August, 1918 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



19 



and more of the same material, or dry leaves, 

 for mulching over the soil. Some boards, 

 which should be preferably uniform in 

 length and width, but which may be second 

 hand or random stuff, should also be secured 

 for lining the trench, and for making divisions 

 between the different vegetables to be stored. 



Get the Cellar Ready 



A LARGE amount of the spoilage of vege- 

 tables and fruits in cellars every year 

 is due to the fact that the cellars are not 

 thoroughly cleaned before the new crops are 

 put into storage. Half rotten boards, cob- 

 webs, dried pieces of old vegetables or fruits, 

 "mummies" laden with germs, are allowed 

 to wait in ambush as it were, for the new crops 

 to be put in. Clean out the cellar as clean as a 

 whistle — flood it with light! — so that you can 

 see into every nook and cranny. If there are 

 any rat holes, plug them up with mortar with 

 which a little broken glass is mixed for good 

 measure. Rip out any old bins or partitions 

 which may be half decayed. Sweep down the 

 cob-webs. Write to the Department of 

 Agriculture at Washington, D. C, for speci- 

 fications for Government whitewash and give 

 a thorough coating to walls, ceiling, parti- 

 tions and so forth. And then follow up that 

 with another one a few weeks later. Let 

 the whole place get aired out until it is sweet, 

 clean, and dry. Then, when you have put 

 in your root crops and fruits, they will have a 

 chance, if they are sound when you put them 

 in, of remaining in good condition throughout 

 the winter. 



Arrange for some control of the ventilation 

 in your cellar. This is vital. A simple way 

 is to use a piece of stove pipe with an ell, 



inserted in a lower pane of the cellar window, 

 and long enough to carry the incoming air 

 down to within a few inches of the floor. 

 Then a short, straight piece is placed above 

 this to remove the warmer air next to the 

 cellar ceiling. 



Arrange now all boxes, bins, shelves, and 

 so forth, that may be wanted so that no 

 time will be lost in the busy season around 

 harvesting. 



Making a Store Room 



TF YOU haven't got a cellar, don't decide 

 *• that you can't keep anything, but 

 improvise some small room in its place. Just 

 try closing up with an old blanket or some 

 burlaps, and boards a small north room to 

 make a real dark room of it; but leave a double 

 opening, one below and one near the ceiling 

 to take care of the ventilation. In a room of 

 this kind, many things will keep as well as in a 

 good cellar. 



Combination Pit and Hotbed 



1V/TUCH more satisfactory than the "ele- 

 ***■ mentary pit" or "trench" is a perman- 

 ent pit made of heavy boards, or much better 

 still, of concrete. This can be made in such a 

 way that it may be used as a pit for winter 

 and as a hotbed for early spring. It is 

 merely an extra deep hotbed with thorough 

 drainage, so arranged that when the bottom 

 part is filled with vegetables for winter use, a 

 movable false bottom can be put in a foot or 

 so down from the top — leaving a space be- 

 tween the false bottom and the sash, or shut- 

 ters to be filled with leaves or straw. This 

 makes an outside cellar of great capacity, 

 and, if the location of the different vegetables 

 is marked, anything wanted can be got at 



easily, even in bad weather, by simply re- 

 moving a sash and section of the short boards. 

 Or the divisions of different vegetables can 

 be made lengthwise, and the contents of the 

 frame used from one end. In this way, part 

 of the frame can be used for an extra early 

 hotbed while vegetables are still stored in the 

 remainder. Although it may involve a little 

 more time and expense to build a frame of 

 this kind, of concrete, it will pay decidedly 

 to do so. 



Equipment for Drying 



' I ''HERE are three methods for drying — 

 •*- drying in the sun; evaporating by arti- 

 ficial heat, which is usually done in a small way 

 or over a stove; and drying by the use of an 

 air current. The equipment in either case, 

 for drying in a small way in the home, is 

 very simple. 



If electricity is available, use an electric 

 fan. You will be absolutely surprised at the 

 rapidity and the uniformness with which 

 products can be brought to the proper degree 

 of dryness without any danger of scorching. 

 Make light frames of wood with bottoms of 

 muslin or cheesecloth and of a convenient size. 



For sun drying, it is better to have a frame 

 with a glass top in which to place the trays. 

 For use over a stove, they may be merely sus- 

 pended from the wall or ceiling, but much 

 better results will be had from a small, family 

 sized commercial dryer with removable trays 

 and a " chimney" for carrying off the moist air. 



An essential part of the equipment for dry- 

 ing is the provision made for cutting or slicing 

 the vegetables. While this may be done with 

 an ordinary knife, it will pay well to get a 

 rotary vegetable sheer. 



Do not let any space remain unoccupied . "Keep constantly at it" especially at this time as the first planted crops are maturing. Make succession plantings for winter supply and re- 

 member that good tillage, thorough preparation and constant cultivation are just as necessary now as earlier in the year 



