Outside Cellars 



451 



ket-gardeners for the storing of roots, leek, celery and other 

 products that do not require a dry air. 



The outside cellar is little more than a pit sunk to the 

 level of the ground with a gable roof covered with earth 

 and sod so that frost cannot enter; or if the ground is 

 likely to be moist, the pit is built partially above ground. 

 If the cellar is to be permanent, the walls may be laid of 

 stone or brick. If the masonry wall is lined with hollow 

 or lining brick,'^ more uniform conditions are secured. 

 It is important that provision be made for ample drain- 

 age, and also for ventilation without opening the main 

 doors. This ventilation is usually secured by a little cupola 

 or shaft near the center of the structure or by windows 

 in the gables. A vestibule entrance is desirable if the 

 climate is severe. It is preferable that the cellar have a 

 natural earth bottom, provided the drainage, either natu- 

 ral or artificial, is complete. 



A great difficulty with a permanent field or outside 

 cellar is the danger of its holding so much moisture and 

 being so " close " as to encourage the growth of fungi and 

 thus engender decay. Investigations into the causes of 

 the rotting of celery in storage have shown that the disease 

 is associated largely with poor and damp houses. 



Pits, or field storage. 



The field cellar or pit is a temporary structure. A 

 style much used in parts of the Northern States may be de- 

 scribed as an example: On warm and well-drained land 

 (preferably sand or gravel) an excavation is made one to 

 two feet deep, usually fourteen to eighteen feet wide, and 

 of the length required to hold the crop one has to store. 



