Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-10-09

An Outdoor Storage Cellar, Typical OF
Those Used in the South for Stor.
| ing Sweet Potatoes and Other Root
Crops. 1t Consists of a Pole and
Straw.
the stored product to the desired
point for safe storage by opening the
door during the night and closing it
in the morning before the air becomes
warm. All ventilatorS should likewise
be kept tightly closed until the out
side air is again cooler than that with
in the cellar, when they should be
opened, unless the outside tempera-
ture is so low as to be dangerous. This
safeguards the product and adds to
the efficiency of the storage chamber.
| Vegetables can be more conveniently
| placed in such a cellar than in the
| storage room in the basement of a
dwelling.
When the chief use of the outdoor
storage cellar is for storing turnips,
| beets, carrots, and other root crops
commonly used as stock for food, it
| should be located near he stable,
where the material will be convenient
for winter feeding. When it is to be
used for vegetables for the table the
cellar should be accessible from the
| kitchen at all times. If apples or
other fruits are to be stored in an out
| door storage cellar it is desirable to
| have a two-compartment cellar, one
for vegetables and one for apples, with
ventilating apparatus in each COM
| partment.
Construction of Cellar.
| AS the root cellar must be weather
| proof, that is, capable of being kept
| free from moisture and free from
! frost, it's type and construction vary
with the geographical location. In the
| southern portion of the country the
| structure is usually entirely above
ground and protected by only a few
inches of sod and with straw, leaves,
etc. In Northern sections outdoor
storage cellars are made almost en-
tirely below ground and covered with
q foot or two of earth.
Storage in Regions of Mild Winters.
An above-ground storage cellar, suit
ed to conditions in southern sections
of the United States may be built on
a well-drained site at slight expense.
A row of posts may be set or feet
| apart, extending 7 or 8 feet above the
! surface of the ground, with a ridge
pole placed on top of them. Against
each side of the ridgepole a row of
planks or puncheons is placed, with
their opposite ends resting in a shall
| low trench or 5 feet from
! the line of posts. The ends are board
ed up, a door being provided in one
end of the structure and the room cow
! cred with sod to depth of or 6
inches. A good type of outdoor stor-
age cellar built along these lines is
| shown in the illustration.
Storage in Regions of Severe Freezes.
| In sections where low temperatures
! prevail it is necessary to insulate the
| storage house so that the vegetables
will not freeze. An above-ground type
of storage house much used in many
sections of the North has thick walls
filed with insulating material, such
as sawdust or shavings. The construc-
ton is of frame and the walls are usu-
| ally 10 to u inches thick. Both the
| inside and the outside walls are
sheathed with matched lumber so as
to make them alright. The rafters
are ceiled on the under side with the
same material and the space between
the rafters filed with dry insulating
material The use of building paper
! in the roof and walls of the storage
house is of great assistance in in
sulating it.
A type of storage cellar much used
| In Northern sections of the country is
built partly under ground. The walls
| are of masonry and extend to a point
| just above the surface of the ground.
| On these walls plates are set and a
roof of frame construction erected.
The roof structure is ceiled on the un-
der side of the rafters and some suit
able insulating material, such as dry
sawdust or shavings, packed in the
| space between the rafters, and then
| the sheathing, paper, and roofing ma
terial are applied. This type of struc-
ture is preferable in many respects
/ to the aboye-ground type, as it is cas-