The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1917-07-12
prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)

TYPE OF HOUSE USED In
| prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture)
Storage In regular storage houses Is
the only practicable method Of keeping
| sweet potatoes on commercial scale.
A few crates Of potatoes required for
home use may be stored in the attic
over the house kitchen.
Storage In banks and outdoor cell
| lars has been the custom throughout
the South for great many years, but
| this type of storage Is being rapidly re-
placed by house storage. Very few Of
the potatoes stored in banks or cellars
are suitable for market. for those that
do not decay make such poor appear
ance and are of such poor quality that
they are not desirable. The banks are
not economical for storage because too
much labor and expense are necessary
every year to make them, the tempera-
ture and moisture In them cannot be
controlled, potatoes cannot be taken
from the banks when the weather Is
| cold or the earth is wet, and potatoes
from banks will decay very quickly up
on removal.
A sweet potato storage house may be
constructed of stone, brick, cement,
hollow tile, logs or lumber, but to Sc
| cure the best results lumber should be
used. The walls of cement, stone, ETC.,
are always cold, and it Is difficult to
prevent them from becoming wet. 1t
is also hard to prevent the collection
OF moisture in dugouts and cellars.
The cost Of building storage house
will depend upon the kind Of lumber
used and It's price and also upon the
labor available. A 20 by 40 foot house
will cost anywhere from $3.50 to $3.50.
Many houses have been constructed Of
degrade lumber, farm labor being
used to do the work, and the cost has
! been very low. In many Instances it
has been possible to remodel an old
| tenant house, granary, or shed at little
expense to make very serviceable
storage house.
House Construction.
The supports (pillars) for house
may be made of brick, cement, or
blocks Of wood, and should be at least
is inches high and IL inches in diam
eter. There should be three rows OF
these supports for house over 15 feet
wide, one row under each side of the
house and one row under the middle.
On these supports are placed the sills
Is by 8 inches) and across the stills are
placed the sleepers e by 10 inches).
| The walls of the house are construct
ed by setting by or 2 by 6 studding
on the stills every feet, and at the
top Of these are spiked the plates a by
4 inches). On the outside Of the stud
ding Is nailed layer Of rough boards,
laid diagOnally to help brace the wall,
and over these boards layer OF build
ing paper, then the drop siding. On
the inside Of the studding are laid
rough boards, then layer Of building
paper, and over this layer Of matched
lumber. The wall constructed In this
manner consists of two alright walls
inclosing a dead-air space. This type
of wall Is more satisfactory than a
wall filed with sawdust or shavings,
for these materials soon collect mois-
| ture and the walls decay.
The roof Of the building Is construct
ed In the same manner as any house
roof, with rafters. rough boards over
the rafters, then building paper. and
last the roofing. This roofing may be
sheet iron, roofing paper, or shingles.
The floor Of the house Is constructed
by laying rough boards across the
sleepers, then layer Of building paper
is laid over the rough boards, and
matched flooring Is laid on the build
ing paper. The matched flooring Is
usually laid crosswise Of the house.
The ceiling is sometimes made by
running by Orders across on top
Of the cave plates and on the under
side Of these building paper and
matched ceiling lumber are nailed. A
much better ceiling may be made by
mailing building paper and matched
| ceiling lumber on the underside of the
rafters to about two-thirds Of the way
to the ridge Of the house and then
across on 2 by As, as mentioned above.
The windows for storage house
should be located about 2 feet from
the door, and they should open out.
ward. Some Of the windows should
be Of glass, SO as to allow the entrance
of light when needed without opening
the house. All window openings, even
those containing glass sash, should be
fitted with well-battened shutters to
protect the potatoes from cold and
moisture.
Necessary Ventilation.
It Is essential that house be thor
oughly ventilated when necessary, and
for this purpose ventilators are con-
/ structed 80 the roof and openings
made In tn, floor. The outlets through
the roof may be constructed By mailing
| two S-inch and two 10-inch boards to-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~-~~
Horse and Mule Exports.
Exports OF horses to Europe for war
| purposes from September 1, 1914. to