370 GARDEN FARMING 



Transportation. The bulk of the commercial potato crop of the 

 country is shipped to market by boat or by rail. Only a few of the 

 important potato-growing sections are favored with water transpor- 

 tation facilities, and as a result the greater part of the crop is annu- 

 ally moved by rail. The shipment of potatoes by rail is a simple 

 matter in the early part of the harvest season, but as the season 

 advances and cold snaps become more frequent, the risk increases 

 correspondingly. Early in the season ordinary freight cars are 

 satisfactory and safe, but as the cold becomes uncertain, either 



FIG. 140. Sheet-iron stoves used for heating cars in cold weather, Michigan 



lined cars or refrigerator cars are a necessity. In some Northern 

 localities the cars are provided with the means of heating by the 

 installation of an "air-tight," sheet-iron stove such as is shown in 

 figure 140. While such stoves, or even lanterns suspended in the 

 closed car, will prevent the interior temperature from reaching the 

 freezing point, the chief danger and the most frequent source of 

 loss is frost, which penetrates the wall of the car and freezes the 

 potatoes lying against the floor or outside walls. False floors and 

 sides which prevent the tubers from coming in contact with the 

 outer walls of the car are a great safeguard. 



