jg 2 Commercial Gardening 



36,000 ac.; Northumberland, 34,000 ac; Salop, 32,000 ac.; and Dorset, 

 31JOOO ac. There are several counties having over 20,000 ac. each, and 

 many more with considerably over 10,000 ac. each. In Scotland, which 

 has over 438,000 ac. under the crop, the largest Turnip-growing counties 

 are: Aberdeen, 86,000 ac.; Forfar, 32,000 ac.; Perth, 26,000 ac.; Berwick, 

 25,000 ac.; Fife, 22,000 ac.: Banff', 21,000 ac.; and Roxburgh, 20,000 ac. 

 There are a dozen other counties with 11,000 to 20,000 ac. each. 



Ireland has about 280,000 ac. of Turnip land; in 1899 it had over 

 300,000 ac. The province of Leinster has over 91,000 ac.; Ulster, 89,000 ac.; 

 Munster, 73,000 ac.; and Connaught, 24,000 ac. The greatest Turnip- 

 growing counties are: Cork, 35,000 ac.; Wexford, 20,000 ac.; Tipperary, 

 18,000 ac.; Donegal and Down, each 17,000 ac.; Londonderry, 13,000 ac.; 

 and Queen's County, 11,000 ac. 



Wales is also well provided with Turnip fields, having a total area of 

 nearly 58,000 ac. The county of Denbigh has 8000 ac.; Glamorgan and 

 Montgomery, 6000 ac. each; followed by Anglesey, Pembroke, and Radnor, 

 each with 5000 ac. 



The average yield per acre is about 20 tons. That much better results 

 than this could be attained there is no doubt, and as much as 36 tons per 

 acre have been recorded. Something like 130,680 plants can be grown on 

 an acre of ground. Taking a nice saleable-size turnip as weighing 8 oz., 

 without the top, the yield would be just over 29 tons to the acre. It has 

 been estimated that an acre of Turnips absorbs from the soil 201 Ib. of 

 potash, 107 Ib. of lime, 79 Ib. of sulphuric acid, 66 Ib. of chlorine, 59 Ib. 

 of phosphoric acid, and 39 Ib. of soda. The quantities of these foods will 

 vary according to the weight of the crop, which will itself be influenced 

 by good or bad culture. As a set-off against what is taken out of the soil, 

 the tops, if not carted away, will supply from 6 to 10 tons of manorial 

 material per acre, thus relieving the pressure on the ordinary manure bill. 

 When it becomes necessary to apply manures for Turnips the nature of 

 the soil must be considered. For stiffish land about 10 tons of stable 

 manure, 4 cwt. of superphosphate, J cwt. of sulphate of ammonia, and 

 4 cwt. of kainit may be applied, the latter before the crop is sown and 

 after the stable manure has been dug in. On light land about twice as 

 much stable manure and kainit may be necessary. 



Like other plants of the Brassica family the Turnip is subject to 

 attack from the Clubroot Fungus (Plasmodiophora brassicce). In soil 

 that has been more or less heavily dunged, and not limed, this disease 

 is prevalent, and is very difficult to eradicate. Notwithstanding the 

 many highly boomed remedies, lime in some form or another appears 

 to be the best and cheapest antidote. Badly infested soil should have 

 about 1 bus. of lime to the rod (160 bus. to the acre) dug in during the 

 winter. This will check any acidity caused by the decaying manure 

 and moisture, and thus destroy the conditions suitable for the fungus. 

 It may take four or five years to eradicate the pest, but half the quantity 

 of lime only will be necessary after the first year. 



