98 



HOME FRUIT GROWER 



If vegetables and fruit 

 must be stored under one roof 

 they should be kept in sep- 

 arate and insulated compart- 

 ments, each with its own 

 ventilators. 



CONSTRUCTION OF THE 

 OUTDOOR STORAGE CELLAR 



"As the cellar must be 

 kept free from moisture and 

 free from frost," writes Mr. 

 Beatty, "its type and con- 

 struction will vary with the 

 geographical location. In the 

 South the structure is usually 

 entirely above ground and 

 protected by only a few inches 

 of sod, straw, leaves, etc. 

 (Fig. 76). In the North out- 

 door storage cellars are made 

 almost entirely below ground 

 and covered with a foot or 

 two of earth. 



"The former may be built on a well-drained site at slight expense. 

 A row of posts may be set five or six feet apart, extending seven or 

 eight feet above ground with a ridge pole on top of them. Against 

 each side of the ridge pole planks or puncheons are placed in a row, 

 their opposite ends resting in a shallow trench four or five feet from 

 the line of posts. The ends are boarded up, a door being provided in 

 one and the roof covered with five or six inches of sod. 



"In sections of low temperatures it is necessary to insulate the 

 storage house to prevent freezing. An above-ground type of house, 

 popular in the North, has thick walls filled with insulating material 

 such as sawdust or shavings. The construction is of frame and the 

 walls are usually ten or twelve inches thick. Both inside and outside 

 walls are sheathed with matched lumber to make them air-tight. 

 The rafters are similarly ceiled on the under-side and the space between 

 the rafters filled with dry insulating material. Building paper in the 

 roof and walls is of great assistance in insulation. Ventilation is 

 secured through a flue in the roof and an air inlet in the floor (Fig. 77). 

 "A type of storage cellar much used in Northern sections is built 

 partly underground. The masonry walls extend to a point just 



Fig. 77. Floor plan of a simple concrete 

 storage cellar which may be used for Apples 

 and other fruits. The floor is of earth, but the 

 barrels, crates, etc., used as containers, are 

 set on a slat floor. Bins decay so quickly that 

 movable receptacles are usually preferable 



