The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1875-10-21
Storing Potatoes.

OF late years the potato has been one Of
the most profitable of farm crops in the
East, and this chiefly arises from the fact
that it is somewhat difficult to keep any
great quantity of them. Thus only so
many are grown as can be preserved, and
as the accommodations are limited there
is no glut in the market as there is with
things that are grown and must be sent to
market at once. OF course there are times
when potatoes rule low. This is apt to be
the case with early ones, grown especially
for early purpose, and which follow the
same law that rules in transient vegetables.
So also those who grow potatoes and have
no convenience for storing them. These
have to market in the fall, and have 10
take whatever price may rule for them.
Those who have good cellars under their
barns, or in any place safe from frost and
yet cool and dry, can generally make
potato growing pay; and these are usually
the ones who do.
In old times n large quantity of potatoes
were stored out of doors in the open
ground. They were arranged in long
ridges-not in great bulk, as ever a mass
of potatoes will heat-and covered with
earth sufficiently thick to keep out the
frost, but since the incoming Of the potato
disease this plan is not much followed.
The infected tubers will often rot, es-
pecially if the mass heats a little, and the
diseased ones will often communicate the
disease to the rest. In a cellar this can be
seen and noted, but in a mound out of
doors no one knows Of the trouble till
spring, when great loss has been found.
Besides this, it is SO difficult to get at them
in winter that those who have no way to
preserve potatoes except this, as a general
thing, prefer not to grow them at all rather
than to be thus bothered.
Stored in cellars, the potato is seldom
troublesome if healthy. No matter in how
great bulk, or whether put in wet or dry,
they seldom heat to injury. But if the
seeds of disease be there the little heat
generated by the heaping together of so
many roots is often enough to set the dis
ease to work, and very great losses have
been the consequence.
Dampness undoubtedly favors the
spread Of the potato disease, and therefore
when there is any chance at all of the
disease existing in the roots they ought to |
be stored as dry as possible. Those which
are to be kept in this general way should
be dry and cool, but this should be es-
pecially seen to in the case of seed pota-
toes. Since the potato beetle came among
us it is clear that we are to have the best
results from very early planting, and by
the use ofthe earliest varieties. Now, these
early kinds are more easily affected by
warmth than the late ones. They sprout
easily, and GOODNESS is therefore the more
essential for them, Some people think
makes little difference whether seed DO
tatoes sprout or not before planting. We
have known people to tear off sprouts sew
eral inches long, and cut up the tubers, in
full faith that they will sprout out again
and be none the worse for it. They do
generally grow; but there is little doubt
they are constitutionally weaker and
much more liable to disease than those
which do not sprout till ready to go in the
ground Ge1mant0acR I'elegrapA.