Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1917-08-14
SWEET POTATO A
 VALUABLE FOOD
Right Kind of Storage House Essen tiaI ard Should Be Built Early to
 Have Ready When Needed.
By J. s. Knox, Horticulturist with the Extension Division, University
 of Arkansas.
Build Storage Houses Early.

1 is the sweet potato, and rightly so, be- vegetables which we can grow for food It is a fact that diseases cause some loss every year, but nine-tenths of the potatoes which go to waste do so because of improper stor- ] age conditions. The right kind of storage house is essential and should be built early in order to have it ready by the time the potatoes are dug.
 Successful Storage Depends Upon Several Factors.
 Successful storage may be said to depend upon several factors-Q) ma- turity of potatoes at digging, (2) proper drying out of the potatoes shortly after they are dug, and (3) | freedom from disease and serious bruises when placed in storage. If po- tatoes are dug when they are imma- ture it requires longer time to dry them than when they are fully mature. | At the time of harvest all potatoes showing evidence of disease should be piled to themselves and fed to hogs or other farm animals One diseased po- 1 tato placed in storage bin may be the cause of a half dozen others rot ting. In digging. use every possible care to prevent the bruising or skin ming of the potatoes, since every wound thus made opens a way for dis ease to enter the potato.
 ! The Pit or Bank Method of Storing the Crop.
 | For the small home grower this method is very satisfactory. To build the bank or pit, select some we'll drained location, and. several weeks before the potatoes are to be the shed should be number of inch es, say, a foot,- higher than the soil on the outside This lessens the chances of moisture rising up to the potatoes Make the soil where the potatoes are to be piled into plate or saucer shape, then pile over this a layer of dry straw or leaves four to six inches deep. Now construct two boxes of 1x6 material and bore two inch holes in them on all sides at in- tersals of IS inches to two feet. These should be placed, one horizontally across the bed and the other joined to it. but placed in a vertical position. There must, of course, be passage way for air from one box to the other.
 Pile Potatoes Carefully.
 As soon as the potatoes are dug and have dried while they should be carried to the storage pit and carefully piled in cone shape about the box ing. It is thought best not to put over 40 to 50 bushels in the same pit. When the potatoes are placed in the bank, simply cover over with light covering of straw or leaves and allow tthem to remain in this way for ten days or two weeks in order to thor oughly dry out. It is during this dry Ing or sweating process that so many of our potatoes rot. As the weather turns colder layer of boards or corn stalks should be placed over the straw and a thin covering of dirt placed over this. By the time the weather be- comes freezing cold the ends of the ventilator boxes should be closed and the dirt piled on until it is four to six inches deep.
 Wood Storehouses.
 l The man who grows potatoes on a large scale for commercial purposes should build a regular storage house. The wooden or frame structures are by far the most com mon in this state. They are built with double walls. having a six or eight-inch space between the walls. This space may be filled with dry sawdust, or if made practically air tight, may be left with the space unified. If the floor of the building is made of concrete, so much the better. Bins in the houses are of different sizes, but pos sibly about as good a, size as any would be about six feet long, four feet wide, and two and one-Aalf to three feet deep. Bins are placed one above another, with possibly a siX-inch space between them. When built in small sizes this way the air can circulate more readily among the potatoes, and damage done by bruising is not so great as when the bins are made eight to ten feet square. A six-inch space should be left between the bins and the floor. When the potatoes are placed in the house the temperature should be raised to so to S5 degrees and held thus for week or ten days for the purpose of drying out the sur plus moisture. If potatoes begin to sprout the temperature should be low cred to 65 to 70 degrees. The heating 1 is usually done by means of wood stove, or, in the Fort Smith district. 1 by gas stoves. After the drying is complete the temperature of the house should be kept as near 50 to 55 de. grees as possible
 Provide ventilation by means of S;1o