POTATO CULTURE. 197 



from rot, while those in the middle spoiled badly. It occur- 

 red to me that it was for lack of being thoroughly dried out 

 before they were put away, and for want of ventilation in 

 the cellar. Just at that time a writer in one of the agricul- 

 tural papers said if potatoes were stored for a while in a 

 loose loft in a barn, they would never rot. Accordingly my 

 fine crop of potatoes was placed overhead in the toolhouse, 

 and left there longer than they should have been. I had 

 forgotten , or never realized thoroughly, what friend Terry 

 says about keeping potatoes in the dark. I believe, however, 

 I shall remember that chapter the rest of my life. My large 

 nice potatoes,, under the influence of even the small amount 

 of light there was in the tool-house, had turned green some- 

 times half way to the center. Now, my wife is very particu- 

 lar about her potatoes, and almost every day she tells me 

 how much trouble it is to prepare these for food, and how 

 much has to be thrown away, until I have decided that 

 hereafter our potatoes shall be stored in the blackest of mid- 

 night darkness, from the minute they are dug until they are 

 ready to use. When questioned at the institute, Mr. Terry 

 said that potatoes should be stored in a cellar absolutely 

 dark, and that they should be put on a floor of loose boards, 

 with plenty of openings between the boards, several inches 

 from the cellar bottom. Furthermore, if the quantity was 

 large, square wooden ventilators were to be set up every few 

 feet through the pile. These ventilators communicate with 

 the air between the locse floor and the cellar bottom. This, 

 you see, permits the air to move freely among the potatoes 

 while they are kept in absolute darkness. At the same time, 

 the cellar is to be kept as cold as possible, by opening the 

 doors and windows nights and mornings, and closing them 

 during the middle of the day. If managed properly, the 

 disagreeable operation of rubbing off sprouts may be almost 

 entirely avoided. Keep down the temperature, and keep 

 away the light. 

 Another thing I wish to notice right here about potatoes 



