banking n
Earth or other material placed around the foundation of a building as protection against the cold. [ bank v 1] Nth
1872 VT State Bd. Ag. Rept. for 1872 1.309, The exclusion of cold air should be possible without the annual banking that is put around most farm houses in the fall. 1877 MN State Horticult. Soc. Trans. 107, I wheeled . . fresh prairie soil (taken from the winter’s banking around the house and exposed to the action of the frost all winter,) and some lake sand, spread it over the bed [etc]. 1899 Reveille (Rolfe IA) 9 Feb [6]/4 (newspaperarchive.com), A spark from the chimney ignited the flax straw banking around M. Bruce’s house yesterday morning. 1912 Waukesha Freeman (WI) 7 Mar 5/3, They found the side of the house ablaze, which had caught fire from straw banking around the cellar wall. 1926 AmSp 2.79 ME, Pine, hemlock, and spruce boughs . . had served as a “bankin’ ” around the foundation of the house through the winter to keep out the cold. 1951 Graham My Window 39 ME, They cut the thatch for winter banking. 1977 Wellsville Daily Reporter (NY) 24 Mar 3/1, In December, we had the situation partly corrected by storm windows and straw banking around the foundation.