REPORT ON THE AGRICULTURE OF DUMFRIESSHIRE. 299 



of the crop depends so very much upon the weather and the 

 condition of the land, that his anxiety is not much less than 

 during harvest. 



Two causes have rendered the growth of the turnip crop in 

 Dumfriesshire, as in other counties, less certain than it would 

 otherwise be. The one is the ravages of the fly upon the leaves 

 of the recently brairded plants, and the other is the disease com- 

 monly called " finger-and-toe." No preventive for the former 

 has been discovered so far as we are aware, but certain measures 

 are found to prevent, in a large degree, the latter. It has com- 

 monly been observed that " finger-and-toe " is most prevalent 

 and destructive on undrained or defectively drained land, and on 

 farms where the rotation of green crops is very frequent. An 

 obvious preventative, therefore, to the disease is thorough drainage 

 and a less frequent rotation. Lime, put upon the stubble after 

 the lea crop, is a means which has often proved effective in 

 guarding against this disease. Another promoting cause of the 

 disease is giving affected turnips to sheep or cattle upon lea or 

 stubble which is about to be ploughed up for green cropping. 

 The reporter is aware of several who, after lengthened and 

 careful observations, have never known this fail in bringing on 

 the disease. 



A portion of the turnips are removed from the fields and 

 given to the cattle in the sheds and byres. The proportion of 

 the whole lifted for this purpose varies on different farms and 

 in the various districts of the county. Some take two furrows, 

 leaving four, thus removing one-third of the whole ; others take 

 two furrows, leaving three, thus removing two-fifths of the whole ; 

 while a third plan is to take exactly one-half of the crop. We 

 would estimate the proportion removed from the field and con- 

 sumed by cattle at two-fifths of the whole produced. 



3. Consumption of Turnips upon the land by Sheep. — The remain- 

 ing three-fifths are eaten off by sheep. There are two principal 

 advantages which result from this system. On the one hand, 

 the droppings from the sheep enrich the land very materially ; 

 and on the other, the treading of the sheep consolidates the land, 

 which has a tendency to become too loose in consequence of the 

 system of frequent rotation which is pursued. The soil is very 

 generally well adapted for feeding sheep in this way, being 

 porous, and thus the sheep have almost always, even in wet 

 weather, a comparatively dry bed. Some are, however, of 

 opinion that although the soil is on the whole well adapted for 

 sheep feeding on turnips, yet that too large a proportion of this 

 crop is consumed by white stock. It is held by such that it 

 would be much more profitable to give the land a larger quantity 

 of manure when the crop is sown than is customary, to give 

 a greater proportion of the turnips to cattle (in the sheds) which 



