THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



69 



hear) ; perhaps a little swede or a poor starved mangel- 

 wurzel. This will not do ; no root crop at all is better 

 than a poor one, and poor root crops are ruinous ; if 

 we grow them we must grow them good. (Hear, hear.) 

 Half farming here, especially, will not pay, we must do 

 our utmost and be liberal. It is the abuse and the mis- 

 management of root culture which have stamped a strong 

 objection to its extension on the minds of many ; but 

 this feeling is gradually and more and more relaxing, 

 and I stand before you not only to uphold the extended 

 growth of good root crops, but also to advocate the 

 greatly-increased growth of a good root itself — I mean 

 the mangel wurzel, (Hear, hear.) It has been my 

 experience that we cannot in reason grow too much per 

 acre, and the more acres we can manage to grow, the 

 better. It is suited to our dry climate. It will grow as 

 well on the stiff soils as upon the light ; it is peculiarly 

 a heavy land root ; its early maturity suits the retentive 

 soil, as it can be harvested before the wet season sets in, 

 and its keeping property renders it invaluable, especially 

 on such lands, because of the lateness of the growth of 

 the grass for feed in spring. It is of superior quality to 

 the swede or common turnip, and a much greater weight 

 may regularly be grown per acre. (Hear, hear.) All 

 stock like it, even horses thrive upon it ; it is cheap 

 food, and maybe given to cattle in autumn if chaff is 

 but admixed with it to counteract its laxative effect— 

 (Hear, hear) ; — it is yearly becoming more appreciated, 

 and I believe it will be most extensively cultivated as its 

 value becomes known. I will now proceed to state the 

 preparation which I carry out for this, the mangel wurzel 

 crop. After the autumn cultivation, and as quickly as 

 possible — generally in November — I plough the land 

 upon the ridge of 27 in.; this land receives the frost, 

 and if the weather is dry and suitable I again plough — 

 usually in January or February ; the fresh upturned 

 surface probably becomes well frozen ; in February or 

 March I apply 18 or 20 loads of rich well-rotted manure, 

 which has previously been admixed with a sufficient 

 quantity of soil to affix the ammonia ; I also sow 3 or 4 

 cwt. of salt and about 25s. or 30s. worth of artificial 

 manure to the acre, after which I plough for the third 

 time on the ridge, and the land remains thus till the 9th 

 or 10th of April, when I commence to roll and drill ; I 

 put on 61bs. of mangel wurzel seed and half a pound of 

 swede seed to the acre. I will briefly explain my 

 reasons for this course of management. I prefer the 

 ridge system because I can grow larger crops ; the 

 manure is thereby placed at the full disposal of the 

 plant — (Hear, hear) — the land can be more effectually 

 cleaned; the hoeing down the ridge and the with- 

 drawing the soil from around the root promote its 

 growth. I plough in the spring; for by manuring 

 and ploughing in the autumn, and simply horse-hoeing 

 or scarifying previous to the seeding in spring, the land 

 becomes too foul. I always endeavour to arrange that 

 the land is ploughed a fortnight or three weeks before 

 the drilling : this ensures a moist soil and the rapid 

 sprouting of the seed. I had a good plant this year on 

 70 acres by the middle of May, when we know much 

 land cannot be proceeded with in the cultivation for 



mangold wurzel, because of the absence of rain. I use 

 well-prepared manure (Hear, hear), as the raw muck 

 from the shed or yard does not decompose in the land 

 sufficiently fast to become fully available to the growing 

 root crop (Hear, hear). Guano hitherto has been my 

 favourite artificial manure, but its present high price 

 compelled me to resort to a manufactured article, and 

 from previous satisfactory trials I was induced this year 

 to substitute the mangold wurzel manure made by the 

 firm of Messrs. Packard and Co., Ipswich. Although 

 I plough in the artificial, I am careful to sow it in such 

 a manner that a portion is near the surface for forcing 

 the vegetation of the young plants. I consider salt most 

 advantageous, as it certainly increases the produce and 

 assists to early maturity. I am of opinion the land 

 should be well consolidated (Hear, hear). I therefore 

 roll before drilling, and frequently after. I apply a large 

 amount of seed, as its average price is but 6d. per lb., 

 and an extra 21bs. or 3lbs. per acre almost invariably 

 ensures a full plant, and allows of much earlier hoeing. 

 Upon the growth of mangold wurzel I have but to remark 

 that I hoe with the Messrs. Garrett and Sons' invalu- 

 able horse-hoe, and the common furrow plough directly 

 the plants can be seen in the ridge. This year I com- 

 menced on the 20th of last month. Upon hoeing out 

 by hand and singling I allow each mangold a space of 

 20 in. by 27 in. I repeatedly horse-hoe, and I feel I 

 cannot sufficiently recommend its use ; for the repeated 

 stirring of the land greatly promotes vegetation (Hear, 

 hear), and I believe it even pays to hoe when there are 

 no weeds to destroy — it appears to furnish food to the 

 plant (Hear, hear). I hand-hoe twice in addition to 

 the equalizing the distance apart of each root. In Sep- 

 tember I remove by the fork any chance piece of couch 

 grass which may have escaped. In October I harvest 

 the crop : it has then attained its full growth, and it is 

 a mistake to suppose it needs to stand to ripen (Hear, 

 hear). It keeps best when carted at once (Hear, hear), 

 without the least delay. Last year I commenced cart- 

 ing on the T6th of October, and finished on the 25th. 

 The tops remaining were at once ploughed in. For the 

 management of the swede crop precisely the same prin- 

 ciples apply as for the mangold wurzel, viz., early 

 ploughing on the ridge for thorough frosting, liberal 

 manuring, early seeding, repeated stirring of the land 

 with the horse and hand-hoe, early harvesting, and 

 early ploughing for the following grain crop (Hear). 

 I have always had my heaviest produce from seed drilled 

 the latter part of April or the first week in May (Hear, 

 hear). We have then no turnip-fly to harm, and it is in 

 May all nature commences growth (Hear, hear). Why 

 should the swede have so late a start in vegetation as 

 June, whereby one of the best months, and perhaps even 

 six weeks are lost to its progress ? I have never suffered 

 the slightest loss from mildew, although the swedes 

 have been kept to the spring of the year, but I advocate 

 securing them in October. Itis the late standing which 

 does the harm, and I am convinced that the stiff reten- 

 tive soils which will grow good early swedes will not 

 grow them to any size if planted late (Hear, hear). I 

 believe it a mistake to suppose the early sown of infe- 



