The Opelousas courier., 1888-06-02
The Sweet Potato as a Field
Crop.
Thibodaux Sentinel.

Thibodaux Sentinel.
The attention of our small farmers
has been turned to the cultivation OF
Irish potatoes, onions and rice, while
the sweet potato has been consIdera,
bly, neglected. We had long thought
that there was money in sweet pota-
toes if properly cultivated. Most OPP
portunely there came to hand the CITY
Item, containing q lengthy account of
the proceedings of the agricultural So
ciety of Plaquemines parish, at which
the question of the growing OF sweet
potatoes was discussed. One gentle
man stated that he had raised seventy,
five bushels on q half acre OF land, ana
that this tuber benefited the soil i'll
the same manner that the COW pea did.
Another gentleman said that he had
fed his horses on sweet potatoes iol
the past six weeks and that they kept
in rood condition. One bucket OF
sweet potatoes were said to be equal to
il similar quantity of oats for feeding
stock. Mr.. George Conrad, another
member present, urged the feeding OF
COWS on sweet potatoes.
If these be facts, then, we contend, Il
most profitable crop has been neglect
ed heretofore, or has not received the
attention it deserved. If it is good to'
stock and as a fertilizer, that alone
would seem to commend it rs a very
desirable diversification of our field
crops; but we all know that the sweet
potato is far more palatablc, if not
more nutritious as al article OF food f"'
lthe human family, than the Irish pota
to Why is it, then, that our farmer:
do not devote more care to the culture
of the sweet potato than they do a
present!
1t may be that the methods of plant
ing the sweet potato and cuItivatlng /
are imperfect. II so, we would com
mend to }lle consideration Of thos'. wh'
I9ay desire to dGRotc s~t,icter attention
to this tuber in the future, the follow
ing plan recommended 10y R"bt. E>py
IN a paper which he read before TIN
meeting in question:
The seed should be planted early ii
January or February. Trenches il foo
in depth should be dug and filled will
stable manule Place over this II tlii'
layer of soil, into which the seed pota
toes, small ones preferred. should h
pressed. .As sonn lis the shoots are
few inches in length they should IN
separated from the seed, care bcin
taken to disturb the latter rs It'll" II
possible The slips al" IlIrn plan1e
in snlaIl hills, usually three t" ii hill
They should be stuck in the hill at il
angle of about forty-tive degrees, no
planted per p~rndicnlariy, for that w"ul
intrrfrie with thri, proper dcvcl"i
i ment. The hills should be %rigiltcr
inches square, squat in shape, al,l Il,
ranged in rows with sufficient >j,ar
for the passage of n pillow When VINE
begin to form ii lIow Is passed hetWee
the rows to rover Tia, graSs. Ttl~
the only blowing required, The Vim,
should he raised frequently from Als
earth, or they will throw ont root
which will take away much OF III
nourishment from the frtat9f1 1t
very important to thus di-turh III
vines, especially after ii rain. This
the main secret of early potatoes TIL
vines, when cut into lengths of twelv
or fourteen inches and doubled int
loop and planted with the loops pa
down, leaving the ends sticking VI
are superior to slips, giving much lars
er crops. A crop of sweet potatot
thus planted should yield seventy-fiv
bushels to the acre.
Let our farmers cut this out and tt
the above plan of growing sweet pot;
toes next season, and perhaps they wi
do better than they have ever done b'
fore with their sweet potato crop.