168 FARMING ON FACTORY LINES 



whole winter green break to be sown with roots. 

 If this be done, assuming the area cropped to be 

 considerable, the amount of hand labour for the 

 thinning, gapping, and weeding of the crop is 

 scarcely procurable. Further, the only reason why 

 roots need be grown on a farm at all is merely for 

 use as a stand-by during prolonged frost or snow, 

 when winter greens cannot be used, or a sufficiency 

 of vetch or other silage is not available. 



This latter type of succulent crop can be grown in 

 most circumstances far cheaper than roots, or, at 

 least, than roots on a large scale. Even in Norfolk; 

 the Norfolk feeders' penchant for " roots " notwith- 

 standing. 



To sum up, the writer would only recommend 

 perhaps one-fourth of the winter green break being 

 sown in roots, just sufficient for the farm staff to 

 attend to in summer, in what, from other farming 

 operations may be regarded as spare time. To be 

 more explicit still, the area of roots grown should 

 not be greater than the farm staff could attend to, 

 say in the morning, during hay-time, when waiting 

 for the dew to dry off, or on a dairy farm, the area 

 should be such as the milkers could look after " in 

 between times," that is, after milking in the 

 morning, and attending to pigs and calves, and 

 before milking in the evenings. 



Potatoes always do extremely well after a winter 

 green crop. The fine, friable nature of the soil and 

 the manurial residue resulting from the preceding 

 winter green crop appearing to suit the potato 

 admirably. 



As regards the kind of roots to plant, mangels are 

 to be preferred to turnips. They do far better after 

 winter greens,, and, unlike turnips, being of the 

 brassica tribe, they are not susceptible to "finger 



