The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1920-02-05
THE ploHT way
ThF WRONG WAY

rdlSc walls SO ConbtTuCtcu Do 10 iHtcT
prepared by the United States Depart
ment OF Agricuture)
In the big battle which he wages
every winter TO destroy n portion OF
manklnd's food stores, Jack Frost
finds the careless shipper OF potatoes
an effective ally. Potatoes. sweet and
white, are shipped TO market In large
quantities throughout the cold season
and demand thorough protection,
since touch of frost renders them
practically worthless. While the farm
er himself IL not directly responsible
for faulty shipment II he sells to
dealer who does the loading, he is In
better position to demand square
deal II he understands how TO protect
winter consignments properly. If the
crop is being marketed on n commits
sion basis the grower Is sure to suffer
the brunt of the losses when the frost
gets in effective work.
The directions for preparing a box
car for potato shipments given here
with are In accord with recommenda-
tlons of the bureau of markets. and
apply to winter shipments of sweet
potatoes destined for northern points,
as well as to white potatoes.
Importance Of Circulation.
A stove Will warm enough air to pro-
'tect car of potatoes from freezing
even in severe weather. providing the
car lining is built and kept In such n
condition that the warm air can get
down 10 the floor and sides where II
is needed. To accomplish this COM
plete air passage must be formed en-
ltirely around the load. When pota-
toes are loaded In bulk II IL necessary
to construct what are In effect two
bins. one on either side of the central
area where the stove is placed, II the
shipment is likely TO pass through Sc
we're weather. In many cases, of
course, II is entirely safe to ship with
out artificial heat In the car.
Before constructing the bins. the
walls and ceiling of the car itself must
he covered with building paper. Fol-
lowing this n false floor Is laid on sup
ports running lengthwlse, thereby Gre
nting air channels 1 TO o inches deep.
extending beneath the false floor from
the center OF the car to either end
where they connect with vertical air
passages formed by false walls built 4
to O inches from the ear ends Likewise
false walls are built few inches from
the sides and n false door is erected
Mt one side for n stoveplpe. Buik-
heads are put across the ear at either
side OF the door TO form well for the
stove. These walls, as well as the cen
ter bulkheads, rise well toward the
ceiling. The bins are lined with pa
per, the same ns the car walls. The
false floor supports permit the cool air
to settle below the false floor and TO
move toward the base of the stove
where II rises as Il Is heated and cir
culates towards the end of the car,
between the lond and the ceiling.
Material Needed for Lining.
A rough estimate Of the lumber and
paper required 20 line an by sie by
80 foot car. with doors feet wide, Is
as follows:
l3 pieces by inches by II feet long,
pieces by inches by 10 feet long.
100 square feet OF l-inch lumber. Is
feet long
2250 square feet Of building paper.
The 13 "two-by-fours" should be
sawed in half making 20 pieces feet
long. Six inches should be sawed OF
the length OF each OF the eight by @
inch pieces. Enough OF the l6-foot
boards should be sawed into S-foot
lengths 10 make total width OF 81
feet Of S-foot boards. and other of
these boards sawed into 0-foot lengths
TO make total width Of feet. This
will leave a few 4-foot lengths. One
foot should be sawed of the remaining
10-foot boards. leaving them 10 feet
long. This lumber Is all that Is re-
qulred by an experienced loader 10
completely equip a car with false walls
and bulkheads. Detailed directions,
easily understood, are contained In
Markets Document II. issued by ,he
United States department of agricul-
ture.
Proper Placing OF Load.
The shipper OF potatoes must re-
member that they should not be loaded
close enough to the ceiling TO block
circulation. There must be large,
unobstructed opening for the warm
air to pass down to the floor after II
has spread the length OF the ceiling
from the heater. The circulation 10
slow and labored, and to limit It by
piling the sacks so they extend beyond
the false walls causes serious inter
ference. In placing the sacks on the
folsa uoor npvt tO thp walls care
should he taken to set them few
lnches from these partitions, since