inches deep. in
the hand following the dropper be furnished
with stick three feet long, two or three inches
wide, opequarter to one half inch thick or with
a forked stick with which press the slip into the
mellow soil and firm it by pressing next to the
slip with the foot. This is better and less la
bofious than watering each slip There is no
scalding or baking, and far larger per cent of
the slips will live than if watered
The slight furrow in which the slips have been
set must be closed up with common hoe, or
what is still better, a four pronged hoe, prior to
any blowing, otherwise many of the slips shall
be covered up and greatly. delay. the
grow bar of with small turn plow.
Let stand few days to warm up the plants
then throw back the dirt to the plants and finish
out the middles with small wing plow. All
after cultivation can be done with cultivator or
ordinary cotton side harrow. Never lay by
with large twister las is too often done) or draw
up high ridges with hoe. Nearly level Gull
ture is the best and especially so the hotter and
dryer the summer.and fall
Should the vines by heavy rains become at
taehed to the ground by the small Tootiets
thrown out from the joints it is better to gently
detach them by lifting with four pronged or
with very narrow hoe, as these vine rootiets
detraet much from the size of the main tubeR.
/ submit the above detailed plan of faeparaF
ton and culture of the sweet potato as the most
successful one ever tried, and have been try
ing various plans for nearly forty years