1 88 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chip. FIT. 



er will keep two gatherers fully employed. The 

 plough is seldom used, except for turning away 

 a furrow from each side of the row, with a view 

 to render the operation easier and more expedi- 

 tious. After the potatoes are taken up, they are 

 sometimes put into pits in the field for preserva- 

 tion. The pits are made 4 feet wide, from 4 to 5 

 feet deep, and of any length, as. circumstances 

 may require. When this method is followed;, the 

 potatoes are raised a little above the level of the 

 ground, and drawn together at the top, in the 

 form of the roof of a house ; then covered with 

 a thick coat of stra^v, or pob from the lint-mills ; 

 after which they are secured with a covering of 

 earth closely packed, and made pretty sharp at 

 the top, with a little ditch around to carry off 

 the water. The pits ought to be made in ground 

 having a declivity, and of a sandy or gravelly 

 nature, to prevent the collection or retention of 

 water about the potatoes. 



Sometimes a place is fitted up for them in the 

 barn-yard under ground, and the hay-stack built 

 over them. The door or entrance is either at 

 the end or side, according as the declivity of 

 the ground answers. 



But potatoes are most commonly preserved 

 through winter in the house. And as they are 

 peculiarly liable to be injured by heating or by 

 frost, proper precautions should be taken to guard 

 against these dangers. They should be put to- 

 gether in as dry a condition as possible ; and 

 the whole wall of the potatoe-house, exposed to 

 th-? open air, ought to be carefully lined with 

 straw, pob, or withered ferns, to prevent the 



