From John Stanton
Sam Little recounts how donkey carcasses used to be planted beneath asparagus fields to improve yields (1 May, p 25). It was traditional when constructing a vinery in Victorian times to bury a large animal, even a carthorse if available, in the bed where the vines were to be planted. In later times when planting a new vine a pig or sheep was buried in the bed.
St Neot, Cornwall, UK
