1813.3 Agriculture in BerivkkJun . 187 



often drilled obliquely; that is, the drills form acute angles with 

 the former ridges. When the ridges are raised, the drills are 

 sometimes drawn at right angles to the ridges ; but the most 

 common mode is to make the drills in the same longitudinal 

 direction as the ridges. 



Manuring. — The drills being formed, the dung is next car- 

 ried to the field, and spread in the furrows. That which is pro- 

 perly rotten is preferred. The drills are then ploughed down 

 over the dung, and new drills formed immediately above the 

 dung. 



Sowing. — Turnips are sown with a drill plough, which drops 

 the seed in a straight line on the top of the drill. A small 

 harrow and small roller follow the drill plough, for covering the 

 seed, and pressing it down gently. The seed is sown pretty 

 thick, in order to give the greater certainty of a crop. Some 

 use drill ploughs which sow two, three, four, and even five drills 

 at once : but unless the surface of the drills be perfectly level, 

 such machines do not perform the work so correctly as a single 

 drill plough. 



Species sown. — The species or varieties of turnips sown are 

 generally the yellow, and white or globe turnip, the root of 

 Scarcity or Ruta Baga, commonly called the Swedish turnip, a 

 plant classed by botanists under a different genus ; but as the 

 Ruta Baga is employed by farmers for the same purpose as tur- 

 nips, they find no occasion for a more scientific classification. 



Time op sowing. — The Ruta Baga requiring a greater 

 length of time to bring it to maturity than the turnip, is gene- 

 rally sown before the end of May, when the season is favourable. 

 The yellow turnip is next sown. The best time for sowing the 

 globe turnip is thought to be from the middle of June to the 

 middle of July. The time of sowing must, however, van', 

 according to the season : and those who require immense fields 

 of turnips must, of course, begin earlier than those who require 

 few. 



First hoeing. — If the weather be warm, and the soil neither 

 too dry nor too wet, the seed vegetates in a few days. As soon 

 as the plants have attained sufficient strength and size for weed- 

 ing and singling, the weeding plough is made to pass along 

 each drill, for cutting the weeds, and pulverizing the soil between 

 the drills. Then the hoers are set to work to single the turnips, 

 to cut the remaining weeds, and pulverize the soil close to the 

 turnips on the narrow space which the plough has not touched. 

 The hoes arc made of such length in the iron part as to serve as 

 measures for the interval to be made between every two plants: 

 and by tingling is meant leaving the turnips single by them- 

 selves, and cutting and destroying those on each side. The 



