The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-11-29
Sweet Potatoes

There are number of varieties. I
have had the best success with the
early golden, or Key Wester. The
Nancy Hall, or Porto Rico, is a gen
eraP' favorite. A large book could be
written Of its culture. New land is
always best for them, as no weeds or
grass will then interfere with them
during the rainy season.
Don't be afraid to manure or fertil-
lie them; put on all you can afford;
have a liberal percetange of potash.
once planted potatoes after velvet
beans, also MANFRED literally with
| compost with chemical potash. I know
made six hundred bushels to the
acre. Sweet potatoes are so easily
made that no great or special effort
is made, as a rule, to make a large
yield. We generally hit 'em a lick
and make 'em a promise and then
trust to luck for the balance I must
admit that our farming is quite slip
shod. This fall 1 am digging potatoes
from a patch that was planted on old
grassy land last July. The grass
took the patch, but 1 am getting at
least 100 bushels to the~acre. / put in
| stable manure with sulphate of pot
ash. / should have prepared-the land
in March and worked it up and over
several times before planting in July.
This would have given the manure
time to have rotted and become SOL
uble plant food and killed out a great
deal Of the weed and grass seed. The
man who fails to have a liber sup
ply Of sweet potatoes in this section
has only himself to blame. One hun
dred to four hundred bushels is easy.
Always plant the vine for crop. Lit
tie potatoes are often planted in the
early spring from which to get vines
for the summer planting. Why not
plant the largest, finest potatoes for
this purpose? I suppose that is the
best way, but 1t is really not often
done. AS for me, l am an orange grow
er and do not farm any more
B. p. N.
Corn in East HiIIsboro County.
II you take a piece Of paper and a
pencil you can figure corn out of all
countenance as a paying crop. But
let me tell you, / like to have a good
acreage of corn. Nothing is easier to
grow or makes much quicker or is
better to eat and to feed than Indian
corn. / have land that has produced
from % to 80 years-corn after corn.
No fertilizer to speak Of No special
effort to build up the land-it was
pastured or burned over to get rid
of the vegetation that was too much
for a Dixie pillow to turn under. If
cowpeas, velvet beans, beggar w eed
or other legume were grown it was
accidental or incidental. Never mind
about how much per acre was made
or how little, it was always worth
while to have a field of corn. Break
the land in December-not later. Turn
under all vegetation possible and har-
row. Let it lie till the Goth Of March,
then get in the corn with a planter.
Now this has never been done to my
knowledge, but 1t is the right way.
One hundred pounds each of cotton
seed meal and acid phosphate to the
acre will no doubt double the yield.
Perhaps 100 pounds of cottonseed meal.
so pounds of acid phosphate and forty
pounds Of muriate of potash would be
better-try both. Harrow the field
just before the corn is up, or say one
week after planting. Plow it and hoe
1t when 1t is two weeks old. After that
cultivate shallow-with Acme til it is
in silk and tassel. Then if there is
no beggarweed seed in the land, SOW
five pounds to the acre and harrow
once more. Get the beggarweed in
your land soon as possible Let no
other weed grow on your place, If you
do you are a failure. Cattle, horses.
hogs, chickens, all eat beggarweed, but
no other weed. It fills the soil with
nitrogen and humus and the barn with
hay.
Weevils will eat your corn pretty
bad sometimes, but there are many
ways of preventing this. l cannot go
into details over this now. You make
the corn first. If you do not feed it
up by December, shell 1t and put into
a tight box, say 4x10 feet, with lid and
treat it occasionally with bisulphate
of carbon.
B. p. N.
CassaVa.