STORE YOUR SURPLUS FOR WINTER 



29 



in containers made airtight by lining bot- 

 tom and sides with several thicknesses of 

 newspaper and covering the top snugly in 

 the same manner. 



The temperature of a cellar storage room 

 for potatoes should be carefully controlled 



Fig. 8 A barrel can be made into a good storage pit for 

 cabbage, turnips, potatoes etc. Barrel is placed on its 

 side and covered with straw and dirt. 



to prevent wide fluctuations. A constant 

 temperature around 40 degrees F. is desir- 

 able. It should not be allowed to go below 

 32 degrees or above 50 degrees. 



Potatoes should not be washed before 

 storage. If they begin sprouting in the 

 spring all the shoots should be rubbed off. 

 The bins should be examined occasionally 

 and any rotting potatoes removed to pre- 

 vent the spread of infection. 



Bins 



Do not have one large bin for potatoes, 

 as those in the center will be subjected to 

 too high temperature, which will cause all 

 of them to go through a sweating process. 

 Too large a bin makes good ventilation im- 

 possible. Open bins, not more than a foot 

 deep, arranged as a shelf, as shown in Fig. 

 3, are excellent for cellar storage. Another 

 good arrangement of shelf storage for certain 

 crops is shown in Fig. 4. 



Pits 



A small pit provided with ventilation, as 

 shown in Fig. 5, is the most satisfactory. 

 It is better to have several small pits than 

 one large one, as the entire contents must be 

 removed when a pit is opened. Place not 

 more than two to six weeks' supply in a 

 single pit. 



SWEET POTATOES 



In storing sweet potatoes the important 

 points to be kept in mind are that the pota- 

 toes must be well matured before they 

 are dug; they must be handled with ex- 

 treme care; they must be allowed to dry or 

 cure thoroughly before storage, and they 

 must be kept at an even temperature. A 

 test for maturity is to cut or break a sweet 

 potato and expose it to the air for a few 

 minutes. If the surface of the cut or break 



dries the potato may be considered mature, 

 but if moisture remains on the surface it is 

 not properly ripe. In sections where frosts 

 come early digging should take place about 

 the time the first frost is expected, without 

 regard to maturity. Care in handling is nec- 

 essary to prevent bruising and subsequent 

 decay. Curing is done by keeping them at 

 an even temperature of 80 to 85 degrees F. 

 for a week or ten days after harvesting, to 

 dry off the moisture. The room in which 

 this is done must be ventilated in order that 

 the moisture-laden air may escape. 



For storing sweet potatoes on a large 

 scale a specially constructed house is de- 

 sirable. For home storage the roots may 

 be kept near the furnace in the cellar or 

 near the furnace chimney in a vacant up- 

 stairs room or in the attic. The room 

 should be kept fairly warm. After curing 

 the temperature should be maintained 

 around 55 degrees F. 



Care should be taken not to store sweet 

 potatoes which are infested with the sweet 

 potato weevil or root-weevil, one of the 

 most serious pests of the Gulf region. This 

 pest practically confines itself to destruc- 

 tion of the tubers after harvesting. When 

 the tubers are found infested they should 

 be fumigated with carbon disulphid, to be 

 procured at a drug store. Place the tubers 

 in a box or other container which can be 

 tightly closed. The carbon disulphid is a 

 liquid which gives off fumes heavier than 

 air, and one ounce per bushel should be 

 placed in an open dish on top of the roots 

 and the container closed. Do not allow 

 open lights or fire in the presence of this 

 gas as it is highly explosive. All badly 

 affected roots should be burned. 



Fig. 9 This shows celery set into an outdoor pit or 

 trench for storage. Boards should be placed along the 

 edges of the pit or trench and dirt banked against these 

 boards. The tops of the celery should be covered with 

 corn fodder, straw or similar covering. The celery 

 may be removed easily at any time. 



APPLES 



Apple storage is simple and is desirable 

 not only for those who grow their own 

 apples but also for those who depend on 

 the market for their supply. The one es- 

 sential is that the fruit be kept in a cool, 



