THE COOL CELLAR 175 



acteristic of most modem 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. 



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 

 homes, 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 

 of the water from the leaves lowers the temperature. This 

 principle is often made use of to cool drinks and small 

 lots of food by keeping them in unglazed earthenware 

 receptacles the surfaces of which are constantly moist. 

 The evaporation of the water on the outside cools the in- 

 closed liquids. In the same way automobile tourists keep 

 water cool by suspending it outside the car in porous 

 canvas bags. 



Cooling may be used for any kind of food. Three gen- 



