Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1873-09-05
Care of Irish Potatoes.

IT is frequently remarked that no other
vegetable is SO badly handled and so
generally mismanaged as the Irish potato
The evil probably begins with the farmer,
who often neglects to dig his potatoes till
late in the season, when after the fall
rains have set in and thoroughly soaked
the ground, snow storm perhaps reminds
him of the approach of winter. He now
sets about harvesting the crop in hurry;
unskilled and careless hands, in sepa-
rating the potatoes from the wet and sticky
soil, cut and hack them badly with
their hoes, and the cry of rotten potatoes
is heard throughout the land. The
weather has now become lowery and
rainy, affording little or no opportunity
for drying and removing the mud from
the tubers. In this condition they are
gathered up, shoveled into baskets from
the cart tumbled into bins in large
quantities as though they were so many
stones. In this condition they are allow
ed to lie and steam for months, exposed
to the light and air of warm cellar,
until those most exposed turn green
and are rendered nearly worthless as
food. The potatoes sent to market
are but little better; in fact, they often be-
come still more bruised and injured. In
the first place they are hauled in loose
state for miles-perhaps over rough
road, in cart or wagon-and pounded
and shaken about until the skin is greatly
damaged. After arriving in market they
are subjected to still further injury by be-
ing shoveled into barrels and boxes and
suffered to stand exposed for sale in the
open air and sun, OF in some warm room,
where they are but little better protected
After they have lain for several weeks in
this manner they lose much of that dry
ness and freshness of flavor they have
when first dug; they become more or less
bad Favored, or insipid aud soggy. To
cap the climax the cooks who do not like
the looks Of hacked, bruised and green
looking tubers, insist on pairing them be-
fore they are cooked, most lamentable
practice, notwithstanding, for nearly all
that is nutritious in a potato lies within
half an inch of the skin. It follows that
the hogs get the better part, while men
and women have to be satisfied with a
great deal of vegetable fiber and a little
nutriment.
When one is about going to harvest and
store a crop of potatoes with a view to
preserving their good qualities, in the
first place see to it that they are dug as
soon as they are ripe, and when the
ground is dry. In digging use potato
hook or fork, but not a hoe, as it is bad
instrument if you wish to avoid cutting
the tubers. After allowing the potatoes to
lie a short time on the surface to dry, sort
them, and place the soundest and best in
barrels, heading them up at once, or. put
them into small tight bins in a cool eel
lar, and Immediately cover them with
sand in order to exclude the light and air
as much as possible. Those you wish to
keep for summer use gather into pits of
twenty bushels each, and give them a
covering of long rye straw six inches in
thickness and light covering of earth at
first, increasing it at the approach of cold
weather, and leaving small vent at the
top of the pits, secured from the liability
of wet by board or some other covering.
They should be taken out of the pits in
early spring, put into barrels, headed up
and placed in cool cellar, or ice room,
where the temperature is low enough to
keep them from sprouting. In all your