STORING IRISH POTATOES 139 



cover the new leaf surface. If the spray material covers the entire 

 plant the beetles will be destroyed first and the blight will be 

 prevented. 



Time for Harvesting the Potato Crop. — Irish potatoes are not 

 mature until the vines cease growing. They are frequently dug 

 and used at this time as "new potatoes." Those intended for 

 storage for winter use should be allowed to mature as much as 

 possible in the soil.. 



The fall crop does not need to be harvested until nearly time for 

 the ground to freeze. Fall frosts do not injure the tubers and a 

 slight freezing of the ground will do no harm unless it prevents the 

 grower from harvesting the crop. 



Digging the Tubers. — There are several methods of digging 

 Irish potatoes from the ground. 



1. The potatoes are sometimes dug by the use of hand tools 

 such as a spading fork, potato hook, or common hoe. This method 

 is slow and laborious and would be used only in the small home 

 garden. 



2. Plowing out the tubers with the common turning plow is 

 more rapid and is well suited to the crop raised for winter use for 

 the entire family. A modification of this method is to use a special 

 plow with two or three prongs on each side of the double mold- 

 board. This does not cover so many of the potatoes with the soil. 

 They are more easily picked up after the plow throws them out. 



3. Special potato diggers pulled by three or four horses are 

 used in commercial fields. The machine has a large broad shovel 

 which goes entirely beneath the row of potatoes and lifts the whole 

 mass of dirt, tubers and vines up on a travelling carrier. This 

 carries them over the axle of the machine and drops them on a series 

 of bars which will let the soil through and drop the potatoes on top 

 of the ground, a little at one side or behind the machine. This 

 leaves them out of the way of the machine when taking the next row. 



Potatoes are picked up in baskets, crates or bags and are hauled 

 in for sale or for winter storage. 



Storing Irish Potatoes. — It is important to have a cool cellar, 

 pit, or special storehouse for saving potatoes during cold weather. 

 Cellars warmed with furnace heat are not suited to this purpose. 

 The tubers are not hard to keep but they should not be warmed or 

 dried too much. If frozen, they acquire a sweetish taste which 

 is not palatable. This may later change to a bitterness which 

 renders them unfit for table use. 



