The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1898-06-10
Sweet Potato Culture.

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CT, Turner, Of Georgia, writing to
the Prairie Farmer, says:
I agree with the writer that narrow
rows do better than wide ones. North
Carolina and Georgia are celebrated
States for growing fine yams and all va
rleties of sweet potatoes. One of the
most successful potato growers of: Geor-
gia made it rule not to break the first
rootlets. The rootlets make the best DO
tatoes. His plan was, after preparing
the land we'll, to throw two burrows to-
gether with a haimon plow, which IS
smaller than the plows you use in the
West. This makes narrow ridge. Do
not throw out the middle furrow before
setting out the plants. During favor
able season man walks down on the
top OF this ridge, making his steps only
fifteen to eighteen inches apart, and on
these tracks drops the plants. The ad-
vantage III planting in the tracks is that
the soil is packed-it retains the mois-
ture longer and much better stand is
obtained than when the plants are set
out i'll soft, open soil. When the
plants are we'll rooted, throw out the
middle with small plow; this will
throw soft dirt 70 the plants and cover
up all weeds and grass Potatoes should
never be allowed to become grassy,
When the vines are long, and YOU wish
to plough them, go between the rows
ano. with a stick throw the vines over in
the next row. Do this with the vines
OF each row. This will have the
Vines of two rows thrown together.
Then we plough out the rows that are
naked, and when we get over the field
we 60 back and turn the vines back on
the side of the rows that are ploughed.
In North Carolina and Georgia potatoes
are grown for hogs; they are not dug.
A farmer will fence off one acre for
table use and turn the hogs in to eat the
other part of the field. In some cases
the farmers dig or plough up their pota-
toes and put them in hills and sell them
to cities during the winter and spring
months. People are divided in opinion
as to the best way to keep sweet pota-
toes. Many take unnecessary pains.
Some put them in hills and leave the top
of the hills open to let the air pass off,
but this is not necessary. I never lose
any potatoes if they are in good order
when dig them. 1t makes no differ
ence about the potatoes being dry when
put up, for they 60 through sweat any
way. have put them Zip in hills when
they were wet with rain and have never
lost any potatoes. The place to keep
potatoes we'll is in the earth. Hills are
much better than cellars and boxes.
What causes potatoes to rot is having
them alternately warm and cold. Keep
the potatoes at one temperature all the
time and they will always keep when
covered up with earth. Some growers in
the South put only five or six inches of
dirt Oh their hills; this is bad plan,
as we have warm spells; and the potatoes
get warm from the heat of the sun; then,
perhaps, it turns cold and they get chilled.
This getting alternately cold and warm
rots them. When the potatoes are dug
in the fall put them IT,, at once in hills
OF twenty-five tc thirty bushels each.
Cover with straw and then set up around
the hills boards two or three feet long
this leaves them III the shape of a pyra-
mld-then put at least one foot of dirt OH
the boards-more is better-and the DO.
tatoes will neither get warm nor cold
during the winter, and in the spring you
viii not have two dozen rotten potatoes
to the hill.