34 Agriculture af SItropshire. 



with advantage. About 2 cwt. of guano and 2 cwt of super- 

 phosphate per acre is the usual allowance. The latter is mixed 

 with ashes, and drilled with the seed. Unlike the first district 

 — where the early or May sowings are preferred — here they are 

 afraid to sow earlier than June. The chief crop is sown in the 

 first and second week of June. An earlier sowing renders them 

 liable to the mildew, to which the crops of the neighbourhood 

 are peculiarly subject. The turnip beetle {Haltica nemorum) is 

 a sad pest, and destroys many acres of roots. Both, however, are 

 in some measure under our control, but especially the latter. 

 The use of a moderate cjuantity of superphosphate, well inter- 

 mixed with some good ashes, and then drilled with double the 

 ordinary quantity of seed, will scarcely ever fail, provided you 

 sow when the soil is dry. If sown whilst moist the seed germi- 

 nates, and when it has advanced thus far the weather often 

 proves dry, and the fly devours the entire crop ; but when the 

 ground is dry, there the seed remains until the rain falls, and a 

 rapid growth ensues which saves the crop. The contrary is the 

 general opinion, but the most successful practice proves it to be 

 wrong. Many have great fear of working the land so as to 

 allow the moisture to escape. This is a frequent cause of 

 failure, because it is during this period of dry weather that the 

 crops are lost. The moisture in the soil is seldom sufficient to 

 do more than start the seed, and consequently, if dry weather 

 sets in immediately after, there is a severe battle with the turnip 

 beetle. I very much prefer the seed not growing until it gets 

 rain, and the soil having previously got warm, upon receiving 

 the rain, almost induces a hot-bed growth. I believe the crop 

 may be made perfectly safe by these three modifications — the 

 use of a stimulating manure, sowing an additional quantity of 

 seed, and by giving a preference to a dry soil rather than a 

 slightly moist one. I have, in some years, sown over 300 acres 

 of turnips, and my experience confirms this practice. 



The control of mildew is much more difficult, for the best 

 cultivation is most sure of its patronage, and especially when 

 the plant is sown early, and rapidly forced into maturity by 

 artificial manures. For this reason the sowing of a large part 

 of the artificial manure broadcast allows it a slower and 

 firmer growth, which continues later in the autumn. Where the 

 manure is all drilled we have an energetic growth, but as the 

 roots spread from the manure, they cease to find equally nourish- 

 ing food, hence, when much growth has been effiscted, the 

 vigorous development is checked, whereas if the rootlets, as 

 they spread, found fresh stores of food, tlie growth would be pro- 

 longed. As soon as the circulation becomes languid, and the 

 leaves lose their usual vigour, they become liable to the attack 



