losely resemble those of the common caraway.
They will keep but two years; and, even when newly grown, sometimes
remain in the ground four or five weeks before vegetating.

_Soil and Culture._--Skirret succeeds best in light, mellow soil, and is
propagated by suckers, or seeds. The best method is to sow the seeds
annually, as, when grown from slips, or suckers, the roots are liable to
be dry and woody; the seeds, on the contrary, producing roots more
tender, and in greater perfection.

Sow the seeds in April, in drills one foot apart, and about an inch in
depth; thin to five or six inches; and, in September, some of the roots
will be sufficiently grown for use. Those required for winter should be
drawn before the closing-up of the ground, and packed in sand.

_To propagate by Slips, or Suckers._--In the spring, remove the required
number of young shoots, or sprouts, from the side of the roots that have
remained in the ground during winter, not taking any portion of the old
root in connection with the slips; and set them in rows ten inches
asunder, and six inches apart in the rows. They will soon strike, and
produce roots of suitable size for use in August or September.

_To raise Seeds._--The plants that have remained in the ground during
the winter, if not disturbed, will send up stalks as before described,
and ripen their seeds at the close of the summer. Two or three plants
will yield all the seeds ordinarily required for a single garden.

_Use._--The roots were formerly much esteemed, but are now neglected for
those greatly inferior. When cooked and served as salsify or scorzonera,
they are the whitest and sweetest of esculent roots, and afford a
considerable portion of nourishment.

There are no varieties.

* * * * *

SWEET POTATO.

Spanish Potato. Carolina Potato. Convolvulus batatus. Ipomoea batatas.

The Sweet Potato is indigenous to both the East and West Indies. Where
its growth is natural, the plant is perennial; but, in cultivation, it
is always treated as an annual. The stem is running or climbing, round
and slender; the leaves are heart-shaped and smooth, with irregular,
angular lobes; the flowers, which are produced in small groups of three
or four, are large, bell-shaped, and of a violet or purple color; the
seeds are black, triangular, and retain their vitality two or three
years,--twenty-three hundred are contained in an ounce.

The plants rarely blossom in