128 THE POTATO. 



to admit the air and allow it to circulate amongst the 

 potatoes. Pipes should also be inserted in the apex of the 

 clamp as afterwards described. When the potatoes are 

 in position, the sides and ends of the clamp should be 

 covered with a layer of straw, and afterwards a layer of 

 earth, taking care to leave an opening or kind of gutter 

 along the ridge or apex, to allow plenty of ventilation in 

 case any heat should generate amongst the tubers. Of 

 course, this opening should be made water-tight with 

 straw in wet weather. As winter approaches this gutter 

 should be dispensed with, and made up with straw and 

 soil, pipes, extending from the potatoes to the outer 

 air, being fixed about every six feet along the ridge, 

 as shown in Fig. 6, and also a second layer of straw and 

 earth placed over the clamp, as also shown in Fig. 6. The 

 central and branch ventilating pipes are shown in the 

 same sketch. When the weather becomes severe, all the 

 ventilation openings, except those along the ridge, must 

 be blocked up, and the clamp made perfectly frost-proof. 



Turning: the Potatoes If the potatoes are stored 

 for a long time, or if decay is found to have set in, it is 

 necessary to turn them. This is usually done as a matter 

 of course early in February, or sooner if required. The 

 object is to remove any decayed tubers, which would infect 

 others if left with them, and also to rub off any shoots 

 that may have pushed from the eyes of the tubers. Some- 

 times this operation requires doing more than once, as 

 when decay is very bad, or shooting is found to occur again 

 after the shoots have been rubbed off once. The clamp 

 is opened at one end, and the potatoes shovelled into a 

 riddle, where they are picked over by hand, any decayed 

 ones being thrown out. If they are a mixed sample this 

 is a good opportunity for sorting them, in either hand 

 riddles or a sorting machine. The different grades can 

 then be clamped separately. Any shoots that are found, 

 and there is often quite a mat of them, must be rubbed off 

 by hand. As the tubers are dealt with they are again 



