ROOT CROPS 



ROOT CROPS 



551 



are to be used extensively in the feeding of dairy 

 herds, and if it is possible to use the bank base- 

 ment so as to fill the cellar by dumping the roots 

 from the floor above or through an area-way from 

 the outside, a very considerable saving in labor can 

 be made. 



Condrudion. 



In the construction of the root cellar, whether it 

 be a part of the basement of the barn or an inde- 

 pendent structure, arrangements must be made to 

 provide good ventilation by admitting cold air 

 from without, and by means of flues to carry off 

 dampness and warm air from within. The side 

 walls as well as the floor should be dry, and while 

 it is more desirable that they consist of earth or 

 masonry than of lumber, they should be frost-proof. 



These requirements can be attained in several 

 ways, among which may be mentioned the bank-pit 

 or cave construction. This requires the making of 

 an excavation into the side of a hill in a well-drained 

 place. Such excavations should not be too wide to 

 be spanned by a safe arch or covered by poles, or 

 simply with rafters and a ridge pole. When the 

 cellar is wider, it is necessary to use posts and pil- 

 lare to support the roof, which is undesirable. The 

 length of the collar will be determined by the 

 quantity of products to be stored or by the nature 

 of the location in which it is to be constructed. A 

 pit eight feet wide and thirty feet long will hold 

 700 bushels of roots. 



Mater lull'. — Now that concrete is so extensively 

 used in all building work, both above and below 

 ground, it is thought that a permanent root cellar, 

 whether an adjunct to the bai-n itself or an inde- 

 pendent structure, can be constructed more eco- 

 nomically with this material than with stone or 

 brick. Simple forms for the side walls can be made 

 from rough lumber, and the roof can be built either 

 over rafters set for a flat roof or over a low seg- 

 ment giving an arched roof. The side walls need 

 not be more than six or seven inches thick, and if 

 the span of the roof is not over eight feat and the 

 layer of earth over the concrete is not more than 

 twelve inches, an S-inch wall over the arch will be 

 sufiicient. 



A cheaper bank cellar can be constructed by 

 using posts and planks to hold the sides of the 

 bank in place. If the eai-th is stiff clay, the sides 

 will not require supporting either by concrete or 

 by posts and planks. If posts and boards are used, 

 the roof can be built on top of the posts about 

 twelve inches below the general level of the soil, 

 so as to provide a gutter at the side after the roof 

 frame has been covered with earth and sod. In 

 fact, this arrangement is desirable, no matter what 

 the interior construction. 



On level ground in localities where the winters 

 are not severe, root cellars are constructed partly 

 above and partly below the surface. For houses of 

 this kind, concrete, stone, brick and log-crib con- 

 struction are used. The kind of building will de- 

 pend, of course, on the use, the material at hand 

 and the cost. Since there are no special features 

 to be provided in these structures, except that they 



are usually placed two to four feet in the ground, 

 the log-crib building only will be described. 



Log-crib build iiui. (Fig. 786.) — "If there is ho 

 hillside convenient, a knoll or other dry place should 

 be chosen, and the soil removed over a space a trifle 

 larger than the ground plan of the house, and to 



Fig. 786. Root ceUai. Cribconstruetiou. After Halsted. 



the depth of two feet or more, provided there is no 

 danger that the bottom will be wet. In the con- 

 struction of the house, select poles or logs of two 

 sizes, the larger ones being the shorter : these are 

 for the inside pen, as it is subjected to greater 

 strain. The ends of the logs are cut flat, so that 

 they will fit down closely together, and make a pen 

 that is nearly tight. At least two logs in each 

 layer of the inner pen should be cut long enough 

 to pass through and fit into the outer pen, to serve 

 to fasten the two walls together, the space between 

 the two being two feet wide on each side. The 

 doorway is built up by having short logs, which 

 pass from one layer of poles to the other, and 

 serve as supports to the ends of the wall poles. This 

 is shown in Fig. 7S6, in which the house is repre- 

 sented as completed. The space between the two 

 walls is filled with eai-th, sods being used to fill in 

 between the logs to block the earth. It is best to 

 begin putting in the earth before the walls are 

 completed, as otherwise it will require an undue 

 amount of hard lifting. 



'"When the walls are built up five to six feet on 

 one side, and about two feet higher on the other, 

 to give the necessary slope, the roof is put on. The 

 latter should be of poles placed close together, well 

 secured to the logs, and covered with sod, eighteen 

 inches of earth, and sodded again on the top. Two 

 doors should be provided, one on the inner and the 

 other on the outer wall, both to fit closely. A fill- 

 ing of straw can be placed between the doors, if it 

 is necessary, in order to keep out the frost. Such a 

 house will last for many years, paying for its 

 moderate cost many times over." [Bai'n Plans and 

 Outbuildings, B. D. Halsted.] 



The "A" construction . (Fig. 7S7.) — A construction 

 somewhat akin to this is used extensively through- 

 out the Cai'olinas for storing sweet-potatoes. For 

 this purpose, poles about eight feet long ai-e taken. 

 If of a size to allow splitting in half, so much the 

 better. The ends of the pieces are cut at the same 

 angle that rafters would be cut to give the desired 

 pitch to the roof. A well-drained and somewhat 

 sheltered situation is chosen, the earth smoothed 

 and a slight excavation made in which to place the 



