Gunnison news-champion., 1917-09-14
HIDING AWAY THE SPUDS
CRy Eugrnc II. GrbbJ

The -,Orar" Of p0ta'o"s Is not a
new science for Il has been practIccd
for many y-ars. Certain fundamental
facts have been ga'tr~oi and nothing
ha- bon dryI-ri tha. will beat our old
Colorado dugol,- Tho excavation
should b. from th-.r 10 FIVE feet IN
order ,ha, tho collar wGl' BE- At least
one-haIf under ground Such eNcaya-
ton VI. r'--, .u a sarIng Of walls
and Coz, r.as ar. r,r0..r uyrr easy th"
Igl.ut, ranD, ~ AN r.,u temperature
and rf q t....aas .- u..d H. IN larger
cellar. do4a.. doors aNs joined IN the
mddl. and -".nylag on hinges, should
b, pro.d d.d. Tir-, can b.. mad" Of
light flooring torgu"d and groovcd.
The dead air -pac- { amp'" enough
can b. u-"d for surt.ng and sackIug
the stored crop. In rN,r'm" cold
w"a'hrr coal oil ,'o,rs can be- set up
in the. -par,. ,o prevent fn-rz.ng u
the stock.
1hr uppor. Of ,hr roof should BE-
mad with q Framework Of posts st
ten feet apart, SIX to seven feet high
with pIa'"s Of sufficient strength 10
supper, thr ra',rr5. unless the walls
are constructed Of rock. or concrete
which furnish sufficient support
When timber from tn" forest is avail
able the raftcrs can b" placed close
together and a covering Of straw and
earth will b" sufficient FOR the roof
Where timber is high priced. chicken
wire or woven fence wire can be fixed
on the raftcrs. which ar" placed from
eight to twenty four inches apart and
the straw laid over the wire.
Where obtainablc willow brush may
be laid on the raftcrs to prevent the
straw from fltcring through. Both
brush and straw form good insulators
The layer of straw is from eighteen
to twcnty-fou in ches thick and on
top of this is placed blanket of earth
from six to twelve inches thick, de-
pending upon the coarsencss of the
soil. When light sandy soils only are
available, boards, shingles or roofing
paper can be used to cover the roofs
to prevent leakage. The angle of the
roof should be twenty-five per cent
pitch or more, as the air space in the
cone serves u necessary and import
ant function in conducting moisture
and heat.
Special consideration should be Civ
en- to the matter of constructing the
doors. These can be cheaply made Of
flooring 5-Sth or Baths of an inch in
thickness with the inside covered with
building or tar paper fastened on with
strips of lath. The ends of the cellar
should have bulk heads of from two to
five or eight feet apart to provide dead
air space. For storage houses with
capacities ranging from 500 to 1000
bags, the passage way need not ex-
ceed five feet in width. A narrow
track built Of 2x4 timbers can be laid
along the aisle on which to run
small push car in and out. A car is
= great labor saver.
Ventilators should be set in the roof
like chimney with hinged lids. These !
are utilized in regulating the circula- !
ton of hot and cold air and in carry
ing off excess moisture and odors. |
The size of cellar will of course de- |
pend upon the quantity to be stored. |.
One and one-third cubic feet of space
is required for bushel of potatoes.
can be obtained for small
cellars by an opening three or four
feet at the end opposite the entrance.
II there is perfect drainage, the earth
is the best floor for the cellar as it
keeps the potatoes from shrinking
and shriveling. These storage cellars