CHAP. iv. CULTIVATION OF MANGEL, 967 



troublesome, and where this is the case it is wiser to leave them for a 

 longer period, or the plant may he destroyed after it is set out. The 

 habit of intertwining is due to the fact that the " seed " really consists 

 of a husk containing more than one seed. Hence it is that samples of 

 mangel seed are quoted as germinating over 100 per cent. In testing 

 a sample, it is not the individual seeds that are taken, but the husks, 

 each enveloping two or more seeds. For this reason a sample of 

 " seed " cannot be relied upon unless it germinates well over 100 per 

 cent., for unscrupulous dealers might put in one-third of sound seed 

 germinating 3 seeds each, and mix with it two-thirds of useless seed ; 

 this would, and probably often does, cause a broken or uneven 



Fig. 447. Golden Tankard Mangel. 



" plant " on the ground. The practice of filling up any gaps in the 

 crop by transplanting into them the small-topped kohl-rabi is strongly 

 recommended. Mangel is a crop which comes up very unevenly, no 

 matter how carefully it may be sown, and a full plant is rarely seen, so 

 that there is naturally a loss on the unoccupied ground. It is the 

 practice with many farmers to fill in the gaps with turnips or other 

 roots, but it is doubtful whether anything is so well suited to the 

 purpose as the small-topped kohl-rabi. If the latter is sown in a 

 seed-bed in March or April the plants are ready to pull when the. 

 mangel is set out, so that no time is lost. They will ripen at the 

 same time as the mangel, and can either be stored or fed on the 

 ground as desired. In districts where mangel-leaves are fed, the 

 kohl-rabi is extremely valuable, as it counteracts the ill effects which 

 mangel-leaves often produce on the sheep which consume them. 



When the mangel-plant has been thinned, and even before, the 

 horse-hoe should be kept constantly at work to get rid of weeds, and 

 to open the soil so that the rootlets may spread more easily. The 



