Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1880-11-25
Storing Vegetables.

To enjoy palatsbIc and wholesome
vegetables daring the winter months,
proper care and attention are Just as
essential in harvesting and storing as
in cultivation. Roots and vegetables,
as they are often prom!scuously thrown
! in heaps about The cellar, do soon lose
their freshness and favor. Most Of
our house cellars are too warm for the
best preservation OF vegetables, and it
is therefore advisable to store only e
lanited quantity for immediate use in
the house, while the main stock sho"ld
be kept in a cool barn, cellar, or in an
outdoor pit. Such pit for family
use is easily made by digging trench
abuut three OK four feet wide and Of
the same depth and as long as neces-
sary, taking care to select a situation
where water cannot stand. At the
approach Of winter the pit is filled up
to the level Of tie ground with the
roots to be wintered, beets, tnrnira,
carrots etc. Narrow partitions Of s Il
may be placed longitudinally between
the different kinds, 80 that each may
be taken out separately. This divid-
ing Of the pit into several sections has
the additional advantage Of making
the bulk Of each smaller. Large
quantities OF roots in one mass are H.
able to heat and do not keep as we'll
az smaller lots. The roots are then
covered with enough soil, say SIX inch
cs, to protect them against the flosts
Of early winter.
When severe cold sets in, about the
middle Of December, more soil is
thrown on, not less than two feet, over
every part Of the pit, sIopng OFT to-
wards the sides and the surface, firmly
hacked down with the back Of a spade.
With heavy soil this will be sufficient
to turn off the rain and the snow water
brt in sandy soil it is better to add
an additional protection OF straw,
cornstalks or boa' ds.
Where }it is not practicable and
the entire crop has TO be stored in the
cellar, the roots intended for late
keeping should be carefully selected.
Only sound, solid roots keep well.
These should be laid loosely in thin
LAYERS into bins or barrels and each
LAYER covered with sand, so that none
Of the roots are exposed 10 the light.
The purer the air can be kept IN the
cellar, and the cooler without freezing,
the better will vegetables keep in it.
Onions bear considerable degree
Of cold without injury, provided they
are kept dry and not handled while
frozen. Packed in sawdust chat, or
cut straw, they may be kept all winter
in an out house or barn.
squashes are injured by the slight
est frosts, ard should be kept in a
warm, dry store room, rather than in
a cellar.
The sweet potatoes we find in the
markets are kept in houses expressly
built for the purpose. The necessary
conditions for their keeping are that
the tubers are entirely dry before
storing, and that lie temperature OF
the room does not fal! below 80 de.
g.eea. We have kept them in good
condition till spring in kitchen closet
packed with sawdl ct, in BARREL
Common or Irish potatoes" are rot
injured by few degrees Of cold, pro-
vided the cellar in which they are
kept is dry. In very dry storage
rooms. potatoes should be covered
with soil or sand, as directed for roots
to prevent them from shriveling and
early sproutng. In ordinary cellars
they may be kept loose in barrels or
bins. When the cellar floor is damp
or wet at times, as is unfortunately
too often the case in farm houses. he
bins or barrels should be raised few
inches from the ground, so as to admit
free circulation of air.
What Not To do for Sick PEG
pie.