140 On the Culture of Turriips. 



Dung applied to wheat fallows, invariably makes the plant 

 winter-proud, long and weak in the straw, and light in the berry, 

 to say nothing of the endless, expensive, and inefficacious prac- 

 tice of weeding wheat; and if these objections are not enough to 

 detef aay man from this absurd practice, who will give himself 

 the trouble to reflect one moment on the subject, — which I do 

 not believe any man ever did who adopted it, — I am certain no- 

 thing I can advance will, und I must leave such farmers to time 

 and opportunity for improvement; but as the Memoir which I had 

 the honour to present to the Board last year, on the Culture of 

 Turnips, in mistake for the Condensed View of the practice of 

 all the Counties on this sul)ject, now respectfullv submitted to 

 the Board, is in the outset so completely in unison with Mr. 

 Middleton's Report, which I had not then seen, and also con- 

 tains some observations on manures, in which 1 have the misfor- 

 tune to differ with some of the highest authorities in this king- 

 dom, I subjoin such Memoir to these observations, that the public 

 may decide on its correctness, or demerits. 



I cannot take leave of Mr. Middleton, without offering a just 

 tribute to his Report of the County of Middlesex; in doing 

 which, I trust I shall be acquitted of all improper partiality or 

 flattery, when I declare it has been my misfortune never to have 

 seen, or ever to have heard, of this distinguished Agriculturist, 

 except by his Report above mentioned ; but in that, I find the 

 most masterly delineations of the practice of the county, the 

 most sound and judicious principles of general agriculture en- 

 forced, and the true bearing and effect of tenures upon its suc- 

 cess, described; — in short, there is no part of rural economy 

 touched, but it is illuminated by this very distinguished writer ; 

 and 1 find in his whole Report, only one subject upon which we 

 materially differ, and that is the system oi folding sheep, which 

 he reprobates ; but which I consider to be the most certain and 

 perpetual basis of the most perfect agriculture that can possibly 

 be pursued. 



Memoir laid before the Board in March 1817. 



The introduction and cultivation of turnips in this island, may 

 be considered almost as important an aera in the agricultural world, 

 as the Reformation was in the moral; and the right cultivation 

 of this root, maybe considered as the pivot on which successful 

 agriculture on all turnip soils depends. 



For, independently of its superseding altogether the necessity 

 of summer-fallows, on such soils, I consider the amiual weight 

 of animal food which it supplies, to have had no inconsiderable 

 share in enabling us to victual the iiici:easing jjopulation of the 

 united kingdom, and j)roducii)g at all seasons of the year that 



regular 



