CHAPTER X 



Storage of Fruits 



Construction of the Outdoor Storage Cellar Types of 



Storage Houses in the North and the South Storage in 



Banks or Pits 



THE house cellar of my boyhood was ideal. It was stone walled 

 and brick paved and had wide inside and outside stairs with- 

 out a turn and with very easy grade, a sloping trap door over 

 the outside one and a thick, heavy, insulated one, internal tight board 

 shutters on the windows, prison barred, (through which boys could 

 see but not reach the forbidden fruit,) and it was large enough to serve 

 a young hotel without strain. But in spite of the fact that it con- 

 tained no heater, the plan being to keep the house above freezing by 

 stoves and fireplaces, it was considered too warm because of the 

 kitchen fire above, so no more than a couple of weeks' supply of perish- 

 able fruits and vegetables was kept in it at a time, the main supply 

 being stored in the "outside cellar" (Fig. 72). 



From experiences with 

 other cellars in which hot 

 air, hot water and steam 

 house heaters are placed 

 I know it is useless to try 

 to keep fruits or vege- 

 tables in such places. The 

 air is so dry and so warm 

 that shrivelling and rot- 

 ting are the certain results. 

 When the original house 

 plan has not included a 

 storage cellar, it is often 

 possible to partition off a part of the general cellar at one end or 

 one corner, or to cut a door in the wall and make an excavation out- 

 side for one. As I have never had to build such a cellar I quote the 

 following somewhat condensed suggestions from J. H. Beattie in 

 Farmer's Bulletin No. 879: 



"At least one window is necessary, two or more are desirable for 

 light and ventilation. If the cellar is square or rectangular, a room 

 similar to the one illustrated in Figure 73 can be arranged in one corner. 

 If built L-shaped it should be made by partitioning off the offset, 

 as shown in Figure 74. In some cases one end of the cellar may be cut off 

 with one straight wall. 



93 



Fig. 72. Entrance to outside storage cellar 



