No. 129.] 463 



the juices resist the laws of chemical decomposition until depriv- 

 ed of life, when they at once ferment, and return to elementary 

 matters, of which they were in the first place decomposed. Al- 

 though our varieties of vegetables is large, still, by acquiring a 

 knowledge of vegetable physiology, we may much improve them. 

 Our cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, and numerous other excel- 

 lent vegetables, may be almost considered as artificial produc- 

 tions, so much has skill aided their cultivation. 



As decomposition in vegetables is induced by the free access 

 of atmospheric influence it is obvious to every one that its ex- 

 clusion is necessary, to as great a degree as possible, when the 

 object is to preserve the vegetables for winter consumption. At 

 five feet below the surface of the earth I do not believe the 

 temperature varies, either summer or winter, and there it never 

 freezes, except under very peculiar cir?limstances. Onions, tur- 

 nips, carrots, potatoes and salsify, may be preserved for one or 

 more years, by being buried in sand-pits, below the effects of 

 frost, or where the temperature is equable. 



It is proper to take up many varieties of vegetables before the 

 hard frosts of winter set in ; such for example, as leeks, cabbages, 

 lettuces, cauliflowers, and sundry other kinds, all of which should 

 be removed to winter quarters unfrozen, in dry weather, car© 

 being taken not to injure the roots, to which should, by all means, 

 be left, the soil naturally adhering to them, as the spongioles 

 and minute fibrous roots of carrots, parsnips, turnips, kc, continue 

 to extract nourishment for a long time, enabling them to retain 

 I the vital principle ; if these fibrous rootlets are lacerated and 

 torn off, the juices make their escape through the injured sur- 

 face, and expedite the saccharine fermentation, which soon 

 thereafter passes into the putrefactive stage, and then the vege- 

 tables could not possibly be preserved, except by extraordinary 

 means, such for example, as being packed in ice. The potato 

 has become a difficult vegetable to preserve, owing to its prone- 

 ness to decay. They may be kept in root houses, pits, &c., but 

 if the quantity is not large, a dry cellar, where the temperature 

 is never very low, and where the frost cannot possibly enter, is 

 the best J even there they should be frequently overhauled, and 



