Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1904-01-30
Keeping Sweet
Potatoes

Every farmer that raises sweet po-
tatoes realizes how difficult IL Is I'd
Keep them for few months In winter
me percentage OF loss from rotting is
SO great that the grower generaly
gets rid of them as fast as possiple'
yet In many instances early sales are
made at a disadvantage, and IL pc
comes advisable to hold the crop tor
better prices. Most farmers also de-
sire TO retain enough sweet potatoes
IN their cellars to last the FAMILY
through the winter. The problem oil
Keeping them Is therefore one of con-
siderable moment to the grower as
wen as TO the farmer that wishes 10
ouy MS sweet potatoes by the barrel
rather than by the peck. 1t may be
sa that as yet no general method Of
Keeping has been discovered that
gives entire satisfaction Some of the
best recommended methods have at
times utterly failed to keep the tubers
lot even ten weeks without an enor-
nous percentage of loss in rotten ones.
Cold storage does not seem to be
suited to this farm product; as the air
OF cold storage houses is altogether
TOO low In temperature
Men that have had long experience
Ill Keeping sweet potatoes declare that
the temperature must not be less than
So degrees nor more than 60 degrees
and that this temperature must be
kept about uniform The uniformity
Is necessary to keep the tuber and the
air at the same temperature. II the
tuber becomes aolder than the sur
rounding air, moisture will be depos-
tied on the outside, and this induces
rot. This condition OF difference in
temperature may be brought about by
a sudden rise in the temperature of
the room In which the potatoes are
Kept. This explains why sweet pota-
toes packed in dry sand will some
times keep exceptionally well, the
sand preventing a circulation Of air
and therefore also preventing any sud
den change of temperature. Moisture
and temperature are the two chief fac.
tors In the keeping of sweet potatoes.
While white potatoes may be kept at
the freezing point or a little below,
sweet potatoes must be kept compare
lively warm and entirely dry. To get
this latter condition II has become a
quite common practice with those that
have large quantities of sweet pota-
toes to keep over winter to have them
partly kun-dried before they are
packed away. T.e<s~eshjs the potatoes
are put In a roomlEhere the tempera-
ture Is kept at fbm 100 to 100 de-
grees for eight dgs, at the end of
which time they DE stored In place
where they will " thoroughly dry at
all times and In Which the tempera-
ture never goes how 90 degrees nor
higher than go. This matter is one
OF the hardest Thugs to handle, and
is practically possible only on a com.
mercial scale.
Attempts have zen made TO treat
the tubers before boring and without
first drying them mt. The Arkansas
station tried thirhen different ways
unsuccessfully. Tie percentage OF
sound tubers afte1en weeks from dig.
ging were as fonows: Not treated
81; packed in DIP sand, 81; packed
In wood ashes, II; packed in road
dust, So; packed IN air-slacked lime
IS; rolled in flowers of sulphur, Ga;
rolled In powdered sulphate of copper
6S; rolled In airfhked lime, 60; i'm
mersed 80 minutts in Bordeaux mix
ture, a.; immersed 30 minutes In cop
per sulphate solution, IS; immersed
80 minutes In formalin, Il pint to 80
gallons water), 50; immersed 80 min
utes In formalin q pint to 40 gallons)
81; Immersed 80 minutes In formalin
Il pint to DO gallons water), So; i'm
mersed 80 minutbs In ammonia and
sulphate OF coppef12 1t will thus be
seen that none Of the methods gave
even fair results, the best showing 2S
per cent OF rotten tubers at the end
of ten weeks.
From the PRINCIPLES elucidated, II
is evident that il Is mistake to put
sweet potatoes into our ordinary eel
lars, which are altogether too damp
for such storage. Where the cellar is
well cemented and furnace is used
for heating the DWELLING, the tubers
may be stored there Otherwise II
would be better to store them in dry
sand, saw-dust or cAaff, in some warm
dry upper room. But in all cases they
should be well dried out before being
thus stored.
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