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Vol. VI i. 



OCTOBER 31, 1839. 



No. 10. 



EDMUND RUFFIN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. 



ON KEKPIJVG SWEET POTATOES. 

 AS FOOD FOR HOGS. 



SQUASHES 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Sovih Carolina, August 25th, 1S39. 



[ have thought, lor sottie litne past, ol- oivinir 

 you an answer lo soaie inquiries on ihe subject ol' 

 prcservintr sweet polaloes. hii your last November 

 number, my mode of Iceepiiiy; them, and the 

 only practice ! have founci uuilbrnily successliil. I 

 have tried many of the plans that have been re- 

 commended lor some years past. That recom- 

 iTiended by your Georgia correspondent, P. C. H. 

 i have been more successful in than any other; 

 but have been Crequenily subjecled to disappoint- 

 ments and losses, u'hicii resolved me, almost, to 

 leave off raising any more tiian my family could 

 use by digging time. And, I will here remark 

 ihat, in my opinion, the practice of leaving a hole 

 in the top of the bulk has been the caijj:e of the 

 distruciion and loss of more potatoes, than all 

 other practices tosrethcr. 



Haviiiir, ill the fail of 1S32, commenced putting 

 tip my cro[) as usual, one of neighbors who !iap- 

 pened to be at my house, and to whom I was 

 complainiiiiT of my bad success in keeping pota- 

 toes, requested me to let him superintend tite put- 

 ting up my cro|); slating at the same time, on 

 my expressing some doubts as to his practice, 

 that if my potatoes rotted, he would furnish me 

 seeii gratis the next spring. I agreed Jo his pro- 

 posal, and attended him to my garden to witness 

 his modas operandi. 



He first levelled a bed of suitable size, for the 

 quantity of potatoes intended li)r the bulk; but did 

 not raise if, as recommended by P. C. H., as tak- 

 ing Ihe earth to the depth of eight or ten inches 

 from around the bulk, to coverit with, would leave 

 the potatoes sufficient!}*- elevated. After levelling, 

 he laid on some dry straw, (not much,) and on 

 that the potatoes. When ihe heap was finished, 

 of the usual form, straw was laid over, of sufl^icient 

 thickness to keep the dirt from mixing with the 

 potatoes; then earthed entirely over, and made 

 compact, to the depth of a loot; the soil heinor of 

 a loose and open nature. The object being lo ex- 

 clude Ihe air entirely; the '^sine qua nony 



'•It is iinportani" said my friend, '"to have a good 

 shelter over the bulk, lor, wherever vvarer pene- 

 trates to 'he potatoes, there you will find, on open- 

 ing the bulk, some rotten ones; but otherwise all 

 will be Ibund perfectly sound. There should, also, 

 be a drain leading from the excavation around the 

 bulk, (which should be smoothed out at bottom,) 

 to draw ofi the water that might, by standing too 

 lonir. be taken up, and inji;re the potatoes." 



Thus, I have given you sir, in my loose wav, 

 my friend's moile, which 1 have f)ractised for six 

 years, with entire success. 1 (>ut up both my eat- 

 ing and seed potatoes in this way; my bulks 

 standing at the base about four feel apart, iind on 

 a line, so that my shelter may be continued Ihe 

 whole length ol the line of bulks; breaking when 

 wanted lor use, one at a time, and removinir it lo 

 mv potato house. Which, if I thoiifrhl i'fnvas ne- 

 Voi.. VII -73 



cessary, I would willingly give a di'scr'ption of; 

 hut, as almost every fainier knows how ihe cellars 

 in conmion use are made, I think it uimecessary; 

 except lo say, (and that is very important,) that 

 ilie upf)er part of mine is left open throughout its 

 whole length, and over which, to keep out rain, a 

 short set of rafters are straddled, lathed, and a 

 course of three feet boards nailed on each side, f 

 am of the op'.nion, that it would be an advantage 

 to extend the rool^ down to the eilge of the ditch 

 that surrounds the house, in which case the cover- 

 ing of earth would not be necessasy to be so thick 

 as is common. 



My ptincheons were split in the spring previous 

 to building ray house, and laid up to dry; and lor 

 several days previous to putting in my first pota- 

 toes, which consisted of all those that were cut or 

 broken in digiiing and removing to the bulks, I 

 had a small fire kept up in the house; and my 

 practice, has been to keep np a little smoke in it. 

 for a few da3's after removing each bulk to it, and 

 also, during every cold sneli through Ihe winter. 

 Keeping only the slat shelter closed in mild wea- 

 ther, an.d in' cold weather, closing both; Imt, at 

 no time do I close up the opening at the top of the 

 house, which is intended for the escape of mois- 

 ture and smoke. Thus, differiing with almost 

 everv one else, in closing my bulks which are 

 commonly left open, and in leaving (he top of my 

 cellar open, which is usually closed by others, l 

 would here remark, (hat the opening spoken oi] is 

 nothing more than the cracks at the ends of the 

 puncheons, at least three inches of which should 

 be left naked. 



I have ibund my cellar very convenient fijr keep- 

 ing roots of every description in, for winter and 

 spring use; such as beets, carrots, parssiips, &c., 

 and one winter I kept a crop of cauliflowers in it, 

 (1 he headsof which continued to grow for some time 

 after removing them fom ray garden; ihe roots 

 having been laid together, and lightly covered 

 with moist earth in packing them away). 



Potatoes should, invariably, be dug before a 

 heavy frost; for, 1 have found ihat witenever Ihe 

 vines were thoroughly killed, those potatoes near- 

 est the top of the hil! were itijured. They should 

 also, be carelully handled, as the}' are frequently 

 bruised, and much injured, by throwing them to 

 the pilcc, and into baskets; and, also, in emptying 

 them into the baskets. Most persons recommend 

 them to be well dried, before putting (hem up; I 

 would p eler airii>g(hcm, myself, weather permit- 

 ting; but have put them up on the same day they 

 were dug, and found them as sound on opening 

 my bulks, as those that had lieen dried. 



In looking over some volumes of the American 

 Farmer, a valuable work which I commenced 

 taking in 1829. and which very much alarmed 

 some of my friends, least I should be Tuincd by 

 ''book-farming," I find some information on 'he 

 subject of the preservation of sweet potatoes, tliat 

 you may think worth transferring to ilie Farmers' 

 Register, for the benefit of your readers, particu- 

 larly inlhel2ih vol. p. 139 and in the 14lh vol 

 pp."7.5. 193 and 2oS. 



