THE HANDLING OF THE PLANTS 161 
In the storing of all products, especially those which have 
soft and green matter, as cabbages, it is well to provide against 
the heating of the produce. If the things are buried out of 
doors, it is important to put on a very light cover at first so 
that the heat may escape. Cover them gradually as the cold 
weather comes on. This is important with all vegetables that 
are placed in pits, as potatoes, beets, and the like. If covered 
deeply at once, they are likely to heat and rot. All-pits made 
out of doors should be on well-drained and preferably sandy 
land. 
When vegetables are wanted at intervals during the winter 
from pits, it is well to make compartment pits, each compart- 
ment holding a wagon load or whatever quantity will be likely 
to be wanted at each time. These pits are sunk in well-drained 
land, and between each of the two pits is left a wall of earth 
about afoot thick. One pit can then be emptied in cold weather 
without interfering with the others. 
An outside cellar is better than a house cellar in which there 
is a heater, but it is not so handy. If it is near the house, it 
need not be inconvenient, however. A house is usually healthier 
if the cellar is not used for storage. House cellars used for 
storage should have a ventilating shaft. 
Some of the principles involved in an ice-cooled storage house 
are explained in the diagram, Fig. 189. If the reader desires 
to make a careful study of storage and storage structures, 
he should consult cyclopedias and special articles. 
The forcing of plants. 
There are three general means (aside from greenhouses) of 
forcing plants ahead of their season in the early spring — by 
means of forcing-hills and hand-boxes, by coldframes, and by 
hotbeds. 
The forcing-hill is an arrangement by means of which a single 
plant or a single “hill” of plants may be forced where it per- 
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