a ROOT HOUSES 
AND VEGETABLE PITS 
curely nailed, as the same lumber will do for 
another pit next season. At distances of about 
ten feet some boards are left without nailing to 
serve as entrances, and at each place a stake 
is driven to mark the opening. 
Such a pit will protect crops until severe 
freezing weather. After that, the board roof 
should be covered with straw, grass or other 
litter, and where the weather gets very cold, 
manure and earth are often added as the outer 
layer. The advantage of this pit is that it 
contains a large body of air which secures uni- 
form conditions from day to day, and celery, 
leek, Brussels sprouts and even cabbage may be 
stored by setting in compact rows, so that they 
may make a slight root-hold and avoid shrivel- 
ling. 
But there are many varieties of pits used for 
storing vegetables, and in Kalamazoo, the Amer- 
ican celery centre, the favorite celery storage 
house is a permanent structure with windows 
at regular intervals along the roof, to give the 
necessary light for the workmen. These houses 
have wooden ventilating chimneys, and are 
usually heated with stoves so that the tempera- 
ture may not fall below freezing point. 
