REPORT ON COMPARATIVE PRODUCTIVENESS OF TURNIPS. 113 



15th, Skirving's improved Swede, with purple-top. — A large 

 growing, profitable swede, and is the hardiest of all the class, and 

 stands the winter frost best of all. 



16th, Skirving's King of the Swedes. — This resembles plot 15 

 very much, but is more globe-shaped, with a deep yellow colour 

 when cut up, and with a very small neck. It keeps low in the 

 ground. 



On the 16th April all the kinds that stood the winter were 

 pulled and cut through the centre, to ascertain what effect the 

 winter had upon them comparatively, which is stated in the last 

 column of the table. The past winter the turnip crops have been 

 curiously preserved from frost. In the month of January the frost 

 was very hard. The turnips were all covered with a great depth 

 of snow, and were not exposed to frost at all. February was fresh 

 and mild, and March was again frosty; but the turnips were 

 covered with snow the same as in January, so that the frost has 

 done little harm to them this season. It was visible that all the 

 globes were of little use at the date mentioned above; but by 

 cutting them through the centre I was enabled to find how far 

 they were gone in decay, and it was evidently proved to me that 

 no globe turnips should remain in the field exposed to the in- 

 fluence .of the weather, after January, at this altitude. The 

 yellows stood the winter very well. When cut up through the 

 centre there were some of them rather dry, the juice or liquid sub- 

 stance having gone off, Dale's hybrid yellow containing an empty 

 space in the centre. The Old-Meldrums were very soft and 

 spongy, containing little of a feeding cpuality. The Tweeddale 

 purple-top and the Aberdeen purple-top appeared to be not 

 affected at all by the winter, and scarcely a dry centre could be 

 found. They are a very hardy turnip, well adapted for this alti- 

 tude, and might stand as a substitute for swedes. The swedes 

 stood the winter very well, and, after being cut up, no damage of 

 any kind appeared among them, with the exception of the Bang- 

 holm swede. In the interior of it a decomposition was going on 

 of round spots of different sizes, some one-half inch, others as 

 large as 3 inches diameter. These spots of corruption were not 

 confined to the centre, but were promiscuously through the whole 

 turnip ; but none of these spots appeared on the outside. Had I 

 not opened up the turnips I might likely never have discovered 

 this strange process of decay. In concluding my remarks on 

 these experiments, which are only an extension of former trials, 

 I am satisfied that the common white globes, the tankard globe, 

 Dale's hybrid yellow, and the Bangholm swede, can no longer be 

 raised here with advantage and profit for feeding purposes ; and 

 as all agriculturists are deeply interested, and self-interested, in 

 the green crop husbandry, no stone should be left unturned to 

 ascertain what is and what is not a profitable crop. 



H 



