THE HANDLING OF THE PLANTS 161 



In the storing of all products, especially those wliich have 

 soft and green matter, as cabbages, it is well to provide against 

 the heating of the produce. If the things are buried out of 

 doors, it is important to put on a very light cover at first so 

 that the heat may escape. Cover them gradually as the cold 

 weather comes on. This is important with all vegetables that 

 are placed in pits, as potatoes, beets, ^nd the like. If covered 

 deeply at once, they are likely to heat and rot. All pits made 

 out of doors should be on well-drained and preferably sandy 

 land. 



When vegetables are wanted at intervals during the winter 

 from pits, it is well to make compartment pits, each compart- 

 ment holding a wagon load or whatever quantity will be likely 

 to be wanted at each time. These pits are sunk in well-drained 

 land, and between each of the two pits is left a wall of earth 

 about a foot thick. One pit can then be emptied in cold weather 

 without interfering with the others. 



An outside cellar is better than a house cellar in which there 

 is a heater, but it is not so handy. If it is near the house, it 

 need not be inconvenient, however. A house is usually healthier 

 if the cellar is not used for storage. House cellars used for 

 storage should have a ventilating shaft. 



Some of the principles involved in an ice-cooled storage house 

 are explained in the diagram. Fig. 189. If the reader desires 

 to make a careful study of storage and storage structures, 

 he should consult cyclopedias and special articles. 



The forcing of plants. 



There are three general means (aside from greenhouses) of 

 forcing plants ahead of their season in the early spring — by 

 means of forcing-hills and hand-boxes, by coldframes, and by 

 hotbeds. 



The forcing-hill is an arrangement by means of which a single 

 plant or a single ''hill" of plants may be forced where it per* 



