“SHE LOOKETH WELL TO THE 
WAYS OF HER HOUSEHOLD” 
GRACE M. SMITH 
To Save for Winter the Surplus Which the Garden Has Produced During the Long 
Days of Summer Is the Important Enterprise Afoot During These Day of Harvest 
IHE Wholly Efficient Housekeeper has one law with 
which she lets nothing interfere. It is: Always be a 
little ahead of the game. If the last date on which a 
given bulb should be put into the ground is October 
fifteenth, this lady has hers all safely deposited at least as early 
as the tenth. Then if there comes a rainy time, or guests, or 
illness the work is safely out of the way. So of course at this 
early autumn season, she is occupied with the very last of her 
pickling and preserving, at the same time seeing to the fruits 
and vegetables that are to be gathered, to the doors and windows 
that are to be made tight, and to putting everything in readiness 
for winter. 
In gathering fruits and vegetables she always leaves two or 
three inches of the stalk or vine attached to each individual to 
preserve the flavor and insure keeping. Two or three Rhubarb 
roots are dug before the frost and put in the cellar for winter use. 
Planted in good soil a little later, kept warm, fairly moist, and 
dark they will furnish fresh Rhubarb all winter. Pears, Peaches 
Grapes, etc., are wrapped in paper for long keeping. Perfectly 
sound fruit is selected and gathered a few days before it is fully 
ripe. 
Tomato vines are pulled with the green or half-ripe tomatoes 
still on them, piled in a loose heap, covered with leaves or straw, 
and left to ripen slowly. Melons are gathered and stored in the 
oat bins, where they will keep at least until Thanksgiving. 
Beets, Celery, and Sweet Potatoes she stores in boxes, covering 
them with light sandy soil; for thus they retain their freshness 
much longer than if kept in bins. 
Potatoes, Apples, Turnips, Cabbages, etc., go into pits made 
thus: In the midst of a well drained space make a shallow ex- 
cavation some six or eight inches deep and of suitable size. Line 
this with straw, leaves, or similar material, and place the vege- 
tables thereon in a conical pile. Then cover them with straw or 
leaves, and on top of these with earth toadepthof several inches. 
This depth of earth covering is determined by the severity of the 
winters in any particular locality. 1 1 is well to cover still further 
with straw, corn fodder, or manure during very severe weather. 
N O METHOD of storing is better than pits, according to 
our Wholly Efficient Housekeeper; but they have one ob- 
jectionable feature. It is hard to get the material out in cold 
weather; and when the pit is once opened it is necessary to re- 
move the entire contents. For this reason it is better to make 
several small pits rather than one large one; and instead of stor- 
ing each crop in a pit by itself, it is better to place several vege- 
tables of similar keeping quality and requirements in the same 
pit, so that it will only be necessary to open one pit to get a sup- 
ply of all of them. In storing several crops in the same pit 
separate them with straw or leaves. 
Such vegetables as are to be kept in the dry state are allowed 
to dry on the vines. Lima Beans are gathered as they mature 
and placed in a warm dry place until dry enough to shell. Navy 
Beans, Kidney Beans and Peas are gathered when a maximum 
number of pods are mature and before the ripest pods open. 
These vines are then cured like hay and shelled, and the Beans 
and Peas placed in bags and hung in some dry place, such as a 
closet or attic. Dried Corn, dried Apples, Peaches, Apricots, 
Raspberries, etc., are stored in the same manner; and all dried 
products are of course protected against insects, rodents, and 
dirt. 
Onions are well matured before harvesting, and allowed to 
become thoroughly dry before being stored in a cool, dry, place. 
The W. E. H. says that the attic is better than the cold cellar 
for storing them, for the least hint of dampness is so detri- 
mental. Temperatures slightly below the freezing point do not 
injure them, provided they are not moved or handled while 
frozen. 
W ITH the vegetables looked after our friend proceeds to 
take indoors a few Nasturtium vines and some Verbenas, 
giving them proper sunlight and not too much warmth; and these 
will continue blossoming for some weeks. Hyacinths and Chinese 
Lilies are on hand or coming very soon, to be potted next month 
for Christmas blooming; and Daffodils for February. Tulips, 
Crocuses, Daffodils, and Hyacinths for outdoor blooming will be 
put into the ground as soon as they arrive; and these, with the 
flowering shrubs that are also newly planted this fall possibly, 
will make a fine beginning for summer bloom. 
Now is the time that she plans for next season; indeed, three- 
fourths of all gardening she claims should be done in the fall. 
If it were, none would wait until late April or early May for 
flowers and garden produce. For of course it doesn’t do any 
good to plant seeds in cold, clammy, “cloddy” soil; yet there 
is seldom any other kind in the very early spring days. Every- 
thing that can be done now is now attended to therefore — 
seeds put in of Sweet Peas, a portion of the garden upturned 
to season during the winter, a heap of leaves gathered and 
packed close to decay and make warm, mellow leafmold, and 
fertilizer scattered over the ground so that by the time spring 
comes it is well distributed through the soil. 
And she utilizes a hotbed, made now, for preserving green 
stuff which would otherwise be killed by frost; and this proves a 
valuable ally in the early spring days. This is the way she 
makes it: On a sunny spot protected from winds, a pit about 
2\ feet deep by 6 feet wide, and long enough to give the space 
wanted, is first excavated. The sides and ends are lined with 
plank 2 inches thick which are nailed to stakes driven into the 
ground. On one end the frame rises three inches, on the other 
a foot above the ground, to give a proper slope to the sash and 
allow the water to drain off the glass. Old sash will do for the 
cover; but sash especially constructed for this purpose are better, 
for they can have the glass put in to overlap like shingles, 
making them water-tight. 
Into this pit from 18 inches to 2 feet of straw, fresh manure 
and dry leaves are put, and covered with a fine mellow loam. 
Then the sash goes in place to allow the manure to heat for 
several days, exactly as when preparing in the spring for 
forcing. 
A frame of this kind can be used for keeping up a supply 
of Lettuce, Radishes, etc., all through the winter, for the heat 
from the manure and warmth from the sun collected by the 
glass cover will be sufficient to protect the plants from freezing 
except in very severe weather, when the bed may be further 
protected by banking leaves or manure about the sides and cov- 
ering the top with a mat. The sash is lifted on warm days for 
ventilation, and for evaporation of the moisture which collects, 
but always closed early enough in the afternoon so that the chill 
does not reach the young plants. And in the spring the bed is 
a splendid seedbed, ready for starting, Lettuce, Radishes, Celery, 
Cucumbers, and early hardy annuals. 
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