Popular Science Monthly 



Growing Other Vegetables in Cellars 

 Near Paris seed is sown in the open air 

 between April and June. At the beginning 

 of winter the young chicory is taken up, 

 the leaves cut off just above the neck and 

 the chicory placed in heaps covered with 

 leaves in a shed. A layer of manure is 

 arranged in a dark cellar, and the roots tied 

 in bundles are set in it. The chicon,- 

 shoots out rapidly in the warm air. At 

 the end of two or three weeks it is read\- 

 to use; no care is needed except occa- 

 sional watering. 



Early potatoes have also been grown 

 underground. The potatoes are placed 

 on beds of garden mold laid on planks 

 two feet from the ground . The cellar or 

 galler\' must be absolutely dark. After 

 three weeks the potato sprouts are cut 

 down several inches. Two or three 

 months later the sprouts are surrounded 

 by a number of small white potatoes. 

 The growths can be arranged so as to 

 have a succession of new potatoes from 

 October to March, when they arrive 

 from the south. The method although 

 ingenious, has not proved to be very 

 profitable. 



So far as mushrooms are concerned 

 they can be grown almost anywhere 

 out of doors and also within doors, 

 according to the Department of Agri- 



At right : A bed of endive in a subterranean 

 passage. The cellar farms have been found 

 especially useful for blanching vegetables 



57 



culture. Where there is a dry bottom 

 on which to place the beds, where a 

 uniform and moderate temperature can 

 be maintained, and where the beds can 

 be protected from wet, winds, draughts, 

 and direct sunshine mushrooms will thrive. 



Placing potatoes in a mold. The plantings are arranged so as to provide for a succession of new 

 potatoes from October until March, after which time the demand is supplied from the South 



