Sweet Potato 



233 



121. Storage of sweet potatoes on a farm in the South.. 



pine bark. It should be kept dry and should be on a 

 slightly elevated place. 



The storage of sweet potatoes presents special problems, 

 however, and 

 further con- 

 sidera tion 

 may be given 

 it with illus- 

 trations and 

 comments 

 adapted from 

 H. C. Thomp- 

 son in Farm- 

 ers' Bulletin. 



970. Fig. 119 is a pile of sweet potatoes ready to be cov- 

 ered with cane-tops and earth ; a ventilating hole or shaft is 

 provided at the top. Fig. 120 shows a row of sweet-potato 

 banks, with the ventilator openings at the top. Pits or 

 banks are advised only when storage buildings cannot be 

 provided. " Storage pits should be located where the drain- 

 age is good. In making a pit a little of the surface soil is 

 thrown back to form a level bed of the size desired. It is a 

 good plan to dig two small trenches across the bed at right 

 angles to each other, to provide for ventilation at the bot- 

 tom. Lay boards or place troughs over the trenches, and 

 at the point where the trenches cross set a small box on 

 end to form a flue up through the pile of potatoes. The 

 earth floor of the pit is covered with 4 oi- 5 inches of 

 straw, hay, leaves or pine needles, and the potatoes are 

 placed in a conical pile around the flue. A covering of 

 straw, ' hay or similar material is put on the pile and 



