622 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



with it, nor should it be put into drinking water, unless its purity is 

 above suspicion. 



The Keeping of Vegetables, Fruits, and Meats. The follow- 

 ing hints regarding the keeping of different kinds of food may be 

 found useful: Potatoes are kept without difficulty in a cool, dry, 

 and dark place. Sprouts should not be allowed to grow in the 

 spring. Such roots as carrots, parsnips, and turnips remain plump 

 and fresh if placed in earth or sand filled boxes on the cellar floor. 

 Sweet potatoes may be kept until. January if cleaned, dried, and 

 packed in chaff so that they will not touch each other. Pumpkins 

 and squash must be thoroughly ripe and mature to keep well. 

 They should be dried from time to time with a cloth and kept, not 

 on the cellar floor, but on a shelf, and well separated from each 

 other. Cabbages are to be placed in barrels, with the roots upper- 

 most. Celery should be neither trimmed nor washed, but packed, 

 heads up, in long, deep boxes, which should then be filled with dry 

 earth. 



Tomatoes may. be kept until January, if gathered just be- 

 fore frost, wiped dry, and placed on straw-covered racks in the 

 cellar. They should be firm and well-grown specimens, not yet 

 beginning to turn. As they ripen they may be taken out for table 

 use, and any soft or decaying ones must be removed. 



Apples, if for use during the autumn, may be stored in bar- 

 rels. Look them over now and then to remove decaying ones. If 

 they are to be kept till late winter or spring they must be of a va- 

 riety known to keep well and they must be hand-picked and without 

 blemish or bruise. They should be wiped dry and placed with little 

 crowding on shelves in the cellar. As a further precaution they 

 may be wrapped separately in soft paper. Pears may be kept for 

 a limited time wrapped or packed in sawdust or chaff, which ab- 

 sorbs the moisture which might otherwise favor molding. Oranges 

 and lemons are kept in the same way. Wrapping in soft paper is 

 here essential, as the uncovered skins if bruised offer good feeding 

 ground for mold. Oranges may be kept for a long time in good 

 condition if stored where it is very cold but where freezing is not 

 possible. Lemons and limes are often kept in brine. Cranberries, 

 after removing soft ones, are placed in a crock or firkin and covered 

 with water. A plate or round board placed on top and weighted 

 serves to keep the berries under water. The water should be 

 changed once a month. 



In winter large pieces of fresh meat may be purchased and 

 hung in the cellar. Thin pieces, as mutton chops, are sometimes 

 dipped in mutton suet, which keeps the surface from drying and 

 is easily scraped off before cooking. Turkeys, chickens, and other 

 birds should be carefully drawn as soon as killed and without wash- 

 ing hung in the coolest available place. Smoked ham, tongue, 

 beef, and fish are best put in linen bags and hung in the cellar. 

 Salt pork and corned beef should be kept in brine in suitable jars, 

 kegs, or casks, and should be weighted so as to remain well covered. 

 Eggs may be packed for winter use in limewater or in water-glass 



