Harvesting and Storage 179 



to remain in the field until the surface and adhering 

 soil are thoroughly dry. However, they should not be 

 left long enough to sunburn or bake. In handling in 

 the field, all the soil should be removed from the tubers. 

 It is not advisable that they be left exposed to cool nights. 

 Whether the potatoes are for storage, home use or 

 shipping, they should be crated in the field, thus elim- 

 inating one handling. The fewer handlings during 

 harvest or storage, the less likely they are to become 

 bruised and rot. If for storage, suitable baskets or 

 hampers should be used ; the first grade potatoes should 

 be packed separately from the seconds or culls. If for 

 shipping to market, either barrels or hampers should be 

 provided. 



STOEAGE 



One of the greatest limiting factors in the production 

 of sweet potatoes for market has, until the present time, 

 been the lack of proper storage facilities. In the fall 

 at digging season when the bulk of this crop is offered 

 for sale, the market is usually flooded and the price is 

 correspondingly low ; while during the spring and sum- 

 mer months, sweet potatoes are high in price and hard 

 to obtain at any figure. 



With the advent of the scientific storage-house, the 

 fear of loss from rot is no longer justified and the fact 

 that there is an all-year demand for sweets should be a 

 great incentive to producers who avail themselves of 

 efficient storage. In an effort to remedy this poor dis- 

 tribution and eliminate the unnecessary waste from 

 decay by stimulating the erection of proper storage- 

 houses and the correct manipulation of them, consider- 

 able work has recently been done by the United States 



