Cultivation of Arable Land. Turnips Application of Crops of. 1 6 I 



fcoth feeding and flore fheep fhould be kept in this way, it would be advifable, lie 

 obferves, to give the feeding flock rather more than are fufficient for the day, and 

 to turn in the (tore Iheep the fucceeding day to confume what may be left. Jn this 

 method the length of turnips that is heceffary without much wafte being commit 

 ted may foon be difcovered.* 



This plan of confuming turnip crops may be economical and advantageous where 

 the number of fheep is not great ; but where it is very large, theconftant trouble, 

 difficulty, and expence, of procuring the hurdles and fixing the folds, mufl fre 

 quently render it incapable of being put in execution, 



It has been found in the fattening of fheep with this root, that they make the 

 greatefl progrefs juft before the turnips begin to run and form their feed-flems j a 

 circumftance which probably depends partly upon the turnips containing at fuch 

 periods the largeft proportion of faccharine nutritious matter, and partly on the 

 weather becoming more dry and warm. Hence it is a practice in fome diflricts, 

 towards the latter and of March or beginning of April, according to the flate of 

 the feafon, to mow off the moots or flems that are advanced, with a fcythe; as 

 by this means, from the numerous lateral moots that are fent forth, a more&quot; copi 

 ous fupply of green food is not only afforded, but the roots or bulbs of the turnips 

 preferved longer in a flate fit for ufe.-f 



In folding flieep on turnips, it frequently happens that after frofts or fnows the 

 hurdles get loofe, and are either thrown down by the animals or the wind : great 

 care mould, therefore, be taken to have them at firfr. well fet into the ground, and 

 fecured by flakes of fufficient length, with proper &quot;wytbs for tying them together* 

 The hurdles employed for this purpofe are generally of two kinds, either flatted 

 orrodded: the former being made from fmall poles of afh, willow, or other tough 

 forts of wood, by fplitting them ; and ,the latter from rods of hazel, or other 

 fuitable woods, by wattling them clofe together with fuitable crofs pieces like 

 flakes. The flatted hurdle, or what in fome diflricts is termed waddle, is much 

 preferable to the cloft-rodded or wattled kind, as being much more durable. The 

 firft coft of them is, however, confiderably greater. + There is alfo another 

 fort of material made ufe of in fome diftrids for this purpofe ; which is a fort 

 of net- work, formed of fmall cord, called toiling. This method is, however, 



* Experienced Farmer, vol. I. p. 59. f Synopfis of Huibamlry, p. 148. 



J The former fort are moftly fold in the neighbourhood of London, at from about \6s, to l$s. a 

 dozen, and the latter at from 10*. to 125. the dozen. Toiling is generally from about 2j. IQd. to 3s, 

 Gd. the rod. 



VOL. ir. y 



