HOME VEGETABLE GARDENING 
THE STORING OF ROOT CROPS 
WJ ITH the approach of cold weather all the roots 
’ * described in preceding pages should be pulled or 
dug and stored in frost-proof cellars or easily accessible 
pits. The exception to the rule are parsnips and salsify 
which are not injured by freezing, but rather improved in 
quality. Both these vegetables may be left in the ground 
where they grew and covered with straw or boards, or 
both, so as to make possible their digging throughout 
the winter. 
Beets, carrots, etc., should be dug. Remove all super- 
fluous soil, rootlets, etc., and cut off tops to within an inch 
of the crown. Have some shallow boxes or crates handy 
into which to place the roots, in layer fashion, putting 
dry soil or sand or moss between the layers. Do not store 
roots that are bruised in digging or injured by chewing 
insects, since they will not keep and are apt to cause ad- 
joining sound roots to rot. The crates or boxes should be 
placed in a dry, cool cellar, but away from furnace. 
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