136 BOARD OF AGUICULTUllE. IPul). Doc. 



If the heads are to be stored in bins, the bins should be narrow and not 

 more than 10 or 18 feet from front to back, and the licads not more 

 than 6 or 7 feet in depth in each bin. »Several bins may be placed one 

 above another in the same section by placing a waterproof flooring 

 between the bins, so that the drip causctl by dccaj^ing cabbage or other 

 condensation cannot reach the lower bin from the one above. This 

 plan of storage is not, in general, as satisfactory as to store the cabbage 

 on shelves, in single layers or two or three deep on the shelves. Pre- 

 cautions should be taken to provide an area way between the outside 

 wall of the building and the storage bins or shelves. 



The walls of the building should be made so as to provide a dead-air 

 space, to prevent the penetration of frost. If the walls are made of 

 brick, two 4-inch walls could be laid up and tied by a header course, 

 so as to provide an air space 2 or 3 inches wide between the two walls; 

 or a solid 9-inch wall may be constructed, and either a tongucd and 

 grooved wall or a lath-and-plaster wall placed on the inside by the use 

 of furring strips. The roof should be provided with a suitable outer 

 covering, either of shingles, of steel or of composition, and should have 

 an inner lining so built as to provide a dead-air space. If the inner 

 lining is made of lumber, the boards should run parallel with the 

 rafters rather than at right angles to them, so that condensation may 

 flow to the eaves rather than fall from each joint. Exits for warm air 

 should be provided by ample ventilators along the ridge, provided 

 with dampers, which can be controlled by ropes extending to the pas- 

 sageways. Cold air from outside can be admitted through the aper- 

 tures in the foundation by means of large terra-cotta pipes, provided 

 with wire netting over the outer end and suitable dampers or shutters 

 on the inside, so that the intake of air can be controlled. 



The secret of success in the management of a storage warehouse is to 

 have disease-free, well-matured, firm, carefully-handled stock grown 

 from high-grade seed, and the storage house so constructed that the 

 temperature can be lowered and maintained as near 34° F. as possible 

 throughout the whole storage period. This means that the greatest 

 care must be exercised to take advantage of cool, frosty nights which 

 occur during the storage period, and as soon as the house is filled to 

 keep it closed during the day and open as much as possible during the 

 night, so as to get the benefit of the low mean temj^eraturcs. The 

 other extreme of too low temperature should also be provided against. 

 During protracted cold spells the temperature inside the storage house 

 may get dangerously low. To guard against loss from freezing, oil 

 heaters are placed at suitable intervals in the walks and allej'S to 

 maintain the temperature above the danger point. 



Storage troubles are more largely the result of careless handling and 

 bad ventilation than of diseases. Practically all of the rotting which 

 takes place during the storage period is the result of saprophytic 

 organisms attacking the badly handled or slighth'' diseased heads 

 under bad storage conditions. Poor cultivation, bad harvesting 



