River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1920-05-20
NEW METHOD STORING sPUDs

toes which Director Workman OF tn,
Division of Markets; went to Pennsyl
vania to investigate has awakened
much interest thror ghout the stat,
and the Division of Markets is re
ceives letters daily from farmers anc
warehouse men asking for details o.
the methods. The new plan was de
vised by L. A. Marble, a farmer Of
Canton, Penn, and at the request OF
the Division of Markets Mr.. Marble
has prepared brief description Of
| his plan which has worked so success.
fully. "Short as the potato crop
threatens to be this year." writes
Mr.. Marble, ''the short crop, if carried
in proper storage, will feed as many
mouths as the full crops of former
years Here is the storage plan as
described in detail by Mr. Marble:
"The fundamental principal of OPP
Grafton of our storage cellar is that
Temperature, Humidity and Ventila-
tion are the three controlling factors
which determine the keeping qualit-
les of potatoes"
"By storage in the right Tempera-
tufe, the right Humidity and the
right Ventilation, it is possible to
greatly lengthen the dormant period
and to insure the potatoes keeping
without loss of freshness, firmness,
juciness and seed propogating quail
ties at least as late as the first of
June in all of the Northern states"
Moreover, we find that the proper
temperature in which to store pota-
toes-the most desirable tempera-
ture-is the temperature of the earth
itself, just under frost, and that the
proper humidity in which to store po-
tatoes is the natural humidity of the
earth.
SIN Constructing our storage ware
house we have built cellars rather
than above the ground structures, and
have built the cellars will walls which
conduct the earth temperature and
the earth humidity and have left the
bottom of the cellar an earth bottom,
so as to still further assist in main
tanning throughout the cellar the tenn
perature and humidity of the earth
itself.
at is well known that the line of
frost does not go below two to three
feet in most climates in fields and
in earth that is not travelled upon.
Eve, therefore, provide our cellars
with an earth cover of from two to
three feet, so as to protect the cellar
from the influence Of frosts.
"In cases where it is not convenient
from the location of the ground to
build the cellar below the ground, we
make sure that the earth fill is suffic :
lent to thoroughly protect the cellar
from frosts. The side of a hill is the
most desirable place for vegetable
storage cellar, although we have IN
stances of good success where the
cellar is built on level ground and is
completely banked with earth.
'In side-hill cellar, however, built
long and narrow, you have the natl.r-
al refrigeration offered by the Garth
on the bank side to draw on. 1t IS
an inexhaustable supply. This bank
of earth pressing against the wall OF
the cellar has the earth temperature
of around SO to 38 degrees, and the
| earth humidity, and far late into the
spring controls the temperature of the
| cellar so that this temperature does
rot vary much from sc to 50 degrees
"The potatoes are thus held by en-
tirely natural means in the most fay
| Drabie condition t ! their storage,
They lie perfectly dormant. Pick III
the potatoes and they are cold anc
| firm and hard to the touch. Cut then
and they are juicy and show all the
qualities of crispness which belong t.
a freshly dug potato. You woulc
think they were fresh potatoes.
I "The ventilation of a potato stor
age cellar does not follow the same
rules as the ventilation of an ordinar.
room. In an ordinary room an opei
window results in thorough circuia
ton of air through the room. In tn
storage cellar it is necessary to d.
something more than to cut hole il
the roof. Cutting hole in the roo
does not bring about movement o
the air in the cellar. The cellar al
is cold and cold air is heavy. Heav,
air does not rise, nor does the warn
outside air penetrate into the celia
through the roof holes to any extent
For the proper ventilation of a pc
tato storage cellar it is necessary t
have, in addition to holes in the ROO
ventilating openings near the bottor
of the cellar extending out throug