Keeping and Storing Fruits and Vegetables 109 



Preserving: Fruits for Exhibition, continued. 



A satisfactory fluid is made by placing an ounce of sali- 

 cylic acid in 5 gals, water, and then adding a little glycerine. 

 The amount of glycerine will depend upon the juiciness of the 

 fruit. The greater the juiciness, the more glycerine must be 

 added. From 8 to 15 per cent, may be considered an 

 average. 



Cabbage. — The most satisfactory method of keeping cabbages is 

 to bury them in the field. Select a dry place, pull the cab- 

 bages and stand them head down on the soil. Cover them 

 with soil to the depth of six or ten inches, covering very 

 lightly at first to prevent heating — unless the weather should 

 quickly become severe — and as winter sets in cover with a 

 good dressing of straw or coarse manure. The cabbages 

 should be allowed to stand where they grew until cold 

 weather approaches. The storing-beds are usually made 

 about 6 or 8 feet wide, so that the middle of the bed can be 

 reached from either side, and to prevent heating if the 

 weather should remain open. Cabbages quickly decay in 

 the warm weather of spring. 



Cabbage for family use is most conveniently kept in a 

 barrel or box half buried in the garden. Cabbages and 

 turnips should never be kept in the cellar, as when decaying 

 they become very offensive. 



Celery. — For market purposes, celery is stored in temporary 

 board pits, in sheds, in cellars, and in various kinds of earth 

 pits and trenches. The points to be considered are, to 

 provide the plants with moisture to prevent wilting, to 

 prevent hard freezing, and to give some ventilation. The 

 plants are set loosely in the soil. There are several methods 

 of keeping celery in an ordinary cellar for home use. The 

 following methods are good : 



Take a shoe or similar box. Bore one-inch holes in the 

 sides, four inches from bottom. Put a layer of sand or soil 

 in the box, and stand the plants, trimmed carefully, upon it, 

 closely together, working more sand or soil about the root 

 part, and continue until the box is full. The soil should be 

 watered as often as needed, but always through the holes in 

 the side of the box. Keep the foliage dry. 



