194 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



254. Harvesting vegetables to be stored. — Many vege- 

 tables possess better keeping qualities when placed in 

 storage before they have fully matured. This is particu- 

 larly true of cabbage and the salad crops. Losses in 

 storage are often due to diseases which have developed 

 in the field. When such infections are known to exist 

 and to be a common source of trouble in storage, the 

 safer course is to dispose of the crop without attempting 

 to preserve it for later marketing. Too much care cannot 

 be taken in handling the crops to be stored, for every 

 bruise invites decay and mars the appearance of the pro- 

 duct when placed on the market. 



255. Storage houses. — With the rapid expansion of 

 commercial vegetable gardening, storage houses of large 

 capacity have become a necessity. The character of con- 

 struction of storage houses depends mainly upon the 

 kinds of crops to be stored, and hence there are many 

 types of storage houses. In New Jersey and southward 

 there are many sweet potato houses, large and small, and 

 varying considerably in form of construction ; in cabbage 

 districts, houses are built especially for this crop, while 

 the celery and onion growers build houses which they 

 regard most satisfactory for their own specialties. (See 

 Chapter XXI.) 



256. Pits and outdoor cellars are used extensively for 

 the storage of vegetables. They are inexpensive to con- 

 struct and may be built by growers whose operations 

 are not large enough to justify the erection of commodi- 

 ous houses. (See Chapter XXI.) 



257. The house cellar. — The cellar of the residence is 

 often used to preserve vegetables. As a rule it provides 

 unsatisfactory conditions, especially if it contains a fur- 

 nace, because the air is then too warm and dry. These 

 difficulties may be overcome to some extent by separating 

 the furnace room from the storage rooms by brick, stone 

 or concrete walls; the pipes may be covered with asbes- 



