Trans-planting.—It is a problem to get the plants set out in a proper and timely way. The old method was to depend on a "season," or a rainy time, and with a mild spring shower and a set of active men results can be secured in this way equal to the very best. For hand-planting it is usually best to throw up a ridge four to six inches higher than necessary, and then a boy with a garden rake can flatten the top of the ridge to six or eight inches in width nearly as fast as he can walk. A better way is to fasten a board, five or six feet long, on an old cultivator frame ; by this means a boy and a horse can knock off the tops of two ridges at once.
In dry weather, if the ground has been properly prepared so as to maintain its moisture, and the ridges have been thrown up several days before so as to allow the subsoil moisture to rise, plants can he set with perfect success without a "season.' The tops of the ridges are knocked off just ahead of the planting, exposing the moist soil, and the plants, having been lightly dipped at the hot bd. are dipped in a rather thick batter, so that a considerable mass of mud clings to each plant. They are then dropped and planted at once. Some growers prefer in dry weather to have an extra boy drop a small dipper of water with every plant, and this is undoubtedly' a good practice. The object in transplanting is not only to have the plants live, but to have them prosper, and atten tion to the care of the plants, especially the prompt dipping and the proper watering, will result in the prompt response of the plant.
The customary distance apart in the row for sweet-potatoes is eighteen inches. With the big-stem Jersey variety the writer pre fers to plant sixteen inches apart to keep down the size. Some men are able to guess this distance accurately, but as a rule a marker should be made. A common and convenient form is that shown in Fig. 842, which consists of a strip of wood six feet long, on which five cleats, 14- x inch, arc A handle and brace complete the struc. tare. The whole should be light so as readily to be carried by a boy in one hand. One boy goes ahead and marks the places, and another follows with e bundle of plants, dropping the plants at each mark while a man either with a trowel or dibble, or or very soft ground with the hand, sets out the plants. The handiest tool to use in this way is e rather small mason's trowel. The trowel is thrust into the soft ground with the right hand, the plant slipped in position with the left hand, and while top is still held the trowel is withdrawn and witt a single punch of the fist, the earth is driven corn.
partly about it. An average worker, with boys tc drop and mark, should set an acre of 7,000 to 8,00( plants a day. This is such tiresome work that few men are able to keep it up for many days in suc.
cession. The writer has had men set 15,000 plants, or two acres in a day.
For setting out large areas, say twenty acres or more, it will usually pay to get a transplanting machine. Several of these transplanters are on the market, and work with a fair degree of success when operated by a well-trained crew. One great advantage of the transplanting machine is that it carries its water, enabling the planting to proceed in dry weather ; in fact, it can be used only when the ground is dry enough to cultivate. As a rule, the ridges need to be a little higher and wider with the machine than with hand-planting. A slow, steady team and a skilful driver are necessary to make straight rows. Two boys quick with their hands are required. When the outfit is working properly, twenty-five to thirty thousand plants a day can be transplanted.
There are several other methods used in setting out plants, particularly by the New Jersey growers in their soft, sandy soils. One of the simplest planting machines is a lath or stick about the length of a cane, one end of which is two inches wide and distinctly concave; over this concave end a piece of soft leather is tacked. As the boy drops the plant as nearly as possible in its proper place, the man following simply pushes it into the ground by dropping the leather-covered staff over the root-end of the plant. A second thrust is made to force the soil around the plant. More elaborate tongs and planters are used in some places.
Cultivation.—The first operation in the cultiva tion of the sweet-potato is ordinarily the splitting out of the middles. A round trip is made with a one-horse plow, throwing against the sides of the ridges the additional soil left undisturbed in mak ing the ridge. This is done within a week from planting time, or as soon as convenient, and before weeds have started. It is followed before weed growth begins, and usually within two weeks of planting, by the first cultivation. The cultivator used by the writer is an ordinary five-tooth garden cultivator of the Planet Jr. type, having a narrow (one and one-fourth-inch) tooth to go next to the plants. The rear tooth can be a broad one, so as to throw the dirt to some extent toward the ridge. Straight rows are very necessary for good cultiva tion. With care, the ground can be disturbed the first time within two inches of the plants.