SWEET POTATO A
VALUABLE FOOD
Right Kind of a Storage House Essen
tial and Should Be Built Early to
Have Ready When Needed.
By J. S. Knox, Horticulturist with the
Extension Division, University
of Arkansas.
Build Storage Houses Early.
Possibly there is no other vegeta
ble so generally grown in Arkansas as
Is the sweet potato, and rightly so, be
cause it is one of the most valuable
vegetables which we can grow for
food. It is a fact that diseases cause
some loss every year, but nine-tenths
of the potatoes which go to waste
do so because of improper stor
age conditions. The right kind of
a storage house is essential and should
be built early in order to have it ready
by the time the potatoes are dug.
Successful Storage Depends Upon
Several Factors.
Successful storage may be said to
depend upon several factors—(1) ma
turity of potatoes at digging, (2)
proper drying out of the potatoes
shortly after they are dug, and (3)
freedom from disease and serious
bruises when placed In storage. If po
tatoes abe dug when they are imma
ture It requires a longer time to dry
them than when they are fully mature.
At the time of harvest all potatoes
showing evidence of disease should be
piled to themselves and fed to hogs or
other farm animals. One diseased po
tato placed In a storage bin may be
the cause of a half dozen others rot
ting. In digging, use every possible
care to prevent the bruising or skin
ning of the potatoes, since every
wound thus made opens a way for dis
ease to enter the potato.
The Pit or Bank Method of Storing
, the Crop.
1 For the small home grower this
method Is very satisfactory. To build
the bank or pit, select some well
drained location, and, several weeks
before the potatoes are to be
dug, build a shed. The soil under
the shed should be a number of inch
es, say, a foot, higher than the soil
on the outside. This lessens the
chances of moisture rising up to the
potatoes. Make the soil where the
potatoes are to be piled into a plate or
saucer shape, then pile over this a
layer of dry straw or leaves four to
six inches deep. Now construct two
inch holes in them on all sides at in
tersals of 18 inches to two feet. These
should be placed, one horizontally
across the bed and the other joined to
it, but placed in a vertical position.
There must, of course, be a passage
way for air from one box to the other.
Pile Potatoes Carefully.
As soon as the potatoes are dug and
have dried a while they should be
carried to the storage pit and carefully
piled in a cone shape about the box
ing. It is thought best not to put
over 40 to 50 bushels in the sarpe pit.
When the potatoes are placed in the
bank, simply cover over with a light
I covering of straw or leaves and allow
them to rernajn in this way for ten
days or two weeks in order to thor
oughly dry out. It Is during this dry
ing or sweating process that so many
of our potatoes rot. As the weather
turns colder a layer of boards or corn
stalks should be placed over the straw
and a thin covering of dirt placed over
this. By the time the weather be
comes freezing cold the ends of the
ventilator boxes should be closed and
the dirt piled on until it is four to six
inches deep.
Wood Storehouses.
The man who grows potatoes on a
large scale for commercial purposes
should build a regular storage
house. The wooden or frame
structures are by far the most com
mon in this state. They are built with
double walls, having a six or eight-inch
space between the walls. This space
may be filled with dry sawdust, or if
made practically air tight, may be left
with the space unfilled. If the floor
of the building is made of concrete,
so much the better. Bins in the
houses are of different sizes, but pos
slbly about as good a size as any
would be about six feet hmg, four feet
wide, and two and onemalf to three
feet deep. Bins are placed one above
[mother, with possibly a six-inch space
between them. When built in small
sizes this way the air can circulate
more readily among the potatoes, and
damage done by bruising is not sc
great as when the bins are made eight
to ten feet square. A six-inch space
should be left between the bins and
the floor. W'hen the potatoes are
placed in the house the temperature
should be raised to 80 to 85 degrees
and held thus for a week or ten days
for the purpose of drying out the sur
plus moisture. If potatoes begin to j
«prout the temperature should be low
ered to 65 to TO degrees. The heating
Is usually done by means of a wood ,
stove, or, in the Fort Smith district, |
by gas stoves. After the drying is
complete the temperature of the house
should be kept as near 60 to 55 de
grees as possible.
Provide ventilation by means of side
rindows and by flues through the top
I -it the. l.uiUUr. g, olotia during vary cold
I vearher.
HIS WIFE DECIDES
American Woman Wants Hubby
to Be Equal to Other Men.
Decrees When She Marries That Her
Life-Partner Must Not Be Out
shone by Mates of the Wom
en She Knew.
The lawyer stopped at the small
downtown fruit store to give an order
for the oranges upon which he fed at
humid noon, says the New York Sun.
“I’ve moved to the Blank building,”
he told the proprietor. “Got settled
yesterday.”
“What floor?” asked the fruit mer
chant.
“The fifth,” said the lawyer. “Rooms
516 to 52”.”
“Better use 518 for yourself,” said
the fruit man. “It’s cooler in summer
and brighter in winter.”
So! Perhaps Mr. Oppenheim was
not far off in his game of the thorough
ness of spy systems. But the lawyer
asked rather buldly: “How do you
know that?”
“I shined shoes in the Blank build
ing for six years,” said the trader in
oranges. “My best years.”
“Meaning of course,” said the law
yer, “that you were young.”
“Menning that I made more money
with less work,” said the fruit dealer.
“Thirty or forty dollars a week. No
rent, no expense except a few pennies
for blacking. Blacking doesn’t spoil
and fruit does. Now everything is ex
pense. I pay rent for this little store
and rent for my house in Brooklyn;
rent for the place where we keep our
motor truck in Manhattan and rent for
the garage near the house where I keep
the little car I take the family out in
on Sundays. My partner wanted to
make the fruit business a corporation,
to be stylish, so we pay a stock tax to
the state and a corporation tax to the
government, whether we make money
or not. And there are two automobile
license taxes, and over home 1 have a
water tax and a dog tax. My life in
surance costs me over $100 a year.”
The lawyer nodded sympathetically,
but did not denounce the multiplicity
of taxes. His own income was fat
tened by the complexity of revenue-pro
ducing methods.
“It would be simpler, he suggested,
“to have continued shining shoes.’*
“I got married,” said the fruit mer
chant, as if that were a complete an
swer.
“In a democracy,” said the lawyer,
not comprehending, “man has the hap
piness, no matter what his means of
honest income may be, of being equal
to other men For instance, there’s
Angelo, the bootblack at the corner.
He’s happy atod glad to have a prosper
ous stand.”
“Angelo Isn’t married,” said the fruit
man.
“What has that to do with It?” asked
the lawyer.
“Everything," said the fruit man. “In
America every man has the same right
as another, which is to try to make
himself the equal of the other men that
he Is supposed to make himself equal
to. That is why I must take risks and
pay a lot of expenses and not go back
to shining shoes.”
“And who decides,” asked the law
yer. “what manner of man a man shall
make himself equal to?”
“His wife decides,” was the answer.
"He must be equal to the husbands of
the women she knows.”
Upon this the lawyer went away,
knowing that there was no evidence in
rebuttal. On arriving at his new' offices
he found, indeed, that room 518 faced
the south.
Was Huxley Color-Blind?
Hon. Doctor Lyttelton relates a
story of of the late Professor Huxley.
He was walking one day with a friend
who differed from him in being a sin
cere believer of the Christian faith.
Suddenly Huxley said: “When I feel
that people believe'In Christianity, I
take it for granted they are muddle
headed and confused in mind, but you
are a man with a clear head. How
does it come about that you believe in
those things, which to me are unimag
inable?” The other replied: “Do you
think there is such a thing possible as
mental color-blindness, by which I
mean there are some minds incapable
of seeing what others see quite dis
tinctly, just as there are some others
who cannot see colors which others
see plainly?”
Huxley stopped in his walk, and
said: “Of course, that may be, and
that is perfectly possible,” and then,
with all the grand honesty of his tem
perament, lie said: “And if I hap
pened to be a man of that kind, I
should not know it.” He then walked
on without saying any more.
His Grouch.
“You need never accept any more
dinner invitations from them.”
“Why not?”
“They only invite us when they want
to use us.”
“I don't see what makes you talk
that way. It was a lovely dinner party
and they certainly gave us a nice
time.”
“Oh, the dinner was all right, but
we weren’t asked because they really
wanted us. You saw thut homely girl
they made me take In to dinner?”
“Yes."
“Well, all the other men there
•’ad good-looking partners. They sim
ply had to have someone to unload her
nntn «nd they picked me out for the
1 job.”’
I
NO EXCUSE FOR ANY WASTE
Uneaten Cereal and Stale Bread May
Be Used to Advantage by House
wife, Say Experts.
Do you know—
That every bit of uneaten cereal can
be used to thicken soups, stews or
gravies?
That stale bread can be used as the
basis for many attractive meat dishes,
hot breads and desserts?
That every ounce of skim milk or
whole milk contains valuable nourish
ment?
Government food experts are asking
these questions of all housewives.
Use every drop of milk to drink or
to add nourishment to cereals, soups,
sauces and other foods, they urge. If
you do not want milk to sour, keep It
cool, clean and covered continually.
Remember, too, that sour milk, butter
milk and sour cream are valuable In
cookery, so do not waste any. Sour
milk and buttermilk can be used with
soda In making hot breads, or sour
milk can be turned easily into cottage
cheese, cream cheese, or clabber. Sour
cream Is a good shortening In making
cakes and cookies and useful for sulad
dressing and gravies for meat.
The Geologists’ Clock.
The fossil shells of the early Inver
tebrates are always of great Impor
tance to geologists, for they Indicate
the period in which the rock beds that
contain them were formed—In other
words, the age of the rock. Every
fossllllferous rock bed contains char
acteristic forms, or groups of forms,
that determine the period in which It
was mud or sand. The economic im
portance of geology has been repeated
ly shown. In the earlier exploitation
of anthracite coal, thousands of dol
lars were wasted searching for coal
beds in New York until the geologist
of the state showed that the beds In
that state could not contain coal,
since the fossils showed that they be
longed to the Devonian age, whereas
the Pennsylvanian anthracite coal
beds are of the Carboniferous age, a
much later period. That discovery
stopped the useless expenditure. The
study of the animal and plunt remains
that are embedded In the rocks has
thus become an Important part of ge
ology, and although the specialists en
gaged In the study are few, their work
Is of the *■ ' oortance.
Queer Freak of Peanuts.
It has been noticed that the common
peanut grows in a peculiar way that is
distinctly original. The little plant
sends up its shoots, with the fruit on
the end of a somewhat stiff stalk, and
then before It ripens the stem bends
j over and carefully pushes the fruit un
RAILROAD TIME TABLE.
St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern
LITTLE ROCK & MONROE RY.
South North
7:46 a. m . ..... Huttig .5:59 p. m
9:50 a. m.Monroe. 2:07 p. mj
local. *
Leaves Arrives
11:25 a. m. Huttig . .. 12:30 p.m.
St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern
FARMERVILLE * SOUTHERN RY.
North South
5:22 a. m. Huttig 2:32 p. m
7:21 a. m.Farmervilie 5:45 p. m
local, t
10:10a.m.Huttig 2:22p.m.
tArrives Monday, Wednesday, and Fri
day from Monroe and goes to Farmer
vilie.
‘Arrives Tuesday, Thursday and Satur
day from Farmervilie and goes to Mon
roe.
LODGE DIRECTORY,
ROWLAND LODGE No. 594 F. & A.
M.meets every second and fourth Satur
day evenings at 7:30 o’clock. Visiting
Masons always welcome.
T. B. Weaver, W. M.
W. P. Reasons, Sec’y.
HOWARD CHAPTER, No. 122, R. A.
M.— meets every first and third Thurs
day evening at Masonic hall. Visiting
companions welcome.
J. M. Gibson, H. P.
C. A. Berry, Secy.
ZEDEK1AH, COUNCIL. U. D.. R. &
S. M — Meets every fourth Wednesday
night of each month. Visiting compan
ions welcome. T. B. Weaver, T. I M.
R. N. Bf.nson, Recorder.
HUTTIG CHAPTER No. 320. Order of
the Eastern Star, meets every first and
third Friday evening at 7:30 o’clock.
Visiting brothers and sisters welcome.
Mrs. J. A. Brignac, W. M.
Mrs. L. G. Gibson, Sec’y.
HUTTIG LODGE No. 348 I. O. 0. F.
meets every first and third Tuesday eve
ning. All brethern cordially invited.
H. C. Bedford, N. G.
Harlan Sehon, Secy.
HUTTIG REBEKAH LODGE No. 66,
meets every Monday night at 7:30 o'clock
Visitors are invited.
Mrs. Wilkie Frost, N. G.
Mrs. Murray Maroney, Secy.
SWEET BAY CAMP No. 411 W. O. W.
meets every first and third Saturday eve
nings. Visitors made welcome.
Lester Malone, C. C.
J. C. Bridges. Clerk.
Sweet Bay Circle No. 145, W. C..
meets every second and fourth Thursday
night at 7:30 o'clock. Visitors are cor
dially invited.
Mrs. E. S. Etheridge, Guardain.
Mrs. J. C. Bridgei, Clerk.
Summer Wear
For Men
For Women
For Children
For summer comfort nothing can
compare with the Union Suit. We
have a large stock in all grades and
prices we will be please to show you.
Our line of Cool, Comfortable
Shirts and Waists are just what you
need and they sell at prices to suit
the pocketbook of all.
Quality Higher
Than Price
In this era of high prices
the above is a daring state
ment to make, but we are
fully prepared to make
good on it.
Our superb line of
SHOES for MEN carries
exaetly the qualities that
every man values above
price.
Our splendid line of
SHOES for WOMEN have
all the same qualities.
These shoes are the peers
of any now on the market.
Wear them once—you’ll
keep right on.
We SELL Goods
We GIVE Service
We carry at all times a large and
varied stock of Men’s Clothing
and Furnishings to SELL.
We also have on hand at all times
a stock of courtesy and efficient
service to GIVE.
Our Clothing SATISFIES.
Our Service PLEASES.
We ask an opportunity to Satis
fy and Please you.