Macon beacon., 1917-07-13

b. gether to form an 8-Inch box. Thl
box should extend from the inside
ceiling Of the house to about Is inches
or feet above the roof The tops OF
: the ventilator should be provided with
Il hood to keep out rain and the bot
tom with cover so that the ventilntOr
may be closed in cold weather. Every
house over 20 feet in length should be
provided with at least two ventlators
The openings through the floor should
ne 10 to - inches square and provided
with tIght-ftting cover, 30 that they
may be closed when necessary.
The bins for holding the potatoes
should be constructed to allow as much
circulation Of air as possible. They
should be set at least 6 inches away
from the wall, and spnce of 4 inches
should be left between the bins and
under the floor Of the bins. The sides
of the bins are formed by setting 2 by
rs upright and mailing across these 3
or 4 inch boards laid with an inch
space between. The by as between
the bins are shifted on both sides 80 as
10 provide II 4-inch air space between
BINS, The floors Of the bins nre formed
by laying two . by 4 scantlings edge
wise running lengthwiSe of the bins
ana mailing boards across these in the
same manner as for the sides of the
bins. The floor Of the bin may he
made in one or two sections and IL
cut inches narrower than the width
OF the bin and not fastened down 1t
can be readily removed when 1t Is de-
sired to clean out the bins. The size
ana shape of the bins depend on the
size of the house, but to get good air
circulation the bins should not be over
feet in width.
The heating apparatus for storage
house usually consists of Il cheap
sheet-lron stove. Vitrifed tile may be
run through the roof OF the house and
the stovepipc run through the tile,
thus leSScning the danger from fire.
Kerosene oil heaters are also being
used with satisfactory results. In the
more northern swcet-potnto regions,
where heat Is required throughout the
storage period, hard-coal stoves and
hot-wntcr heating systems are in com
mon use, and the storage houses are
usually provided with easements.
Management of the House.
After house is year old, 1t
should be thoroughly cleaned and dis
infected each year before being used.
All dirt and decaycd potatoes should
be taken out, and the interior of the
house together with all harvesting
baskets, crates, bin materials, etc.
should be sprayed with II solution of
copper sulphate, made by disSolving | |
pound In % gallons Of water, or So
luton made by dissolving l pint of
formnlin in 30 gallons of water. Re-
peat this spraying after about -
hours.
A day or so before the storage house
is to be used a fire should be started |
70 dry II out thoroughly and If the
house is new the fire should be started
several days In advance of the storage
in order To drive the moisture out Of
the lumber used in the building. Dur
ing the period when the potatoes are
being stored and for 10 days or 9
weeks afterwards, temperature
around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, with
plenty of ventilation, should be main
talncd. Even If 1t Is not possible to
secure so degrees Fahrenheit or above,
the ventilators should still he left
open, SO as TO allow the moist air to
escape. During the curing period the
windows and doors may be closed at
night and on rainy days, but at other
times they should be left open.
When the potatoes are thoroughly
dried or cured the temperature should
be gradually reduced to IS degrees
at which point 1t should
be kept during the entire storage pc
riod. During the winter, II the tenn
perature in the house should drop be-
low 4S degrees Fahrenheit, fire
should be started or the house opened
when the air outside Is warm and dry.
II the temperature should go above 90
degrees Fahrenheit, the house can be
opened when the air outside Is cool.
Should drops Of moisture appear on
the walls or ceiling the fire should be
started and the ventilators opened to
allow the moisture TO escape. The es.
Sentials in the proper management of
A storage house are to keep It dry and
to maintain uniform temperature
around so to 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
Success in storing sweet potatoes
loes not depend entirely upon success
'ul storage methods. There are
number of sweet-potko diseases, no.
ably black rot, stem rot, and foot rot,
which may cause serious damage In the
storage house. The elimination of dis
'ase should be closely coupled with
;ood storage methods to give best re-