THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



129 



The system pursued will Udtutally vary with the result to 

 bo gaiiieJ, aiid the time at which the crop may be requited. 

 Some farms are short of grass and fodder throughout the 

 spring months, whilst iu mauy cases the autumn is the trying 

 time, and oa most farms the winter store of roots is necessary. 

 To meet these varied requirements from the same crop, and 

 also to have the produce in its best condition at the time 

 needed, is a most desirable object to be realized. When the 

 circumstances of the farm require food to be provided in the 

 autumn, the crop for thij time requires our earliest attention 

 in the season. The last week of May and the first in June^ 

 according to variation of locality, will be found to be the best 

 time for sowing, and my own experience leads me to say that 

 the white stone turnip and others of the same class are the 

 best for early autumn food. I am well aware that localities 

 vary so much as to cause much difference of opinion as to the 

 most suitable varietits, but the experience of the district must 

 decide when the circumstances of any particular neighbour- 

 hood require a local variation iu the practice. However, the 

 early white-fleshed turnips ere generally the best suited for 

 autumu food, and when sown as directed, come in of consi- 

 derable value to the sheep master in the autumu of the year. 

 Some of the more hardy varieties and hybrids will succeed the 

 above for feeding. These have generally coloured skins, with 

 white and occasionally yellow flesh. There are innumerable 

 varieties, and every district has its peculiar favourites. These 

 roots, although holding this position as regards consumption, 

 do not require such early sowing as the swede, which is re- 

 quired for later use. The time for sowing swedes varies in 

 different parts of England, and it is often surprising to hear 

 the strong contentions as to the best time for sowing swedes, 

 some sowing in J\Iay, others maintaining that the end of June 

 is the best time, forgetting altogether that as circumstances 

 differ, 30 also must our practice. No doubt each of these 

 extreme instances may be right for its own district, and here 

 again local evidence must decide. In by far the majority of 

 cases the second and third weeks of June are thought the 

 best time for sowing the main crop, but each person must rely 

 upon his own and liis neighbour's experience in deciding this 

 matter. 



There are, however, peculiar circumstances which limit the 

 seed time for swedes, and allow only a short time for sowing 

 this most important crop. Much is to be referred to the 

 peculiar habit of the plant's growth, but still more to its 

 diseases and the attacks of insects. Those districts which are 

 favoured with a soil and climate favourable to the growth of 

 swedes, can -produce a crop within a shorter period of time 

 than those districts which are not equally favoured, and the 

 influence is also manifest when only one of the conditions is 

 in operation. It is therefore clear, that as the elevation, 

 aspect, climate, and soil of different farms vary, so also may 

 we expect some modification in the time of sowing. For these 

 reasons, should a crop of swedes be required for general use 

 up to the middle of winter, we should endeavour to get them 

 sown so as to come to perfection before the season of vegetable 

 growth ends. If the conditions of growth are favourable, 

 then we may find the first week of June will be quite early 

 enough, and often rather too early. Should the crop be 

 required for use later in the winter, or in the early spring, we 

 must not allow the roots to grow so large, for a small size 

 swede will almost always be fouud to keep later than a full- 

 size root, and to aid in accomplishing this result, the crop 

 should be sown somewhat later. It is often very desirable ia 

 the spring to have a supply of fresh juicy roots for the ewes 

 and lambs, as their food causes the milk to spring more freely 

 than almost any other food which the fields offer at this time 



of the year. Turnips sown for this purpose are, ia comparison 

 with swedes, very raucii to be preferred, provided they are in 

 good juicy condition, and for this use the turnips may be 

 sown in July and August, according to the district. These 

 are the chief respects in which the time of sowing controls the 

 character of the crop. 



The early stage of the plant's growth is the most critical 

 pirt of its existence, as it is especially subject to the attacks 

 of the small turnip beetle, or, as it is more commonly called, the 

 turnip fly. These insects consume the young and smooth 

 seed-leaves before the plant has time to throw out its rough 

 leaves, and the young plant deprived of these organs of respira- 

 tion quickly perishes. In tliis manner thousands of acres are 

 annually destroyed by this small and apparently insiguilicant 

 insect. Tlie great safety of the crop when thus attacked lies 

 in its rapiJity of growth, which in favourable weather, and on 

 land in cinditiou, survives the attack, and really grows more 

 quickly than these beetles can consume the crop. This 

 rapidity of growth is very much accelerated by a judicious use 

 of manure, and under this valuable agency this crop is almost 

 rendered certain. The condition of the laud when the cicp is 

 sown is also very influential upon the stability of the crop, as 

 well as its ultimate success. It is a point which is often dis- 

 regarded, but experience has proved it to be important. The 

 dryixas of the soil is the especial feature now referred to. It 

 is a general idea that a moderate degree of moisture is desira- 

 ble when the seed is sown, and this ia a point worthy of more 

 attention. It is the degree of moisture which dattrmines 

 whether it is useful or injurious. We all know that during 

 the season for sowing turnips we are subject to intervals of 

 dry weather, during which the fly often plays sad havoc. 

 Suppose, for example, a fieli has been reduced into a good 

 tilth, and has just enough moisture to enable the seed to 

 sprout. It sends fortii its pair of tender seed-leaves into the 

 air, and its little rootlets pierce into the soil in search of 

 moisture, but none can it find, for the soil has only enough to 

 quicken it into a dangerous existence, and cannot supply the 

 roots with the moisture they seek. The weather continues 

 dry and parching, and hour after hour the farmer's anxious 

 eye watches the battle waging above ground, for the turnip 

 beetles devour the leaves, and with doubtful mind he rests his 

 hope of saving the crop upon the prospect of rain. Iu such a 

 case it is evident that a small amount of moisture in the soil 

 when followed by dry weather is dangerous ; for if the seed 

 were sown in a dry seed bed, there it remahis until rain falls, 

 which is almost always enough at this time of the year, when 

 it does come, not only to sprout the seed, but to carry it into 

 rough leaf, and render it safe. Another very important help 

 towards securing the crop is a liberal use of seed ; for whilst 

 the additional cost of Is. or Is. 6d. per acre is nothing com- 

 pared with the amount risked, yet it is a valuable adjunct to 

 other measures. It is equally necessary to be confident as to 

 the quality of the seed sown, and for this purpose some seed 

 must be previously grown, for no ordinary person can detect 

 the difference by the eye after the old seed has been prepared 

 for sale, as is too frequently done. A trial of the growth ia 

 at once a test, and as it gives but little trouble, should never 

 be neglected. 



We are now brought to that point which requires some 

 notice of the manures to be used for turnips, and the best mode 

 of using them. In accordance with our invariable rule we 

 shall endeavour to do so, without in any way recommending 

 any manufacturer more than another, or refer in any degree to 

 private and commercial interests. The first manure which 

 claims our notice is that which we produce at home, or in other 

 words, farm-yard manure. The better the quaUty of such 



