The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1902-10-03
1NeWs and Courier.

News and Courier
The time is near at hand when the
sweet potato crop will be harvested
and, as usual, put away to spoil.
Perhaps there is no crop that spolls
upon the farmers hands equal to the
potato crop. 1t is safe to say that
half of all the potatoes put away for
winter and spring use spoil, either
by rotting in winter or sproutlng
and drying out tov much in spring.
Such heavy losses in this valuable
crop put me to thinking and to ex-
perimenting. Of course, success did
not come the first year, but it did
come. and now | do not lose l per
cent. of my potatoes, and l believe L
can keep them in an absolutely per
feet condition till August.
It was thus that I came to make
my discovery: I noticed that when l
put away my potatoes that those
nearest the bottom of the pit, lying
on the damp earth, in contact with
no straw or other foreign matter,
kept better than those that were pro-
tected (?) by straw or other cover
ing, and I reached a conclusion that
should I put my tubers deep enough
into the earth, keep out all rain and
cold, that the problem was Solved.
This I have proved beyond any
doubt.
As soon as the first frost in Octo
Der nips or bites my potato vines l
put in ploughs and hand rakes and
harvest my crop. I dig pits three feet
wide, six feet long and five feet deep,
fill, in with potatoes to within two
feet of the top Any kind of clean,
dry stuff, such as hay, fodder, rice,
oat or wheat straw may be used to
fill in the remaining space up to the
surface, then a roof of boards is
made to shed off the rain, and upon
this roof is thrown two or three
inches of earth to keep out the cold.
Potatoes thus put away will not
rot, or lose one pound per bushel in
weight, or sprout till midsummer.
And they sweeten and get softer as
they age and mellow in their sepul-
chral-llke receptacle.
Just here I am led to think that
this method would be an ideal one
for keeping apples, late peaches,
pears, grapes; in fact, all kinds OF
fruits and vegetables, perfectly fresh
from one season to another.
Fruits and conserves were exhumed
only few years ago at Pompeii and
other buried cities of the East just
as fresh as they were when put away
in cans and jars nearly two thousand
years ago. And from this discovery
the great canning industry of today
sprung.
In putting away potatoes in pits
there are simple rules that must be
followed:
Dig or harvest potatoes before
hard frost. Frost. bitten potatoes
will not keep and, even could they
be kept, they are not edible.
Do not. dig your pit deep enough
for the water to sip (seep) into the
pit. On a high elevation you may
Dig the pit as deep as you wish, but
on very low lands do not 60 so deep.
Do not put any straw or any for
eign substance on the bottom of your
pit. Put the potatoes on the cool,
damp earth.
Use no 'sidings" of anything
against the walls of your pit. Let
the tubers be in contact with the
cool, damp earth.
Do not make your pits too large.
Three feet wide, six feet long and
five feet deep will give good results
on high land. On low lands three
feet will be deep enough; fill half
full Of potatoes when the pit is three
feet deep.
If the top filing of straw is not
| sound and dry, free from all mould
| or rot, use no straw at all.
Be sure that the roof of the pit
does not leak. Use boards free from
| bolo. nv c,,n crccke A loakv roof