REPORT ON THE CULTIVATION OF MANGOLD WURZEL. 147 



turists, and, at the present day, in every homestead throughout 

 the length and breadth of "merrie England," mangold wurzel has 

 become "familiar as a household word." Its cultivation has not, 

 however, extended with like rapidity north of the Tweed, simply 

 because the cloud-covered skies and colder air of the "land of the 

 mountain and the flood" are anything but congenial to the 

 warmth-loving mangold. 



The statistics collected by the Highland and Agricultural 

 Society in the years 1854 to 1857, show that, in the former 

 year, 1950 acres of mangolds were grown in Scotland, and in the 

 latter 2800 ; above a third of which breadths were returned by 

 Ayrshire alone. Wigtownshire ranked second as a mangold- 

 growing county. 



Average Crops. — It has often been said that it is as easy to 

 grow 30 tons mangolds as 20 tons swedes in the south of England, 

 and vice versa in Scotland. Table I. shows the cultivation, 

 manuring, average crops, and comparative acreages of a number 

 of growers in several different parts of the kingdom. 



Extra Crops. — In 1859, crops weighing 39, 34, and 31 tons 

 respectively per acre were grown in East Lothian (see " Highland 

 Society's Transactions, 1860"). In 1854, Mr Birch (whose name 

 appears in the following table) grew 4 acres, averaging 50 tons, 

 manured with 22 tons cow dung and 3 cwt. Peruvian guano, 

 in drills 27 inches apart, and bulbs 12 inches apart. A neigh- 

 bour of his, in the same year, grew 3 acres, averaging 52 tons 18 

 cwt. per acre, manured with 25 tons street dung applied in 

 autumn, and 25 tons cow dung and 1| cwt. Peruvian guano 

 applied in spring ; drills 25 inches, and bulbs 10 inches apart. 

 The soil in both cases was a deep loam, and the variety grown 

 the long red. In the island of St Helena crops of 66 and 77 

 tons respectively per acre have been raised (" Kiiral Cyclopaedia") ; 

 and we have it on good authority, that 80 tons have been drawn 

 off one acre in the market gardens near London. The largest 

 crop we have heard of was grown by M. de Gasparin in France. 

 It weighed 109| tons per acre. The seed was sown in a hotbed 

 in January, transplanted, as thick as the finger, in April, to the 

 distance of 13 inches apart every way, on highly manured and 

 deeply trenched ground, and hoed and irrigated every fortnight 

 afterwards. 



Weight of Bulbs. — If drills are 27 inches wide, bulbs 12 inches 

 apart, and the crop weighs 30 tons per acre, the average weight 

 will be about 3| lbs. At 20 tons per acre, and same distances, 

 it will be about 2£ lbs. We have seen at some of our agricul- 

 tural shows bulbs weighing above 30 lbs. Two roots were sent 

 home from St Helena, each weighing 56 lbs.; and M. de Gasparin 

 mentions one which weighed 132 lbs. ! 



