RUT A BAG A CULTURE 



which produced a further delay, and so the thing was not done at 

 all ; but, I weighed one waggon load, the turnips of which averaged 

 eleven pounds each : and several weighed fourteen pounds each. 

 My very largest upon Long Island weighed twelve pounds and a 

 half. In all these cases, as well here as in England, the produce 

 was from transplanted plants ; though at Hyde Park, I have many 

 turnips of more than ten pounds weight each from sown plants, 

 some of which, on account of the great perfection in their qualities, 

 I have selected, and am now planting out, for seed. 



7 1 . I will now give a full account of my transplanting at Hyde 

 Park. In a part of the ground which was put into ridges and sown. 

 I scattered the seed along very thinly upon the top of the ridge, 

 But, however thinly you may attempt to scatter such small seeds, 

 there will always be too many plants, if the tillage be good and the 

 seed good also. I suffered these plants to stand as they came up ; 

 and, they stood much too long, on account of my want of hands, 

 or, rather, my want of time to attend to give my directions in the 

 transplanting ; and, indeed, my example too ; for, I met not with a 

 man who knew how to fix a plant in the ground ; and, strange as 

 it may appear, more than half the bulk of crop depends on a little, 

 trifling, contemptible twist of the setting-stick, or dibble : a thing 

 very well known to all gardeners in the case of cabbages, and about 

 which, therefore, I will give, by and by, very plain instructions. 



72. Thus puzzled, and not being able to spare time to do the 

 job myself, I was one day looking at my poor plants, which were 

 daily suffering for want of removal, and was thinking how glad 

 I should be of one of the CHURCHERS at Botley, who, I thought to 

 myself, would soon clap me out my turnip patch. At this very 

 time, and into the field itself, came a cousin of one of these 

 CHURCHERS, who had lately arrived from England ! It was 

 very strange, but literally the fact. 



73. To work Churcher and I went, and, with the aid of persons 

 to pull up the plants and bring them to us, we planted out about 

 two acres, in the mornings and evenings of six days ; for the weather 

 was too hot for us to keep out after breakfast, until about two hours 

 before sun-set. There was a friend staying with me, who helped 

 us to plant, and who did, indeed, as much of the work as either 

 Churcher or I. 



74. The time when this was done was from the 2ist to the 28th 

 of August, one Sunday and one day of no planting, having inter 

 vened. Every body knows, that this is the very hottest season of 

 the year ; arid, as it happened, this was, last summer, the very 

 driest also. The weather had been hot and dry from the loth 

 of August : and so it continued to the izth of September. Any 

 gentleman who has kept a journal of last year, upon Long Island, 

 will know this to be correct. Who would have thought to see 

 these plants thrive ; who would have thought to see them live ? 

 The next day after being planted, their leaves crumbled between 

 our fingers, like the old leaves of trees. In two days there was 



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