82 LIFE ON THE FARM. 



frozen solid without impairing their germinating 

 powers or food properties, providing they be left 

 in the ground till after thawing out. The soil 

 seems to have virtue of such a nature as to with- 

 draw the frost so gradually, and in such a manner 

 as to revivify them. If this were not so, a great 

 many of the most beautiful of wild plants would be 

 destroyed by the deep soil-frosts of severe cold 

 winters. 



The usual manner of keeping potatoes during 

 winter is to place them in cellars or bins, or to 

 cover them in the field in large heaps, first with a 

 layer of straw, then with earth deep enough to keep 

 out frost and shed rain. This is claimed to be 

 one of the best ways of storing them. 



Potatoes are classed with the starchy foods, 

 although less than one-fourth of their composition 

 is starch. Three-fourths of the potato is water; 

 so that there is but one-fourth solid food. 



Besides being used very extensively for food, the 

 starch of the tuber is made into dextrin, grape 

 sugar, and alcohol. 



The skin of the potato contains a poison, but this 

 is destroyed by steaming or boiling. 



BEANS AND PEAS. 



There are many varieties of beans and peas, and, 

 although they differ to some extent, yet they are 

 very similar in their nature and growth. The most 

 prominent marking of the large order to which 



