224 AGRICULTURE 



alternative but to go into the market and 

 purchase. In respect of this, however, custom 

 differs in different parts of the country; 

 for whereas it is rare to find English farmers 

 growing ryegrass for seed, it is almost the 

 rule in many parts of Wales, in the north 

 of Ireland, and in the south-west of Scotland. 

 Again, as regards turnip and swede seed, 

 one finds in the north-east of Scotland that 

 most farmers annually select a number of 

 their best bulbs, and plant them out on some 

 spare piece of ground, in order to supply 

 themselves with home - grown seed. The 

 growth of turnip seed requires some little 

 care and the exercise of some intelligence, 

 for the bulbs have to be selected with dis- 

 crimination, and have to be grown at a 

 distance from other cruciferous plants in 

 flower, by whose pollen they might be con- 

 taminated. Then, at the season when the 

 seed is approaching maturity, the plants, 

 must be scrupulously protected against 

 sparrows, finches, and similar seed-eating 

 birds, which seem to be willing to run any 

 risk for a meal of turnip seed. The growth of 

 clover seed is even more restricted than that 

 of rye grass and turnips, the crop being culti- 

 vated for seed practically only in the warmest 

 and driest parts of England and Ireland. 



