THE DAILY LIFE OF OUR FARM. 11 



these parts. Some who sowed swede seed with their 

 mangold- wurzel, with the view to having an occasional 

 turnip to fill up where the mangold seed failed, have 

 magnificent specimens to exhibit, not a whit the worse 

 off, as far as mildew is concerned, than the main crop 

 sown many weeks later, the bulbs of which are small, 

 as a rule. About this district the farmers, in fear of 

 mildew, don't much like putting their swede seed in 

 until June. This answers well in what they call a 

 dropping season ; but when, as the last, a parched and 

 sultry season and abundant fly follow, they are sadly 

 out. Their frantic efforts this year to replace by 

 repeated sowing the gaps left by the ravages of the 

 grub and fly were desperate, but I am glad to say 

 strongly rewarded here and there by a fair crop of 

 green-top and hybrid. The best swedes in the neigh- 

 bourhood are growing upon land that was heavily lined 

 last autumn : perhaps not only that the plant likes 

 lime, but also that thereby a considerable store of extra 

 moisture was retained in the soil. 



Our mangold crop was sown at two periods, with a 

 longish interval between — at the first in a strong piece 

 of ground, once cultivated as a garden, and consequently 

 a deal richer than the generality of the farm, the soil 

 of which we pulverised devoutly, then in the drills 

 deposited a heavy allowance of rather fresh but excel- 

 lent and wet stable-manure. The seed was sown by a 

 manure-drill, with a compound as a bed for it, down a 

 pipe in advance, of ashes and superphosphate well 

 mixed (about 4 cwt. of superphosphate to the acre). Hot 

 weather succeeded ; but the under-soil was sweetly moist 

 and the crop came up grandly, regular, and rich of hue. 



Our other plot was put in later, on a portion of plain 



