Sentence:  They [the potatoes] ſtood till October, when they were taken up, and a large pye made of them; which is laying them up in a heap, and covering them with ſtraw and a <WSD>ſpit</WSD> of earth. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The depth to which the blade of a spade goes into the soil when it is used for digging; a layer of soil of the depth of a spade's blade.