152 EEPOET ON THE CULTIVATION OF MANGOLD WUEZEL. 



plant much thicker on a poor soil than on a rich soil ? Certainly, 

 and the reason is, we think, obvious. All alike admit that a free 

 circulation of air is essential to the healthy development of bulbs ; 

 but that requisite condition may be maintained on a poor soil with 

 plants much closer set than could be on a rich soil, from the greater 

 luxuriance of leaves on the latter. To obtain the greatest pro- 

 duce, however, from a given breadth of any soil, it is necessary 

 to fill it, as far as possible, with roots (not bulbs) ; so that the 

 feeding fibres of one plant, in ramifying in all directions, may 

 overlap and intertwine those of its neighbours, and thus, by 

 penetrating almost every part of the soil, assimilate the maximum 

 of its available nutriment. "We can see no analogy in the com- 

 parison of a supporter of the Professor's theory, that " a black- 

 faced wether on a Highland hill requires greater space than a 

 cottswold on a Lincoln fen, therefore," &c. This analogy pre- 

 supposes a hypothesis which we think untenable, viz., that 

 plants on a poor soil throw out a greater number of feeding fibres 

 than they do on a rich soil ; in other words, that, like the black- 

 faced wether, they travel farther for their food. The power of 

 locomotion of plants is very different from that of animals. 

 Independently, however, of these considerations, it should ever 

 be borne in mind that the mangold crop is in most instances 

 grown as a fallow crop, and the cleaning and aerating the soil are 

 of as much importance as a heavy crop. The drills should there- 

 fore be made, irrespective of produce, at least wide enough to 

 admit of the free use of the horse-hoe and other implements of 

 drill husbandry. 2 7 inches is a very common and a very convenient 

 distance, but even 30 inches may not be too far apart for the free 

 circulation of air on a rich soil in a good climate. For Scotland 

 we think 24 inches to 27 inches, even in the best districts, is 

 sufficient. Where 20 tons per acre is the maximum produce, 

 drills 24 inches, and bulbs 10 inches apart, give ample room. 



Manures. — Last year (1862) we made some experiments with 

 manures for the mangold crop. Four acres, as nearly uniform 

 as possible, were selected from our mangold break, consisting of 

 12 acres. The drills were run across the line of the old ridges, 

 so that, in the event of their having been differently treated at 

 any time, all the plots would share alike. The farmyard manure 

 was that set apart from 16 highly-fed milch cows, was thoroughly 

 mixed, and carefully measured. The auxiliary manures were 

 weighed, first for each plot, and then for each drill. One set was 

 made at one end of the field, and a duplicate at the other, and 

 the whole crop was weighed. The results are found in Table II., 

 pp. 150, 151. 



