that very necessary adjunct, a good cook. Those were truly days of
bounteous hospitality and plenty which filled the cellar with barrels
of apples of every variety, bins of potatoes, bushels of turnips and
onions, barrels of pork "put down," corned beef, kegs of cider turning
to vinegar, crocks of pickles and preserves of all kinds, quarters of
beef, pans of sausage, tubs of lard and butter, and--oh, fruits and
good things of the earth which we now know only as "a tale that is
told." But the cellar of to-day accommodates itself to to-day's needs,
for though we may still lay in some commodities in quantity, we know
the things of to-morrow can be had from the market on comparatively
short notice. Nevertheless, the things of to-day--and some other
things--must be carefully stowed away, and the deeps of the house made
hygienic, for as the cellar, so will the house be also, and to this
might be added that as the floor, so will the cellar be also.



THE CELLAR FLOOR

In country places, where there is no sewage to contaminate the soil, a
hard, well-beaten dirt floor is not particularly objectionable, except
that it cannot well be cleaned. Boards raised from the ground by small
blocks nailed to the under side, and leading to bins, cupboards, and
furnace room, should be laid across it to prevent the tracking of dirt
to the upper rooms, and these little walks must be swept and kept free
from dirt and dust. If the cellar is floored with boards, the flooring
should be raised sufficiently to allow free circulation of air beneath
it; but the only strictly sanitary flooring is of concrete, six inches
thick, covered from wall to wall with Portland or other good cement.
Cellars, being below the street, and therefore receiving some of the