The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-02-03

- - '""Se9' some time back Oh
The Keeping OF sweet potatoes. Where
l. i've, there are many rather expensive
ly-built curing houses. heated either
by furnace. stove or hot water boiler.
This last method is the most perfect.
but more expensive to install than "A
simple furnace and ilue. IT Is easy to
build cheap house that will keep the
potatoes as well az the more expensive
ones OF hollow brick walls. have
more than once given directions for
such I'm various publications, and they
have been used with perfect success.
The first thing 10 observe IL the hand
ling of the crop in the field. The po-
tatoes should be dug I'm dry sunny
weather. and should not be thrown
in piles. but let lie along the rows in
the sun during the day, and then gath
cred UP Into baskets or crates foi
storage, and handled as little as pos
sible. no cut potatoes being put In with
the general lot. but laid aside for i'm
mediate use
TO build cheap sweet potato cur
ing house. make II ten feet wide and
as long az needed. set squared posts
around the area 20 be enclosed. each
six inches In diameter: Shea the these
inside and out with matched lumber,
ond cover the outside walls with build
ing paper and weather boarding This
p
with sawdust. but this is not necessary
II the walls are gheathed close. Make
the side walls six fcot high. and put
on double span roof and cell inside
making "a cock loft above. Have
vent.lating shaft through tho ceiling
and Rolf that can be opened or closed
Put the door at tho south end and
make 1t double like the sides. AZ the
north END build Il brick furnace open
t,1r, ct la Ga,
that tho arch Of. the Furnace will be
about level with the floor OF the house
From this take a hue overhead 10 the
further end OF the house over The door
and turn tho pipe UP there with q re-
volvinC elbow and wind vane. The
best plan for storing the potatoes is
TO gather them In SLATED shipping
crates and pile them IN the house SO
that the air can circulate all around
them. When all are In. open the ven
,!lator and start IRE and run up the
heat 20 So or 30 degrees and maintaln
this til the potatoes have sweated
and dried of After that n tcmpera-
ture not above 10 degrees will no best
and not lower than 40. In warm spells
It may be necessary 10 omen ~ night
and let IN some cool air and close up
in dag time TO retain II. Treated In
this way and carefully looked after in
winter. II IS easy to keep sweet pota-
toes Till the next crop comes in.
Apple scnh and Spraying.
Rockbridge County: II lost many
apples. llmber-twigs. last summer
from apple scab. in spite OF repeated
spraying with lime sulphur. and later
with Bordeaux mixture Is there any
recent bulletin giving full discussion
of scab. aud the latest methods OF
prevention" Nearly every expert
inent station has issued bulletins on
spraying for insects and fungus dis
eases. You can get such. ! suppose,
from the Virginia station at Blacks
burg. ! think that the mistake you
make was In spraying with limo sui
phur. This is used as an insecticidc,
rather than a fungicidc. 1t is used In
fall and spring to destroy the san
Jose scale Insect. But you should
spray early in spring with Bordeaux
mixture OF the 5-5-50 grade. to pre-
vent the scab and repeat IL Just as
the blossoms fall with a pound OF lead