14 



they have dried enough to insure that the soil will rub off in 

 handling them. They can then be placed in the cellar in a 

 clean, dry condition. 



Storing Potatoes. 



In storing large quantities of potatoes it is necessary to 

 ventilate the storage room sufficiently to carry away the 

 considerable amount of moisture which they continually give 

 off. 



The temperature of the storage house or cellar has a great 

 deal to do with the condition and keeping qualities of potatoes, 

 especially if they are to be used for seed stock the next season. 



The best way to check the loss of moisture from potatoes 

 during storage is to maintain as low a temperature as possible 

 without having them actually freeze. This should usually be 

 between 34° and 44°. Potatoes thus stored will go through the 

 winter in prime condition and come out in April hard, firm and 

 without a sign of sprouting. 



Grading for the Market. 



There is no part of the potato business which needs more 

 attention on the part of the grower than the proper grading 

 and handling of the crop for market. There is a rapidly grow- 

 ing demand for potatoes of superior quality, and if such a 

 product is offered for sale in a style which will command 

 attention the customer will become the grower's friend. What 

 do I mean by this? Just this: in the first place, the potatoes 

 that go into a first-quality package should all be uniform in 

 size, free from disease and injuries. They should fully conform 

 to the following conditions, which were prescribed at a recent 

 conference, in Chicago, of potato growers, dealers, and repre- 

 sentatives of the agricultural colleges and of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture : — 



First-class potatoes shall be such as are sorted over a screen, which 

 shall be, for round white potatoes, 1| inches in the clear; are practically 

 free from varietal mixtures, scab, sunburn, rot, mechanical injurj^ or other 

 defects serious to the consumer; and do not contain over 5 per cent which 

 are over 12 ounces in weight nor which would go through the above screens. 



