Sharp County record., 1917-08-31
SWEET POTATO A
VALUABLE FOOD
Right Kind Of Storage House Essen
tsl and Should Be Built Eariy to
Have Ready When Needed.
By J. s Knox, HorticultUrist WITH ths
Extension Division University
Of Arkansas.
auLLd storaae 4ouses EarIy


bic 50 generally grown in Arkansas as
| IS the sweet potato, and rightly so, be-
cause it ls one Of The most valuable
! vegetables which We can grow for
'ood It is a fact that diseases cause
some loss every year, but nine-tenths
Of the potatoes which 90 to waste
| 10 80 because Of improper stor-
( ee conditions. The right kind Of
( storage house t7 essential and should
ye 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
lepend upon several factors-D ma
.urity Of potatoes at digging, (2)
proper drying out Of the potatoes
shortly after they 9re dug. and (3)
'reed0m from disease and serious
bruises when placed In storage If po-
.atoes are dug when they are imma-
ure it requires longer time to dry
hem than when they are fully mature.
AZ the time Of harvest all potatoes
moving evidence Of disease should be
piled to themselves and fed to hogs or
other farm animals One diseased po-
ato placed in a storage bin may be
he cause Of half dozen others rot
ing. In digging. use every possible
care to prevent the bruising or skim
ming Of the potatoes, since every
wound thus made opens a way for dis
case to enter the potato
The pit or Bank Method Of stering
the Crop.
For the small home grower this
method Is very satisfactory. To build
the bank or pit, select some well
drained location and several weeks
before the potatoes are to be
lug, build a shed The soil under
the shed should be number Of inch
es, say a foot, higher than the soil
On the outside This lessons 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
layer Of dry straw or leaves four to
six inches deep. Now construct two
boxes OF Ike material and bore two
inch holes in them on all sides al 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 a passage
way for air from one box to the other
pile Potatoes Carefully
As soon az the potatoes are dug and
have dried a while they should be
carried 10 the storage pit and carefully
piled In a cone shape about the box
Ing. II IL thought best not to put
over 40 10 30 bushels In the same pit
When The potatoes are placed in the
bank. simply cover over with a light
covering Of straw or leaves and allow
them TO remain in this way for ten
days or two weeks in order 10 thor
oughly dry out lt Is during this dry
INK or sweating process that 30 many
of our potatoes rot As The weather
turns colder q layer Of boards or corn
stalks should be placed over the straw
and o Thin covering Of dirt placed over
this BY The time the weather be-
comes freezing cold The ends Of the
yentllalor boxes should be closed and
The dirt piled on until IL ls four to six
inches deep
Wood 9torehouses,
The man who grows potatoes On q