212 PRACTICAL STUDY OF GARDENING 



care must be taken to wet only the roots and not the tops 

 of the plants. If the cellar is kept dark, all new growth 

 made during the winter will be thoroughly blanched. 



Cabbage intended for late winter use will keep better 

 in an outdoor pit than in a cellar. The same is true of 

 parsnips, salsify, horseradish and some of the other root 

 crops. Except where the ground is especially well 

 drained, the pits are usually made entirely above ground. 

 For storing cabbage in this manner, the plants are pulled 

 with the roots and leaves on, and placed upside down in 

 regular order on a level piece of ground. 



Onions intended for winter use should be cured as soon 

 as possible after harvesting, by being kept in a dry place 

 where the air can circulate freely about them. Some 

 growers spread their onions in a thin layer on the floor 

 of the corn crib ; others place them in shallow, slatted 

 trays stacked under an open shed, or exposed to the sun 

 during the day and placed under cover at night. The 

 bulbs may also be spread thinly on the floor of a barn loft 

 or the attic of a house. No matter where they are placed, 

 they must be kept dry and have a free circulation of air 

 about them. 



Tomatoes, cabbage, sweet potatoes and other vege- 

 tables and garden plants and especially those which are 

 started under glass and transplanted, are subject to 

 serious injury by cutworms. They appear sometimes in 

 great numbers in spring and early summer and frequently 

 do severe damage before their ravages are noticed. The 

 method of attack is to cut off the young plants at about 

 the surface of the ground, and as these insects are of 

 large size and voracious feeders they are capable of de- 

 stroying many plants in a single night, frequently more 

 than they can devour. During the past two years these 

 insects, working generally throughout the United States, 

 destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of 

 crops. By the timely application of remedies, however, 



