the paper iflued by the Board. It may not be amiſs to add, that gutter(o) round the repoſitory, fhould be at leaſt ſix inches lower than the potatoes; that the nothern or eaſtern ſides require a deeper cover of mould than the ſouthern or weſtern. Safe bind ſafe find ſtill holds good. A fingle hour of additional labour in covering, may prove the ſafety of a whole ſtock. The ſurveyor opened a repoſitory the 25th Feb. 1795, and the froſt had penetrated through a thicknefs of covering of mould not leſs than two feet: the ſtraw underneath had preſerved the potatoes from de- ſtruction. Litter from the ſtable, to cover the whole ſfurface, is a good pre- ventive when froſt appears. It is of no fmall conſequence to be aſfured that Potatoes may be preſerved without the trouble of drying; which is not only tedious but expenſive, and ſometimes very inconvenient for want of covered buildings. The following mode has been adopted by Mr. Henry Harper with fucceſs: Be the potatoès in ever ſo wet a ſtate, and immediately after being taken up, and which is only by making the repo feet broad only) and covering thé potatoes with a do The ſame proceſs in other reſpects as before noticed the quality of the potatoes improved by this method. Upon this principle, hay-ſtacks are ſometimes made; and hay in any quantity, and in a greener ſtate, will keep with more ſecurity thus than b any other mode. If the ſtack be narrow enough, it may be continued to any length. The ſame will hold good with corn.
uble portion of ſtraw. . Mr. Harper aſſerts
Walton, March 4, 1795. JOHN HOLT.
No. IX. 3
Dr. De Salis to Dr. Pearſan. My DEAR SIR,
I HAVE learned unexpectedly ſomething relating to the ſußerficial Potatoes, of which I wrote to yòu, from a fervant of mine, the fon of a
(2) The gutter is formed by the ſoil taken out, which forms the cover, and ſhould be as cloſe to the heaps as may be, ſo that the earth does not fall into the trench with the weighit of the po- tatoes. No hole fhould be dug, but lay the potatoes even with the ſurf-
ace of the other land, leſt any moiſture fhould lodge. No ſtraw is necefſary to lie under the potatoes. If the ſtratum under the ſoil be rock, the rock is not Proper for covering.
the
ſitory narrower(three