The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-12-09
PITS AND CELLARS.
The Most Practical Way of Storing Roots
Intended for Spring Use.

In storing carrots. first select all your
Tpened ones, keeping them separate,
as they will be the ones fed up to the
middle of June; the smaller ones should
be set apart for winter use. If you
must pit" them. select the most sandy
ground you have for the purpose: if all
sand or gravel, so much the better, as
frost will not penetrate either to any
depth. Mark your ground four feet
vide, and any desired length; stretch 3
Zine. and mark out with back of spade
TO intended pit; from this eXcavate a
trench one spade deep and two feet
wide. On your bed lay enough soil or
sand to raise it eight inches; when set
tied it VIII be about SIX. On this lay
very light brush, Just sufficient TO cover
soil (birch or beech Is best, but
any thing like It will answer).
Fern the outside walls OF your
largest roots, keepng crowns to the
gu side; next. INSIDE row. lay the end Of
roots to Gre wn the first row, thus form
ing a wall of roots. filing the inside IN
.discriminatelv. If time can be spared,
IT will look letter to compact them by
having them straight, as you build the
Outside and one end. Keep drawing in
regularly, which is easily done by
placing each laver outside. just resting
on edge of crown of preceding row or
Iaver; thus you will make them as
straight as bricklayer viii lay a brick
wall A mot essential point for Their
keeping well is, as yOa build, when
every ghteen inches high. to lay some
of this brush (same as bottom) length
wise and Gro swise, sufficiently thick so
that the next layer will not touch the
other, and so on to the top, finishing
put to a peak. This brush carries OF
all overhead. If you can not obtain
brush, 90 not make your pit over three
feet wide: when finished. put on straw
one sheaf thick, all round, and on top.
When the straw is on, mark your
ground one foot wide from bottom, so
ahat your PIT will be straight. In lay
ing up your soil, on no account tramp
1t (Which have frequently seen done),
rs the looser tie soil the more frost it
exciude. At every ten feet, rs you
al up, place a shcaf of straw, butt on
the roots, to carry off all foul air from
the pressure of earth against it; 1t Will
look very small when fin; shed. Turn
top down and tie with string. A pit
iluilt in the abOye-de cribed manner
keeps carrots when the thermometer is
twenty-e; ght degrees below zero. Should
Sour locality 90 forty degrees below, l
should advise covering all over with
leaves or litter, laying heavy brush
against the material, to prevent the
wind blowing it away. There are more
roots lost through over-hcating than by
frost
There are but few farms that do not
have buildings on them to which a root
house can not be attached at little eX-
pense; the labor attached to pitting an
nually would more than pay the inter-
est of capital invested For instance,
last fall, | had no root-house. The
question was whether to pit or build; on
the place there was 4 bridge twenty-four
feet wide, with an opening at bottom
nineteen feet wide, one side a stone
Abutment. the other side brick wall of
a stable and coa"h-hOl Use. Twelve feet
from ground to bridge bottom, to PFC
vent horses and cattle from gong
through, hanging bars were attached
As il was, it looked very unsightly, to
say the least. l built q siXteen-inch
hollow wall at each end, leaving an
opening between the bricks of four
inches: aga 'nst the brick wall and abut-
ment put three by four hemlock studs,
sheathing w tn hem!o;k rough boards.
thus giving me an air-chamber all round
of four inches; matched boards as roof
running to peak under the center of the
bridge, resting on four by-foIr hem
dock, leaving an opening OF two feet
u, do of no
bridge: a shoot was made. to fit this
opening. | could then dump from cars
and wagons directly into my bins. The
interior when finished was twenty-five
feet long. eleven feet wide and ten feet
high, with drain under all of twelve
inch plank, ut bottom, and on it rough
hemlock boards. This gives perfect
ventilation all through. One sash with
four ei9ht-by-ten glasses was placed on
she north end, and double doors at the
south end; pa>sage-way three feet, with
six bins on each side: bins partitioned
OIL with two-by-three studding; boards
In front GO into slides: when filling |
can put them in as | ill up.
am not afraid of cold; | am of h 5a+.
From this cellar, plain and simple, L
fed roots up the middle of June, with
out fheir showing a sprout, and had
weather twenty degrees below zero. l
5lave built very many elaborate root
cellars. 10 correspond with other build
ings. but for keeping roots, this think
Is the best | have ever built or seen, and
80 say others. The great trouble with
root cellars is that the bins are too
large; they do not have sufficient ven
filation, and have solid walls. | went
into root cellars in December. Man
COLDS, beets, carrots, swedes and pota-
toes were sprouted from starting to four
inches long; cellar as warm as a kitchen,
and so smeit. Let those who have large
bins, in storing their roots, as they
fill in. put brush between each layer of
zwo feet. and ventilate to twcnty-e; ght
degrees if possible. keep mine rang
ing about the freezing point, which is
easily done when you pack right, and
are master OF ventilation. Odor will
tell You if any are heating; if so, turn
all over.
l should have said that. in making
your pits outside, select full northern
exposure. When full south, it is the
thawing by day and freezing at night
which does the harm. If your pits get
I