The spectator., 1922-01-03

|
 -and here lies the basic principle of
 properly heating box cars in winter
 to protect potato shipments against frosts that nip into the farmers prof
 Its as well as into the potatoes. Next
 to providing heat, the matter of get | ting 1t to circulate so that it reaches practically all the potatoes in the car
 is of greatest importance.
 The directions for preparing box
 car for potato shipments given here
 with are in accord with recommends
 tions of the United States Department
 of Agriculture, and apply to winter | shipments of sweet potatoes destined
 for northern points, as we'll as to the
 white variety.
 Suitable Lining Is Important. | A stove will warm enough air to l protect car of potatoes from freez- I ing even in severe weather. providing
 the car lining is built and kept in such | a condition that the warm air can get | down to the floor and sides where 1t
 Is needed. To accomplish this com plete air passage must be formed en- | tirely around the load.
 When potatoes are loaded in bulk,
 1t is necessary to construct what are
 in effect two bins, one on either side | of the central area where the stove | Is placed, if the shipment Is likely I to pass through severe weather. In many instances, of course, 1t is en- I tirely safe to ship without artificial heat In the car.
 Before constructing the bins. the
 walls and ceiling of the car itself must
 be covered with building paper. Fol lowing this false floor is laid on
 supports running lengthwise. thereby | creating air channels four to six inches deep, extending beneath the | false floor from the center of the car l to either end where they connect with
 vertical air passages formed by false walls built four to six inches from the car ends. Likewise, false walls are built few inches from the sides and false door is erected at one side
 for stovepipe to go through. Bulkheads are put across the car
 at either side of the door to form
 well for the stove. These walls. as
 well as the center bulkheads, rise we'll | toward the ceiling. The bins are lined
 with paper, the same as the car walls
 The false floor supports permit the I cool air to settle below the false floor
 and to move toward the base of the stove, where 1t rises as it is heated and circulates toward the ends of the car. between the load and the ceiling.
 A rough estimate of the lumber and
 paper required to line an s by S1a by
 3G-foot car, with doors . feet wide, Is as follows:
 1s pieces by 1 inches by N feet pieces by 6 inches by l6 feet.
 1890 square feet of 1-ineh lumber. 16' feet. 2,25o square feet of building paper, The ls 2.by,4's should se sawed in
 half, making 20 pieces ' feet long.
 Six inches should be sawed off the
 length of each of the eight 2-by-6
 pieces. Enough of the 16-foot boards
 should be sawed into S-foot lengths
 to make total width of g feet of
 S.foot boards and other of these boards
 sawed into 6-foot lengths to make
 total width of feet This will leave
 few 4-foot lengths. One foot should
 be sawed off the remaining 16-foot
 boards, leaving them Is feet long. This lumber Is all that is required
 by an experienced loader to complete
 ly equip ear with false walls and
 bulkheads. Detailed directions for | In, un6ar- stood. are contained in Farmers Bull letin 1901 issued by the United States Department of Agriculture.
 The shipper is cautioned not to load
 potatoes so close to the ceiling that
 they block circulation. There must be a large unobstructed opening for the warm air to pass down to the hoor after 1t has spread the length of the ceiling from the heater, The circu- lation is slow and labored, and to limit 1t by piling the sacks so that they ex- tend beyond the false walls causes serious interference. In placing pota- toes in sacks on the false floor next to the walls care should be taken to set them n few inches from these par titions. since they are in the region where the frost first becomes effective if the car is not properly heated. Lined Cars Returned to Shippsrs. It is recognized that preparation of the car in the manner indicated in- wolves a considerable initial expense.
 Usually. however, shippers plan to use both the stove and the lumber for re peated shipments. In Maine cars are
 equipped substantially in the way de-
 scrlbeti and used by shippers repeated ly, lhs cars ueinx returned e tho