102^ CU^TINUOUS CROPPING 



It is all, very well to.gr6w a few roots as a stand-by for 

 .rdij.iy'>DilrGsty weatrief when winter greens cannot be 

 used, but to grow a crop like mangolds on a large area 

 when a night's frost may reduce the value of the crop 

 by one half, or even totally destroy it, is simply courting 

 disaster. 



Of course, in parts of England where a man can 

 realise from 25s. to 30s. a ton for mangolds, it is worth 

 while taking a little risk. It should be remembered, 

 however, that as feeding on the farm for either milk 

 or beef production mangolds are not worth more than 

 los. per ton. 



Why, then (is the natural question that arises), if the 

 feeding value is so low, do mangolds command such a 

 good price ? The answer is that the man who paj^s a 

 high price for mangolds is the town dairyman, and he 

 buys the crop as a virtue of necessity. In other words, 

 the high price is obtainable on the same principle that 

 if a man had the Lakes of Killarney at the gates of 

 Purgatory, he could sell water at a guinea a pint ! 



But to return to the lifting of the mangolds. They 

 should be pulled from the ground, the dirt scraped off 

 with the hack of a knife and the tops cut, or, better, 

 screwed off, about an inch of leaf being left above the 

 crown of the root. On no account should the bulb 

 itself, either at the top or bottom, be cut with the knife, 

 as this causes the roots to bleed. 



When lifted, the roots should be thrown into small 

 heaps, and, unless the crop is being carted as it is pulled, 

 these heaps should be covered every night with the 

 tops so as to keep the frost from them. 



In case a night's frost does come before lifting is 

 completed, the mangolds should be left severely alone 

 until the frost has left the roots. Mangolds lifted 

 whilst frosted will be sure to rot in the clamp. The 

 first sharp frost will, however, cause the leaves to fall 



