'968 THE COMPLETE GRAZIER. BOOK x. 



plants require seconding that is, a second thinning a few weeks 

 after the first thinning, and may, if the land is very weedy, require 

 flat-hoeing or hand-hoeing also. The land should be kept stirred as 

 long as it is possible to work the hoes conveniently. 



The mangel crop is not raised for consumption as a standing crop 

 upon the ground, as is the case with most of the turnips. On the 

 other hand, as the mangel is very susceptible to frost, it must be 

 placed in safety before there is risk of injury from this cause. The 

 most convenient method at the time is to pit or clamp the mangel in 

 heaps on the ground whereon the crop grew; though this procedure 

 causes much trouble afterwards, and is probably a source of injury to 



Fig. 448. Yellow Globe Mangel. 



the land by carting on it later in the season. Hence it is in reality 

 best, under most circumstances, to cart the crop away immediately the 

 roots are pulled. October is the usual month for harvesting mangel, 

 and our climate is such that it is found to be unsafe to leave the erop 

 in the ground after the first week in November. The roots should not 

 be allowed to become too ripe before being pulled, for they do not keep 

 so long as if they are pulled slightly unripe. As a rule, when the 

 lower leaves drop and turn yellow, it is time for the crop to be taken 

 up. Whether stored in small clamps in the open, or in long clamps 

 near the homestead, the roots must be covered with a coating of straw 

 several inches thick, upon which there must be a layer of earth two or 

 more inches thick. In some districts an additional covering is given 

 in the form of straw thatch, and wherever the situation is much 

 exposed this is a commendable practice. Land rarely becomes 

 mangel-sick, provided it is liberally manured, and on grazing farms 

 where arable land is scarce it is not uncommon to set apart a piece 

 oi land entirely for mangel growing. This is the more to be recom- 



