Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-03-11

year when there was little else to
sell. 1t made the growers, wherever
they might have been located, some
return on their operations, and the
mere fact that this money was plac-
ed in circulation was highly bene.
fetal. 1t would be much :: re to our
advantage if we could treble or even
quadruple the value of our Irish po-
tato crop. II we undertook to do
this there are those who would i'm
mediately say "There is no mar.
ket for these potatoes and they will
spoil on our hands," Our experience
in the past has been about like this:
When our potatoes were ready for
shipment the eastern markets We're
glutted and we received no profits
on the potatoes we shipped. We had
no means of storing or handling
them and so we just continued to
dump them on the market, taking
any price we could secure. On the
other hand, inquiry invariably re-
vealed the fact tx the markets
were bare of Irish potatoes in a
comparatively short time after the
glut in question occurred. 1t was
natural that this should be true, be-
cause we are producing. after all,
only a limited crop, much smaller in
fact than is needed to supply our
present requirements, let alone
leave any surplus for export.
Is there not some way by which
the difficulties portrayed could be
ob-iated? Is there not a means by
which we could preserve a much
larger number of Irish potatoes
than we are now producing and dis
tribute them through a season OF
from one to three months and at a
time of year when the market IS
bare of this crop and the growers
can thereby be assured of a good
price. The answer is a positive yes.
How shall we proceed to the con-
summation Of this end? First Of
all, we should utilize all the sweet
potato storage houses available in
Georgia for carrying Irish potatoes
for a period of from one to three
dug. In this connection it is I'm
portant ITO point out that the Irish
potato should not be harvested until
it is thoroughly mature. When this
condition arrives the potatoes are
firm, the skin is relatively hard and
does not abraze or bruise easily. The
potatoes should then be dug with
great care and all the small and I'M
satisfactory ones sorted out and fed
t. hogs or other classes of live
stock on the farm. A portion of
them can be preserved for fall
planting if that is considered a de-
sirable practice on the particular
farms where they are grown.
The potatoes should then be put
up in Slated boxes or containers,
air dried to a reasonable degree, and
put into n sweet potato storage
house. They should not be piled too
high nor placed too closely together.
Allow for the circulation of plenty
Of air SO that any surplus mois-
ture \they contain may dry out in
a reasonable length Of time. The
thing to do is to keep the potatoes
just as cool as possible in isolated
packages, as it were, and in the
dark. If this is done they will not
discolor or become greenish in color.
know from long experience that
potatoes handled in this way can be
kept for period of three months
and upward with the utmost salts
faction in our Georgia climate. Thir.
ty days after the annual spring glut
IN the market LOT .lrlSl potatoes &c
ours there is dearth in the supply
and a stiffening of the prices.
have not known a time when there
was any trouble to sell Irish pota-
toes at a reasonable price in the
local markets in the town where
1 live. On the other hand, there
has never been a year when
would not have had to sacrifice my
potatoes If I insisted on putting
them on the market just when ev-
erybedy else's crop was ready for
that purpose.
We are said to have 4 sweet po-
tato storage capacity in Georgia of
something ever a million bushels.
If this is true we could find ready
storage for that number of bush
els of Irish potatoes. This would