ROOT CROPS 



lOI 



digging or handling; bruised or mutilated roots will 

 not keep long. 



Storing : The construction of a Colorado-style 

 storage house or dugout is simple, says E. R. Ben- 

 nett. An excavation is made in the ground, of the 

 required dimensions for the cellar and of a sufficient 

 depth to give soil for covering the. top. A frame of 

 posts, timbers and rafters is then made as for a 

 building. This frame is covered with wire-netting 

 or brush. Over this two or three feet of straw is 

 placed and this is covered with soil to a depth of 

 six to twelve inches. Ventilator shafts are put in at 

 regular intervals to give air circulation and keep the 

 tem.perature from rising too high. Some of these 

 dugouts have an alley through the center with doors 

 at either end so that the wagon may be driven 

 through. Double doors with a dead air space be- 

 tween are used as a protection against frost. If 

 roots or potatoes are stored while the weather is 

 yet warm, the ventilators and doors are left open 

 nights to give a circulation of cold air, and closed 

 during the heat of the day. In this way the bins 

 are gradually cooled down, and by giving close at- 

 tention to the temperature the whole mass is kept 

 as cool as possible without danger from frost. Dur- 

 ing the winter considerable care has to be exercised 

 to prevent the temperature of the dugout from ris- 

 ing fromi the heat developed by the stored roots or 

 potatoes. This is regulated by opening and closing 

 the ventilator shafts as the case demands. (In a 

 wet climate it would be necessary to have some kind 

 of water -proof roof on top of the soil, to keep out 

 rain, etc. — J. B.) 



Outdoor ''pits" : These differ from dugouts in 

 that they are not usually sunken in the ground. They 



