The Red Cloud chief., 1883-11-30
Digging and storing Potatoes.

As n rule, W. do no, believe in allow
ing potatoes to remain in the ground
long after they are ripe. They are
more liable To rot. while those near the
surface are exposed To the air. become
green and bittrR and unfit for use. The
dying Of the stalk indicates that the
iubers are ready for the harvest. and
they should he dug when the soil Is dry:
they are then clean and bright and
ready either for the market or To be put
away under cover. Ii dug in rainy
weather. or when the soil j. very heavy.
the dir, will ;1here to them they arc
much more liable to rot and no nearly
$ marketable. Go into the vegetable
market. and you win notice that Che
smooth. dry and clean potatoes will al
ways be- selected first.
Dug in fair weather. potatoes will
500 become dry, and when they arr 81.
they cen not be gathered UP and put
into the shade too quickly. Exposure To
the sunlight very soon produces =
chemical change which renders che
tuber unfit for use. The starch is
changed tn grape sugar. the tuber be-
comes green. looses it, crispness.
and when cooked is neither mealy nor
agreeable to the taste. II dug early. 1t
NAV not be best To store them i'm the
cellar ut once. lest they gather moisture
and rot. They NAV be spread in = cool
shed or barn. and covered with straw
until the weather becomes cool enough
to put them in the cellar with safety.
The shrinkage of potatoes between the
time Of digging and the following
spring amounts la from ten tn twenty
per cent. and this should be taken
into account in marketing them.
Freshly dug potatoes are three-fourths
water. but evaporation slowly takes
place during the winter and spring. NJ
ducing the watery portion. and render.
ing the tuber of greater relative value
rs food. The old method Of storing
potatoes in pts is nearly abandoned.
though it may still be practiced in new.
Unsettled portions Of the country. W.
s...---u -~-~-i- - .be ..notato
hole" was an institution On f,"scs.
every farm. and il was regarded as a
good method of keeping them through
the winter. II well stored. they al
ways came out nice in the spring. but
that was before the days of the potato
rot, and the system might not prove rs
satisfactory now.
A good potato cellar should he dry.
capable Of being made perfectly dark
and Of being quickly and thoroughly
ventilated. II the cellar is thoroughly
dry. the tubers might he stored upon
the floor. but this is not generally the
case, and il is usually best TO construct
bins whose floor is raised somewhat
above the cellar bottom. Board parti-
tons may be used to separate varieties;
there is much less danger Of rot in this
arrangement, and agreater opportunity
is given TO pick them over in case rot
ting should begin. Temperature is one
of the factors in keeping . potato. The
terminating power Of . potato Is in
jurcd, If not destroyed. when exposed
to a temperature below thirty degrees.
and it commences TO grow at q temper
AZURE above fifty degrees. Then cel-
lar that could be kept within this range.
or better still. from thirty-two to forty
degrees, ought to furnish sound pota-
toes until spring. and that would sprout
freely. A light ~sprinkiing Of lime upon
potatoes when stored is \ preventive
against potato rot. Potato rot Is . par
asitic fungus. and the lime destroys she
gcrm.-Ndiae Farmer.