THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



501 



manual labour. The varieties of mangoMs of which I have 

 any knowledge are the orange globe, the long jcUow, the red 

 globe, and long red. These I have tested ; two of which I 

 have frequently had in juxtaposition — having first grown man- 

 golds in 1818. Of the foregoing I decidedly prefer the long 

 yellow for giving whole to milch cows or ewes ; but, as there 

 is an inconvenience iu slicing them, some orange globes might 

 be grown for cutting for cattle or sheep : but the one tiling 

 for which I recommend the former is that they draw so much 

 cleaner than the other descriptions, especially on adhesive soils 

 I think, to), a greater weight of produce may be grown ; for 

 iu selecting the largest bulb of each sort at the time of harvest- 

 irg, the weights were as follow : — Long yellosv, 29^ ; globe 

 ditto, 21); red globe, 25^; and long red, 18^. Of the analysis 

 I am ignorant, and cannot, therefore, offer any information on 

 that head (ami as quantity is but one element of value, we 

 must not be too fauguine as to which is the most profitable 

 description ; for it may be in this case as in swedes, since we 

 liAve a;certaincd that our East Lotliiau gre;^n-topped swede of 

 G lb». weight contains as much bee'-making material as a Skir- 

 ving'd of 9 lbs. So the conclusion arrived at ia, that the latter 

 is only calculated to fill the eye and not the pocket). A pair 

 of ridge harrows, where the land is at all cloddy, ouglit to pre- 

 cede the drill. I will r.ot here enter into the merits or demerits 

 of tha turnip drill; but, after four-years' trial, I aia convinced 

 of the advaiitsgea of the water-drill. A shower of lain after 

 tiie seed is sown is looked upon as a great boon; and if we can 

 accowpliih tliis by mechanical means we are not so dependent 

 on the heavens. Moreover, I maintain that it is utterly 

 impossible (except with Chambers's distributor) to have a 

 reguUr stream of manura from a dust-drill. If, therefore, you 

 are intending to apply 3 cwt. of super-phosphate, for instance, 

 you, in a drilling, have perhaps l^cwt. on one portion of your 

 field, and 4i cwt. on another. As to the quantity of seed, from 



5 to 6 lbs. may be sown iu a dry state, if sown in April ; but 

 if late, in order to make up for lost time, the seed should be 

 steeped in lukewarm water from 24 to 48 hours, and when used 

 should be dried in fine coal-ashes, &c. As the seeds are slow 

 to vegetate, from having to break open the hard capsule, in 

 almost every instance on light soils the ridges will be covered 

 with annuals before the legitimate plants appear. A pair of 

 ridge harrows, divested of the centre teeth, should, therefore, 

 be passed along the tiJges on a dry day. This will have the 

 desired effect of destroying the major portion of the weeds, 

 without injuring in the slightest degree the iufant plants of 

 mangolds, even if they have appeared above the surface ; after 

 ' which the horse-hce must be liberally used, the soil being re- 

 moved as close as practicable to the plants, which greatly 

 facilitates the operation of liand singling. The plants should 

 be left from 18 in. to 20 in. apart, remembering to have some 

 plants in reserve, to dibble in the vacant places, which should 

 be done on the first wet day, hy making a hole with a piece 

 of wood, taking care that the hole is suflicieatly deep to receive 

 the rootlet without turning the tip thereof, which would retard 

 the growth, and iu some instances destroy the plant. Que of 

 the great secrets iu proiucicg large bulbs is to allow them 

 soflScient space iu which to grow, and when we find that one 

 bulb of 9 inches diameter is equal to 27 bulbs of 3 inches in 

 diameter (the whole of them being spherical), I think we ought 

 to feel fully justified in allowing them sufiicieiit space to throw 

 out their leaves, in order that the roots may be fully developed. 

 It is a custom with some men, when the crop is pretty well 

 matured, to divest mangold of the under-leaves. Now this is 

 a mistake, for the leaves possess no feeding qualities to justify 

 the commission of so much injury being done to the crop. As 

 the storing of roots forms a distinct subject, I will not now 

 enter upou it. 



SWEDES AND MANGOLDS. 



Sir, — Mangold-wurtzel and the s^ede turnip are two of 

 the most valuable root-crops grown in England; root-crops 

 are the main-stay of all good and profitable farming; and 

 manure is the foundation of good and heavy root-crops. On 

 this account, wise men say that vast attention ought to be 

 paid to ascertaining the strength of the manures upon which 

 our crops are builf. Common sense says that, if artificial ma- 

 nure is but one-fourth its proper strength, we cannot expect 

 from it more than a quarter of a crop in weight. Farmers 

 who half-plough, half-maaure, and half-clean their land, can- 

 not expect to have whole or large crops, but only in propor- 

 tion to the strength of the manure applied, which must depend 

 on its composition. 



The Farmer's Magazine has done wonders for many 

 farmers : nay, it has shown that all good farming is founded 

 on commou sense and reason ; and proves that 40 tons of 

 swedes per acre, topped, tailed, and cleaned, have been grn-rn, 

 each turnip being allowed a space of 28 inches by 10 iuci^s. 

 aud thus taking up 280 square inches of room. If planted 

 regularly, this would give 22,402 turnips, which, at 41b. each 

 turnip, would amount to 40 tons 81b. per acre. And 64 tons 

 of mangold-wurtzel per acre, when topped, tailed, and cleaned. 



have been grown by a celebrated market-gardener at Fulham, 

 to decide a wager of £5, which the gardener won. They were 

 planted each in a space measuring 2 feet by 1 foot, each root 

 taking up 288 square inches. There would thus be 21,780 

 plants or roots upon an acre ; and each root must have ave- 

 raged a little over 61b. 9 oz., to make 64 tons per acre. The 

 gardener's land is manured yearly with the strongest horae- 

 dung he can obtain, made principally from corn. All this 

 plainly shows what the strongest manure will do in producing 

 great root-crops. 



Perhaps the following calculation may be useful to some of 

 your readers : Swedes or mangolds planted in spaces mea- 

 suring 28 inches by 10 inches, at Sib. each plant, would 

 amount to 30 tons 61b. per acre; at 41b. each, would be 40 

 tons 81b. per acre ; at 51b. each, would be 50 tons 101b. per 

 acre ; at 61b. each, would be 60 tons 121b. ; and at 71b. each 

 r"'t, a crop of mangold-wurtzels would amount to 70 tons 

 ! lib. per acre. 



Facta and figures combined greatly enlighten the mind : 

 Science is weighty ; when added to practice, is mighty. 



Millfield, Peterborough, May 3. Samuel Arnsby. 



