376 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
How to Build Root Houses. 
Those who design to build root houses for the 
storage of their root crops should undertake the 
l‘'ig. 1.—SECTION OF ROOT HOUSE. 
•work at once. In reply to many inquiries we 
have prepared the following suggestions and 
directions for building these store houses. Such 
frost-proof buildings arc not only serviceable as 
root-cellars, but if carefully built will make very 
desirable dairies both for winter and summer 
use ; as what is proof against cold in winter is 
also proof against heat in summer. Figure 1 
shows a section of tlie root house. Mainly, it 
is an excavation three or four feet deep, the 
earth from which is thrown up over the roof, 
forming a frost-proof embankment. If the earth 
is solid clay no lining is needed, but a piece of 
timber or pieces of stone may be let into the 
upper edge of the excavation, as shown in the 
figure, as a support for the rafters. Where 
lumber is scarce, as on the Western prairies, the 
covering may be of brush and coarse hay, 
which will serve as a support for the earth. If 
the roof is then covered with sod it will very 
soon become rain-proof; but as rain rarely falls 
when and where these houses are needed most, 
as during the winter season in the far West, 
this is not of very serious consequence. For 
the purposes of farmers further east,who enjoy 
greater facilities for procuring material, a good 
timber and plank roof well pitched or tarred 
would be better. A stone building as shown in 
figure 2 would be still more preferable where 
its cost would not be too great. If the stone 
Fig. 2. —hoot house with stone front. 
can be gathered on the farm, such a root house 
with an arched roof and stone-wall front, with 
an excavation four feet deep, 34 feet long, and 
Fig. 3, —ROOT HOUSE OF LOPS. 
1G feet wide, should not cost more than $150. 
By a little extra outlay in cementing or water¬ 
proofing the roof and rough dressing the stone 
for the front a very shapely and respectable 
looking building may be erected. Of course, 
double doors and windows are needed in all 
these buildings. The essential point, protec¬ 
tion from frost and variations of temperature, 
are the same in all of them. For those who 
live in a wooded country a log or hewn timber 
house ■would be the best. Such a one is shown 
at fig. 3. The interior is similar to those already 
described. A log house is built over the excava¬ 
tion with double walls at least a foot apart. 
The space between the avails is filled with earth, 
and the roof, which rests upon the inner walls, 
is covered with at least a foot of earth also. 
The earth roof may be covered with a double 
roof of boards, laid so as to leave an air space 
of three or four inches between the earth and 
the boards, which adds to its ability to resist 
the penetration of frost. Tight double doors 
should then be added, and one or two ventila¬ 
tors left in the roof; these may be filled with 
straw in severely cold weather. 
In a former number of the Agriculturist 
(November, 1871) we referred to the uses to 
which a coil of wire might be put in a farmer’s 
hands. In using wire for these various pur¬ 
poses we at first found some difficulty in w l ap¬ 
ping the wire around such things as a broken 
shaft, tongue, or a spring. Indeed, the same 
trouble is experienced when we come to wrap 
a cord, even for temporary purposes, around 
anything that may happen to need such a 
strengthening. The loose end of the wire or 
cord is very much in the way of the operator, 
and has a fashion of becoming entangled, 
which when one is in a hurry, as is generally 
the case, leads to his feeling very strongly 
on the subject. Many years ago, in whiling 
away the tedium of a sea voyage, we observed 
the sailors wrapping marline or fine cord 
around the splices of the ropes as a preserva¬ 
tive against chafing. They used for this pur¬ 
pose a small instrument which wc found was 
exactly what was wanted to wrap wire around 
a broken buggy shaft on an emergency, and 
ever afterwards this little implement and a ball 
of wire found a place in our tool-box. The in¬ 
strument is shown in the engraving on this 
page. Fig. 1 shows the form in which it is 
made. It may be cut out of a piece of soft 
wood, as pine, cedar, or basswood. A bole is 
bored through the center lengthwise, through 
which the wire or cord is passed. The wire 
may be wrapped on a reel which is fastened to 
one extremity. From the reel the wire passes 
through the hole in the center out at the bottom 
between the jaws, in each of which there is a 
groove cut along which the wire passes to the 
outside of either of the jaws desired. Fig. 2 
shows the manner of using it. The end of the 
wire is fastened to the thing to be wrapped. It 
is then drawn tight by winding up the slack on 
the reel. The wrapper is then passed round 
and round the shaft to be wrapped, and as it is 
passed around it the wire is coiled. Proper 
tension is gained by holding the reel and allow¬ 
ing the wire to be unwound slowly. By press¬ 
ing on the reel any degree of tightness in (lie 
wrapping may be secured. When sufficient is 
wound, the end is made fast and the wire is cut. 
Many varied uses may be found on a farm or 
in the house for this little tool. 
Auvergne Cheese. 
There is a cheese made in the mountain re¬ 
gion of Auvergne, in France, which is much 
esteemed, and of which the process of manu¬ 
facture is peculiar. 
The milk is immediately after being drawn 
strained into the vat and treated with rennet. 
The curd is not broken until it 
is translucent and firm, “like a 
well-made gooseberry-jam,” but 
it must not be allowed to stand 
until the whey separates of 
itself. The proper point is 
generally reached within an 
hour and a quarter. The opera¬ 
tor then takes a spatula such 
as is shown in figure 1. This 
consists of a circle of wood with a 
rising shaft and a triangular wing 
( G,\ B). It is placed in the vessel and rapidly 
whirled to and fro until the curd is completely 
broken and granulated. The whey is then 
carefully decanted with a dipper (shown in fig. 
2), which is made of wood and has a handle 
attached to its bottom. During this part of the 
i process the curd must be disturbed as little as 
possible. When it is well freed of whey it is 
put into a draining tub which stands on the 
cheese table. It now undergoes a somewhat 
remarkable process. The “ vacher,” with his 
sleeves rolled to the shoulders and his trousers 
turned up to his thighs, goes on his hands and 
knees and pegs away at it for at least an hour 
and a half (fig. 3)—the idea prevailing that the 
warmth of the body 
gives quality to the 
product. Let us hope 
that he is not only 
warm but washed! 
There is a saying in 
Auvergne: “lie is a 
bad ■workman; he 
don’t use his knees 
enough.” When the 
curd has had this 
savory mauling it is 
put into a tub and al¬ 
lowed to ferment dur¬ 
ing 48 hours—being 
placed near the fire 
if the -weather is cold. Big. 2.—dipper. 
Under the influence 
of the fermentation the cheese becomes spongy. 
It is then carefully granulated, salted, put in the 
mold, and pressed. During the pressing, 
which lasts twenty-four hours, it is several 
times turned. It is then put in the cellar. Here 
it is carefully attended to, wiped frequently 
with a damp cloth, and kept until it acquires a 
ruddy color, which indicates ripeness. The 
Fig. 1. 
