ROOT CULTURE. 85 



circular among the best English farmers, with a view 

 of collecting all the information upon the culture 

 and use of this vegetable which was likely to be 

 useful. Nineteen answers were received from large 

 growers of the root, and the society published, in a 

 condensed form, their purport. The report states 

 that 



" The answers are from every description of soil, 

 the greatest number (nine) from sand, not, it ap- 

 pears, because that kind of soil is most favourable 

 to it, but because, on sands, fallow crops of all sorts 

 are more generally grown than any other; six are 

 from peat, four from clay, four from chalk or lime- 

 stone. 



" The method of sowing appears to be drilling or 

 dibbling on ridges, from twenty-seven to thirty inch- 

 es apart, and afterward singling out the plants in the 

 rows at about sixteen or eighteen inches from each 

 other : the period of sowing any time between the 

 middle of April and end of May ; on cold soils ear- 

 lier than on warm. 



" The tops and leaves should be ploughed into the 

 land immediately.* In comparing the quantity of 

 manure used for Swedish turnips and mangold-wur- 

 zel, it appears from the answers of those farmers 

 who have tried mangold- wurzel longest, that both re- 

 quire nearly an equal quantity, ten or twelve two- 

 horse cart-loads per acre. With respect to the com- 

 parative product of the two crops, it appears to be 

 in favour of mangold-wurzel in the proportion of 

 about one fifth. The greatest weight obtained is by 

 Mr. Simpson, of Babworth 54 tons. Of our corre- 

 spondents, ten decidedly prefer mangold-wurzel, two 

 give a partial preference to Swedes, and the rest 

 have not expressed an opinion. 



" The feeding properties of mangold-wurzel and 

 Swedes are an important part of our investigation. 



* After the rocts are harvested. 



