The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-07-19
POTATOES MUST
 BE CAREFULLY STORED THIS YEAR
Department of Agriculture Advises Masonry Dug
 outs and Pits

Washington, D. C. July 1o.-Ine storage of potatoes of the main crop can be accomplished most satfsfactor- fly throughout much of the United States in the dugout pit or potato eel lar in some of it's various forms of construction, says a recently publish ed Farmers Bulletin of the United States Department of Agriculture, Potato Storage and Storage Houses" In general, the bulletin says, no att tempt is made to store potatoes of the early crop since usually they are sold for immediate consumption.
 While the dugout storage house is in most general use, concrete or ma sorry houses with frame superstruc- lures are, perhaps, most satisfactory in cold climates. In some sections. especially in the South where drainage is poor, insulated frame structures built entirely above ground must be depended upon.
 The primary purposes of storage, 1t is pointed out, are to protect the tu- bers from. extremes of heat and cold and from light. Account also must be taken of conditions of humidity and ventilation and of the size of the stor- age pile.
 The temperature should be the highest at which potatoes can be maintained firm and ungerminated. and which at the same time hold fun gous diseases in check. Experiments of the department with artificially re- frigerated storage indicate that 36 de- grees F. is sufficiently low for all practical purposes and that in the earlier portion of the storage season a temperature of 40 degrees F. is just as satisfactory as lower one except where powdery dry rot infection oc- CUTS.
 1 All natural light should be excluded from potato storage houses because when the tubers are exposed to even 1 modified light, they are soon injured 1 for food purposes. A practical rule in
 regard to humidity, the bulletin all ready mentioned says, is to maintain sufficient moisture in the air to pre- vent the willing of the tubers and at the same time to keep the humidity content low enough to prevent the deposit of moisture on the surface of the tubers.
 l If potatoes are piled in too large piles they may become overloaded and deteriorate. Six feet is a good l maximum depth to which to pile tu- 1 bers in bins. and the area covered by I each pile also should be limited. A ! good plan is to insert ventilated divi- sion walls at intervals through the l pile or bin. These may be made by l mailing relatively narrow boards on l both sides of 2x4 uprights, 1 inch
 spaces being left between the boards. General ventilation for the whole I storage house usually is accomplished through ventilating shafts in the roof.
 The possible ways to store potatoes. says the bulletin, are pits or earth covered piles, in dugout pits or pota-
 to storage cellars, in inulated wooden structures, in substantial masonry or
 concrete houses, and in artificially re- frigerated storage houses. The latter two methods are the most expensive. Fitting is the most primitive method
 of storage, but if properly done on | drained locations is satisfactory
 in so far as the preservation of the potatoes is concerned. The chief
 drawback to pitting is that the pota- toes are not always easily accessible in the winter.
 l The dugout pit or potato forage eel lar is probably more widelyzused than any other type of storage space. Fit
 ted with water-tight roof it is espec- ially popular in the central portions I of the United States. In the arid and semi-arid sections type with sod or
 dirt roof is in most general use. As 8 rule, the excavation for the cheaper I structures of the dugout pit or cellar J type when erected on level or nearly level land does not exceed feet. The
 soil removed from such an excavation
 particularly if the dugout is of any
 considerable size. is ample for bank
 ing the side and end walls and also for the roof, The cost of construc-
 ton may be greatly modified, accord
 ing to the character of the location
 In the cheaper dugouts. where the soil is of such a nature as to remain intact it is allowed to form the side
 and end walls, the roof being support.
 ed on plates resting on the soil and
 held together by boards or joists. This , form of construction involves a deep.
 CT excavation and a constant element