SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 33 



black rot, soon after they were put into a dry apartment. 

 These lots had been exposed in the field in piles during 

 a series of days of cold rain. The practical lesson to be 

 drawn from such facts is, that squashes should never be 

 left in the fields exposed to cold rains after cutting. 



After the stems have had the sun a couple of days to 

 dry and sear them, and even before, if cold, wet storms 

 threaten, the squashes should be piled with great care on 

 spring wagons, and taken from the field. The rule should 

 be laid down as invariable, that no squash shall be drop- 

 ped in any stage of its progress, from the field to the 

 market; they should always be laid down. • 



THE STORING OF THE CROP. 



Squashes are usually at their lowest price in the fall of 

 the year, after the crop has been gathered, and before the 

 first severe frosts. The crop being bulky, and requiring 

 dry storage, farmers are intent on getting it to market be- 

 fore cold weather sets in. After the first severe freezing 

 weather, the crop is usually held at a higher figure, as the 

 surplus not intended for storage has been disposed of. In 

 the immediate vicinity of the large cities of the North, a 

 large proportion of the crop is stored in buildings known 

 as " squash-houses," to be marketed during the winter and 

 spring months. These buildings are oftentimes old dwelling- 

 houses, school-houses, or ware-houses, removed from their 

 original locations to the farm, and then put to this second- 

 ary use. I present a vertical section of my own squash- 

 house, by which the general features of all of them can 

 be seen at a glance. 



In dimensions, the building is about 24 x 35 feet, with a 

 height of 10 feet to the plates. It is divided into three 

 rows of bins, which are separated from each other and 

 the sides of the building by aisles, (A, A, A,) about 26 

 inches in width, a distance which admits of the easy handling 



