The Farmer. Best Way to Store Potatoes.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1833, 5 April 1884, Page 6 (Supplement)

The Farmer. Best Way to Store Potatoes.

BY JOHN M. STAUL.

TiiK potatoes should be dug as soon as they have matured. It will not do to leave them to nature and the weeds ; for nature does not care anything more about them, and the weeds aie too sociable to be good. There is nothing to be gained by leaving the potatoes in the giound after they have matured. Their giowth is ended. There is much to be lost ; they will become impregnated with water, and are liable to rot ; the potatoes near the surface turn greon and become wortbIcsh ; and if the weather happens to be warm there is danger of a second growth. These are only o few of the losses that may occur. Then they must be dug and stored away. "But, 1 " you say, "it will not do to store them away this warm weather. They will spoil." You are mistaken — sadly mistaken. Let me tell you how potatoes should be stored away, whether the sun is as hot as on India's coial strand, or thp zephyrs blow as cold as on Mount Gswhilhkins. Potatoes should be dug vrhen the ground is diy . foi if the ground is wet the soil will adheie to the tubers, and this is not desirable bj any meanp. But if tho withered stalks indicate that the potatoes are ready to harvest, dii? them though the ground is wet. A3 soon as dug, get them into the shade. The sun will soon damage them ; therefore a cool, cloudy day is the best for digging potatoes. They should be protected from the wind also, if it bo high or dry. I always make a shelter of boards along the fence or on tressels under •which I store the potatoes until they are peifectly diy. You must not exclude all air. There must be sufficient ciiculation to dry the tubers. If they have been dug when the ground was wet and the soil hia ac'heipd, rub it oil' as 3oon as it becomes dry. ])o not attempt to rub it off while moist, for this will make it cling only the tighter. Exeicise care in handling. Do not biuise the potatoes or knock off the skin. Use a flat, wooden shovel or none at all. You may wonder what all this has to do with btoiing potatoes. Well, the object of storing potatoes is to keep them and these dhections are important to be observed if you want to keep them sound. But to speak of the storing proper. The first thing to consider is the place in which to stone them. The best place is a dry, properly ventilated, dark eel ar, of a temperature of about 10 degrees Fuhr. If you have not this you must resort to pits. I most frequently see these made circular in shape. I do not know why they aie made in this form, for this i-hape is the mo3t difficult to make and lequues the most covering in proportion to the stoiage capacity. The pits, or more properly, trenches, should bo made on sloping, ■well drained land, as water increases the danger of frost. The trench should be one foot deep, of any width, but about four feet is the mo c t convenient, and as long as is needful. Fill with potatoes, and ridge them up in the centie till they slope down to the edge at an angle of 30 degrees. Cover slightly with stiaw and ovei this put a very light covering of earth. When freezing weather approaches, increase the layer of dirt to a thickneas of IS inches. Draw a furiow along each side of the iicnch to carry off the surface water. If a bhed of boaids is constructed over the trench to keep oft the rain, it makes as good a place for plomgn as a cellar. I u^ecl to store my potatoes, especially the early one<<, in the barn or under a shed till cold weather, because I feared that if I put them directly in the cellar they would rot. But I ha\e found that if they 01 c dry and clean they can be put at once in any place suitable without danger of damago. Patting them under a shed necessitates one additional handling, and the labor and una\ oidable damage to the potatoes are both to bo avoHed. ;-omc people profess great lespeet for natuie''i waj of doing thingg. I leeently icad an riticle on this subject by such a person. He paid that nature put the potatoes in the soil, and we should do likewise : therefoic prppj.ro a layer of fine, damp soil, then a layei oi potatoes, then another layer of soil and so on. Now I understand that nature indicates that potatoes stored to Icep, and not to grow after a while, should be put in a dark, cool sxud dry place : but the less soil about them the better. The more soil, the greater the danger of sprouting. Those people who ha\e f-uch great respect for nature's ways should not shoe thcii horses, stable their cattle, shear their sheep, or pluck their poultiy before eating, for nature does none of tue^o tilings. I have heaid it &aid that if the cellar was prifectly diy the potatoes might be put upon the floor. lam not prepared to dispute this, foi 1 ha\e never tried it; but I don't think I e\ei shall. It looks to me too muoh like tempt- \ ing Providence. Nor do I consider storing in bairclt- much bettor. In these the potatoes are apt to become damp. At any rate, the barrpls hhoukl bo iai°cd several inches from the ilooi. Do not use any straw in the bins or bairels. It draws moisture and will mould, while mice will soon domocile in it. I like stoiing in bins best. Let me toll you uhat boit of bins I use, for apples as well as potatoes, or rather how I make them. I caw scantlings into pieces three feet long for posts. In the ecu tie of these I nail cioss-pieccs four feet long. Now I have the frames. I lay the floor on the cross-pieces and nail the sides and enrla to the posts. This makes bins four feet wide, sixteen inches deep and twenty inches from the floor. They may be made any length desired. Partitions may be nailed to the posts to separate different varieties. In these bins potatoes will keep dry because they are away fiom the floor and the air can circulate pll aiound them andmoistureis the ono thing to be avoided, for it is the prime productive agent of frost and decay. Under the bins I store pumpkins, squashes, etc. The temperature is an important thing to be obsened. At a temperature of 32 degrees potatoes will freeze, and when once frozen they are gone forever ; and a temperature of 30 degrees will destroy their germinating power, while at a temperature of 50 degrees they will germinate. As I have before said, about degrees is the right temperature. — Rural Netv Yotker.