212 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



30 tons of Swedes, 20 tons of Mangold, and 20 tons of White 

 Carrots per acre, are equivalent crops, while in Berkshire, it is 

 as easy to grow 30 tons of Mangold as 20 tons of Swedes per 

 acre." — Elements of Agricultural Chemistry^ p. 841. 



It likewise adapts itself to a great variety of soils, having 

 been grown in this country on nearly all descriptions of land, 

 yielding remunerative crops even on light soils, provided they 

 be not too light and gravelly, and on clays that are not of too 

 stiff a texture ; it will, however, yield fair crops on clays too 

 stiff for turnips ; but it attains its greatest perfection, and yields 

 its maximum produce only, on a deep friable loam, in good 

 condition, and which contains a considerable quantity of vege- 

 table or organic matter, with a sound, dry subsoil, and in a 

 situation not too exposed. It also yields very heavy crops on 

 reclaimed bog-land, rendered sound and dry by judicious 

 improvement. 



" It is suited," says Mr. Bond, " to our dry climate. It will 

 grow as well on the stiff soils as upon the light ; it is peculiarly 

 a heavy land root ; its early maturity suits the retentive soil, as 

 it can be harvested before the wet season sets in, and its keeping 

 property renders it invaluable, especially on such lands, because 

 of the lateness of the growth of the grass for food in spring. — 

 Farmer'' s Magazine. 



Varieties as Adapted to the Different Soils. — Like all our 

 cultivated crops, many varieties of tlie Mangold Wurzel have 

 been obtained by hybridization and other processes in connection 

 with vegetable pliysiology, and which, if not produced by art, 

 Avill often be effected by nature. Though there are many 

 varieties produced in tliis way, yet there are only a few com- 

 paratively speaking, extensively cultivated, the principal being 

 the Long Red, Long Yellow, and Long Orange, and the Orange, 

 Yellow, and Red Globes. Where the land is deep and heavy, 

 or of a peaty character, the long varieties are best suited, but 

 when of a lighter texture, the Globes are to be preferred. 



Having now described the properties of the Long and Globe 

 varieties when considered in relation to soils, the question 

 would naturally suggest itself to the reader — What are the 

 comparative merits of the respective varieties of each sort, as, 

 for instance, the Red, Yellow, and Orange Globes ? This is a 

 question very often asked, but it is one to which no very 



