1 24 ' The Rural Inquirer. April 



Turnips were cultivated in Scotland very fliortly after 

 tlieir introduQion into Britain; and INIr Cockburn of 

 Ormifton, and oiher members of the Society of Improvers ^ 

 raifed them agreeably to the moft approved rules. This 

 valuable root, v/hich is juftly confidered as deferving a 

 marked attention from every farmer upon a light foil, 

 h IS recently fpread with rapidity over all Scotland, and 

 is cultivated in a way fuperior to what is common among 

 our fouthern neighbours. Mr TuU's fyllem is uniformly 

 adopted; winch, tor cleaning the ground, raifing a weighty 

 crop, and leirening the expence of labour, is undoubted- 

 ly preferable to tlie broad-caft, or hand method. The 

 cultftre of this rout is increafing every year ; and it is 

 now fuccefsfully pra£lifed upon many foils formerly con- 

 fidered as unfit for growing turnips. By employing a 

 little attention, and fowing fields of different foils in the 

 fame feafon, there is not a doubt but that this branch 

 of hufbandry may ftill be further extended, which will 

 ferve to reduce the quantity of land hitherto kept under 

 an unproductive fallow. The increafed demand for 

 butcher-meat holds out every encouragement for this ex- 

 tenfion; and another great inducement is, that the value 

 of flock neceffarily depends upon procuring a fufficient 

 fupply of green food for their fupport at every feafon of 

 the year. 



If turnips have produced important advantages upon 

 the light, free foils, BeanSy drilled and horfe-hoed, have 

 been found equally beneficial upon thofe of a different 

 defcription. This pulfe, which was but little fown in 

 Scotland till the year 1770, unlets upon the rich clays, 

 has, fince that time, been fuccefsfully cultivated upon all 

 the heavy loams ; and, in many farms, now conflitutes 

 a regular branch of rotation. With a few exceptions, 

 beans are conftantly drilled at intervals of 20 or 27 

 inches ; the latter mode is moft prevalent, which admits 

 the ground to be ploughed with a horfe, in the moft 

 fufficient manner. Very little hand-hoeing is given, nor 

 is it required ; as the kind of land moft adapted for their 

 growth, and upon which they are commonly fown, is 

 not naturally difpofed to the growth of annual weeds ; 

 and fine crops of wheat generally follow, provided due 

 attention has been paid to working the bean crop. The 



necejPity 



