84 GARDEN FARMING 



when most carefully planned, runs parallel with the prevailing 

 winds and has a roadway extending from end to end, which 

 greatly facilitates the work of filling and emptying the pits. The 

 excavation is often roofed with poles covered with brush and hay, 

 and over this is a layer of earth. More expensive pits are walled 

 up at the sides and roofed over with concrete. The driveways are 

 often from 2 to 2\ feet above the bottom of the bins. At each 

 end of the driveway are doors opening into a vestibule which is also 

 provided with doors. This arrangement allows the pit to be cooled 

 quickly in autumn because a direct current of air can be carried 



FIG. 28. Colorado type of storage pit 



through it. In some cases the bins are provided with board floors, but 

 more often there is no covering for the earth. The roof is provided 

 with ventilators and also with openings through which the tubers 

 or roots may be dumped into the bins from the outside, as soon as 

 it is no longer convenient to unload from the main driveway. By 

 closing the hatches and shutting both sets of doors the temperature 

 of the pit can be maintained with little variation. Some of the 

 best pits can be held at 34 F. for four months. 



Maine potato cellars. In Maine, and in the East in general, 

 potato storage is provided by cellars more like a house cellar 

 than the pits just described. A cellar of this character is shown 



