[ ^37 1 



decaying, the fet itfelf received nourifhment from 

 the ground, became folid, and harder than ever, and 

 and all in a manner curled. 



In autumn 1776, he got up a bed of potatoes 

 to lay by in winter, leaving plenty in the ground 

 as regular as pofTible ; and, before the feverity of 

 winter came on, covered part of the bed with ftraw 

 and peafe-haulm, and left the other part of the bed 

 uncovered -, that part of the bed which was covered 

 •was quite free from curled ones, but the uncovered 

 part produced a great many curled, owing, as the 

 writer fays, to froft and feverity of the weather, 



LETTER II. 



THE writer of this letter had about a quarter 

 of an acre of potatoes, well manured with cow and 

 horfe-dung, and took the greateft care in picking 

 the fine fmooth-fkinned potatoes for fets : yet nine 

 out of ten parts were curled. He attributes the 

 caufe of this difeafe to a white grub or infe6t, 

 which he found near the root, about half an inch 

 long, with eight or ten legs, its head brown and 

 hard} as upon examining a number of the curled 

 roots, he found them all bitten, chiefly from the 

 furface to the root, which of courfe flopped the 

 progrefs of the fap, and threw the leaf into a curl. 



The 



