232 The Principles of Vegetable -Gardening 



house is well aired and sunned before celery is admitted, there 

 seems to be no need to fear even local censure. 



tt The improved form of storage house which has been described 

 above may be suggestive to market -gardeners who have other 

 vegetable products to store for the winter markets, for in the stor- 

 age of almost any vegetable product the same three essential 

 features are to be borne in mind, viz: (1) protection against 

 freezing ; (2 ) a temperature so low that the activities of the plant 

 may not be incited and that the growth of fungi may be discour- 

 aged; and (3) proper protection against excessive moisture." 



Usually the vegetable cellar or pit is a temporary struc- 

 ture. A style that is much used in parts of the northern 

 states may be described as follows: On warm and well- 

 drained soil (preferably sand or gravel) an excavation 

 is made from one to two feet deep, usually from fourteen 

 to eighteen feet wide, and of the length required in order 

 to hold the crop that one has to store. The sides of the 

 excavation are held by one or two planks placed on edge 

 and secured by stakes driven into the ground. The whole 

 pit is then covered with a gable roof made by laying 

 boards from the margin to the ridge-pole. The ridge- 

 pole stands three to five feet above the bottom of the pit 

 and is held on stakes that are driven through the center 

 of the pit lengthwise. Usually it is necessary to support 

 the boards between the margin of the pit and the ridge, 

 and this is done by another run or plate held on stakes 

 driven midway between the side and the ridge. Boards 

 about twelve feet long are now laid from the ground to 

 the ridge-pole, making a continuous roof. Ordinarily 

 these boards are lapped, and the upper run is nailed 

 lightly in order to hold the roof in place. The boards 

 are not nailed very securely, however, for it may be nee- 



