THE COOL CELLAR 155 



a temperature below freezing in the cold climates, and 

 this is sufficient to ruin fruits, most of which are spoiled 

 by freezing. 



Since the value of the cellar in preserving fruits and 

 vegetables is simply in its uniform and low temperature, 

 the lower the temperature — provided it is above freez- 

 ing — and the more even it is, the more satisfactory are 

 the results. On the other hand, a warm cellar, so char- 

 acteristic of most modern houses heated by furnaces, is 

 of very little use in preserving foods, for decay occurs 

 about as rapidly in such a cellar as it would elsewhere in 

 the house, more rapidly, indeed, than in a cold pantry. 

 Since one can purchase large quantities of many foods 

 more reasonably in the fall by taking advantage of the 

 low market rates, it is economy to have a compartment 

 partitioned off from the heating apparatus in the cellar 

 where fruits and vegetables can be stored. A cold closet 

 is, indeed, almost necessary for the keeping of preserves. 



In the use of a cold cellar to preserve vegetables it is 

 well to bear in mind that many of them — ■ parsnips, car- 

 rots, beets, turnips — are better preserved if buried in 

 sand, and that fruits keep better in sawdust, oat chaff, or 

 some other material which absorbs moisture. 



Other Devices. Any device for cooling will of course 

 be useful in preserving foods. Cold running water, spring 

 houses, submerging in iced water, are all used for the pur- 

 pose. Suspension in deep wells is one of the most com- 

 mon methods of obtaining a low temperature for milk, 

 butter, etc., and is widely adopted in houses where ice is 

 not at hand. Even the scheme of packing material in 

 damp leaves may be of some value, since the evaporation 



