VEGETABLES, STORING. 534 VEGETABLES, STORING. 



over it to saturate the whole mass freely, 

 and the board and weight replaced. As 

 the salt and water evaporate, it should be 

 replenished from time to time, to keep 

 the whole contents of the cask moist, 

 taking care that the board is always re- 

 placed immediately after portions of the 

 vegetable have been removed for use. 



Vegetables, Storing. 



There are several sorts of vegetables 

 which require storing for winter potatoes, 

 carrots, beet, and onions are the chief of 

 ihem. Potatoes do best when harvested 

 in clumps in the open ground, care being 

 taken to protect them from rain and frost. 

 A long ridge is the best form. The ground 

 should be dry and thoroughly drained. 

 The potatoes should be heaped on a ridge, 

 tapering from a base of 3 feet to a foot 

 and a half, or less, at the top, separating 

 the" different sorts by divisions in the ridge. 

 It is usual to cover this ridge wi*.h a thatch 

 of wheat straw, and then with 6 or 8 

 inches of mould ; but some authorities 

 highly disapprove of this. Mclntosh re- 

 commends the tubers being covered with 

 turf, and afterwards with soil ; and in the 

 absence of these, laying on the soil at once 

 without any litter. After having laid on 

 9 or 10 inches of soil, thatch the whole 

 over an inch and a half thick, with straw, 

 fern leaves, or any similar non-conducting 

 material ; " the object being," he says, 

 " first to exclude frost and wet, and, 

 secondly, to exclude heat ; for which pur- 

 pose earth is not sufficiently a non-conduc- 

 tor of heat and cold. " 



If the weather is fine when the tubers 

 are taken up, and the potatoes are required 

 for early use, much of this labour may be 

 dispensed with ; but if for spring and earjy 

 summer use, the precautions will be found 

 necessary. 



Carrots, beet, and other similar root-crops 

 should be taken up before the frost sets in : 



they may either be stored in a dry cellar, 

 covered with dry sand, or after the manner 

 of the potato. The London market 

 gardeners winter their beet and carrots in 

 large sheds, in moderately damp mould, 

 and banked up with straw ; " for," says 

 Mr. Cuthill, " it is a mistake to pack them 

 all in dry sand or earth for the winter ; and 

 the same may be said with regard to 

 carrots, parsnips, salsafy, scorzonera, and 

 other similar roots ; and by this means," 

 he goes on to say, " the roots retain their 

 natural sap, and the colour is preserved." 



It is probably unnecessary to add that in 

 roots and tubers, as with fruit, all cut or 

 bruised ones should be thrown aside ; when 

 the skin is cut, or a bruise exists, the ele- 

 ments of decay are soon introduced, and all 

 others within reach contaminated. A dry 

 day should be chosen for lifting them, and 

 they should be exposed a few hours before 

 collecting into heaps, that the soil adhering 

 to them may dry. 



Onions should be lifted a little before 

 they have altogether ceased to grow ; the 

 leaf turning yellow and beginning to fade 

 will be the sign. As they are taken up 

 they should be placed in a dry, airy place, 

 but without being exposed to the sun. If 

 they are thinly spread out on a dry floor or 

 shelf covered with sand, or on a gravel 

 walk partially shaded in fine weather, they 

 will do very well. As they dry, the rough- 

 est leaves should be removed ; when dry, 

 they should be removed to a warm, dry loft, 

 where they can ripen more thoroughly. 

 When in a proper state for storing, they 

 should be gone carefully over and separated, 

 the smallest ones for pickling, the ripest 

 picked out, as likely to keep longest ; those 

 with portions of leaves to them are best 

 stored by stringing and suspending them 

 from the ceiling of the room, which pro- 

 motes ripening. The stringing is done by 

 twisting a strong piece of matting or twine 

 round the tails of each in succession, 30 



