98 THE AGEICULTUKE OF THE 



speaking, swedes are from £2 to £3 per acre more valuable 

 than yellow turnips. The majority of farmers sow their turnip 

 seed above a liberal supply of farm-yard manure and an admix- 

 ture of artificial stimulants. We have previously specified the 

 quantities given to the acre on the leading farms. Turnips are 

 generally sown from the 10th of May to the second week of 

 June. About 2 lbs. of yellow turnip seed is the general allow- 

 ance per acre, and about 3 lbs. of swedes. The drills are usually 

 from 27 to 29 inches wide. Singling commences in the latter 

 end of June, when there is a great demand for day labourers. 

 The plants are generally left from 8 to 10 inches apart. In the 

 fall of the year a comparatively small proportion of the root 

 crop is stored in low-lying seaboard districts. In inland localities 

 the winters are, as a rule, too severe for leaving roots in the 

 ground after the middle of December, and consequently farmers 

 are obliged to store them. When severe frosts prevail, and 

 especially in the absence of snow, the root crops in the lowlands 

 are frequenty more or less damaged. Most lowland farmers 

 furrow up land to the drills at the approach of winter, but this 

 system is not sutficient to fully protect the roots from the effects 

 of frost, although it favours the development of the bulbs 

 during winter. It would undoubtedly be advantageous if a 

 much larger portion of the crop was stored early in the season. 

 Some store their roots in pits in the fields, and others drive 

 them to the farm steadings and store them there. In regard to 

 the extent under turnips, Morayshire stands ninth and Nairn- 

 shire twenty-fifth in Scotland. 



Potcdoes. — The following table gives the area under potatoes 

 at various periods since 1857 : — 



Nairn. 



Acres. 



1407 

 676 

 659 

 699 



Increase since 1857, 326 Decrease since 1857, 708 



An extraordinary decrease thus appears in Nairnshire, being 

 more than half the acreage of 1857. Then the potato trade, 

 like the growing of wheat, was much more flourishing and 

 remunerative than it has been in recent years. The greatest 

 decrease, it will be observed, occurred between 1857 and 1870. 

 The increase in Morayshire is by no means remarkable, consider- 

 ing the suitability of the lower half of this county for the 

 cultivation of potatoes, the great convenience as regards railw^ay 

 communication, and the proximity to the seaports, &c. The 

 yield of potatoes varies with the nature of the soil and other 



