89 



three pieces of two by fours cut two inches shorter than 

 the width of eacli bin, placing the two l)y fours on edge, 

 one near each end and one near tlie middle. The false 

 bottoms were made detached so they could be removed 

 easily when the house was to be cleaned. Both sides of 

 the scantling between the bins were slatted so as to 

 leave an air space between the potatoes in adjacent 

 bins. When built as described above there was a four 

 inch air space all around each bin. The bins varied in 

 width, the general size being three feet wide, seven feet 

 long and seven feet high. 



An ordinary sheet iron, wood stove was installed in 

 the center of the room and connected with the chimney 

 at one end of the room. A coal stove of the hot blast 

 type was used the third year. It gave a more satisfac- 

 tory heat than the wood stove. 



COST OF REMODELING THE ROOM 



The total cost of remodeling the room, which had a 

 capacity of about six hundred bushels, including all 

 material, labor and stove was less than fift}^ dollars. 

 It will serve our purpose indefinitely. 



HARVESTING THE CROP 



In order to make the experiment of practicable val- 

 ue, the principles of correct harvesting were carefully 

 followed. The potatoes were allowed to mature in or- 

 der to produce a maximum yield and develop high 

 quality. An immature potato is difficult to cure. If a 

 potato is broken and the surface turns white and dries 

 within a few minutes, it is mature and ready to dig. 

 Frozen potatoes or potatoes from frozen vines are 

 dangerous for human food and will not keep in storage. 

 Therefore, our crop was harvested as soon as mature 

 and before there was serious danger of frost. (See 

 chart for date of first killing frost in various parts of 

 the State.) Bruised, cut and broken potatoes are dif- 

 ficult to cure and store. Hence care was exercised in 

 the methods of removing the vines as well as in digging 

 and hauling the potatoes. A six foot McCormick hay 

 rake was used for removing the vines, (see Fig. 0) 

 taking two rows at a time. This cleaned the vines off 

 the rows and left them in heaps, thus facilitating their 

 removal from the field. The rake rarely, if ever, in- 

 jured a potato, as is so often done by a cultivator or a 

 rolling coulter. The digging implement (Fig. 5) was 



