River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-11-10
Storing and Keeping Potatoes

The Farm and Gdrdaer offers the fol-
lowing remarks in regard to storing
and keeping potatoes over winter:
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 very great quantity of them.
Thus only so many of them are grown
as can be preserved. and as the accom-
modations are limited there is no glut
in the market as there are 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 purposes,
and which follow the same law that
rules in transient vegetables, so also
those who grow potatoes and have no
conveniences for storing them. These
have no market in the fall, and must
take whatever price may rule for them.
Those who have good cellars und
their barns, or in any place safe from
frost and yet cool and dry, can general
ly make potato growing pay very we'll
And these are usually the ones who do.
The infected tubers will often rot, es-
pecially if the mass heats little, and
the diseased ones will often communi-
cate the disease to the rest. In cellar
this can be seen and noted, but in a
mound out of doors no one knows of
the trouble until spring, when the great
loss is found. Besides this, it is so diff
cult 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 at all rather than to be
bothered with this.
Dampness undoubtedly favors the
spread of the potato disease, and there
fore where there is any chance at all
of the disease existing in the roots,
they ought to be stored as dry as posi-
BILE. Those which are to be kept in
this general way should be dry and
cool; but this should be especially seen
in the case of seed potatoes. Since the
potato beetle came among us, it is
clear that we have had the very best re-
suits from early planting, and by the
use of the carbohydrates. Now these
early kinds are more easily affected by
the warmth than the late ones. They
sprout easily, and GOODNESS is therefore
the more essential for them. Some
people think it makes little difference
whether seed potatoes sprout or not
before planting, and we have known
people to tear off sprouts several inches
long. and cut up the tubers in full faith
that they will sprout out again and be
none the worse for it. They generally
grow, but they are constitutionally
weaker and much more liable to disease
than those which do not sprout till
ready to go into the ground. The
Farmers RepieaC, in speaking of pota-
toes, says in a recent issue that potatoes
are jewels this year, and adds: They are
worth a fine price now. What the
value will be in mid-winter or early
spring is matter of conjecture, but
it hardly seems possible that they can
sell for less than $50 per bushel. At
any rate they will be high, and it be-
hooyes every grower to take the best of
care in storing and keeping them. An
other point, and an important one to
the man who sells, is to see that pota-
toes are properly sorted. Take bush
ell of large potatoes and put them with
a peck of small ones, mix them we'll
and measure again and see if the lot
measure any more. 1t is easy to throw
away 25 per cent. in this way. Sort
the tubers and sell those of uniform
size. Really they should be sold by
weight, then sorting is of no conse-
auence, but when viii growers and
market men come to their senses in
this matter