Cultivation of Arable Land. Turnips- Prcfening of Crops of. 



&quot;where they are intended to be coiifumed, with a little ft; raw between the dif 

 ferent layers, covering them over with \vattlesor hurdles, lined with ft raw. If 

 this practice was adopted on final 1 portions, it is fuppofed that much advantage 

 would arife from it to the cattle in t roily weather, beiides the turnips being: 

 preferved and prevented from exhauftmg the land by remaining fo long upon 

 it. The fame advantage may alfo, it is believed, be obtained, by finking 

 beds about two feet deep, and of considerable breadth, in the ground where the 

 turnips grow, putting five or fix layers of turnips into each, with a little -frefh 

 earth between every one of them, and covering the tops over with fir-aw.* 

 This method feems, however, only capable of being employed with fafety 

 where the foil is of a light porous Tandy quality, and of courfe not retentive of 

 nioillure. 



There are (till other methods that have been recommended for preferving 

 this root. The practice of drawing the turnips, cutting offihe tap-rocts, and 

 carting them to a piece of pafture ground adjoining the farm-yard, to be fee 

 together upright upon their bottoms, as dole as poffiblc, hcs been found fuc- 

 ceisful in fomc diftricts. The growth of the tops is, it u&amp;gt; obieived, in this way 

 but little interrupted, thus confequently affords a full compenfation for any 

 wafte of bulb that may take place. And it is believed that the quantity of 

 nutritious food is increafed. Thebufmefs is beft performed when the weather 

 is dry and windy, as the tops are then lefs brittle and the roots in the clean eft- 

 condition, f It has alfo been advifed, by the intelligent author of the Corrected 

 Report of the Agriculture of the County of Middlefex,, that trials be made cf 

 carting the roots during the time of hard frofts into heaps, placed on bottoms of 

 ice, and blending with them ice and fnow in fuch a manner as that they may be 

 preferved in a frozen ftatc as long as may be neceflhry, as the end of April- 

 In this view they fhould be placed either in proper buildings,, or be well co 

 vered over with ftraw, fern, or heath, and have earth placed over fuch cover 

 ings in the fame way as is practifed in pying potatoes in particular diflricts. Thia 

 method, it is conceived, may be of great utility, as the frozen heaps will be 

 fecure againft the thaws that take place on the breaking up of every intcnfe 

 froft. Jn ufing the turnips thus packed up, it is recommended that they be 

 given to the animals after the froft has been removed by putting them into cold 

 -water. And as the land may in this way be cleaned of fuch crops at a. more car- 



* Kent s Hint?, p. 121. t C( r.eftecl Report of the County of Suff Ik, 



Yg 



