340 THE KOHL-RABI CROP. 



the process of transplantation; and this no doubt has ma- 

 terially retarded its more general adoption on our farms. 

 This method of transplantation, however, possesses some 

 advantages, which, under certain circumstances, may very 

 beneficially be rendered available on a farm, especially 

 where from any cause a deficiency exists either in the fodder 

 or root plants. The kohl-rabi, raised in a seed-bed, and 

 sheltered from the influences which have acted prejudicially 

 to the crops on the farm, can then be moved out into 

 the field, in time to secure to the farmer, at all events, 

 a great addition to his means of providing keep for his 

 stock during the winter season. 



The method of raising and transplanting kohl-rabi, as 

 practised in the districts where it was chiefly grown, is 

 thus described by Mr. Hewitt Davis, in his Farming 

 Essays, published in 1848: " My practice is to prepare 

 a seed-bed, by well digging and dressing in the winter 

 a corner of my earliest piece of tares. The seed is sown 

 in the end of February, or early in March, thinly, in rows 

 12 inches apart, and kept perfectly clean by hoeing and 

 hand- weeding ; and as the tares are cleared off in May and 

 June, the ground is deeply ploughed, ridged up, and 

 planted. The plants at first are placed 3 feet apart, the 

 ridges being 28 inches asunder, but as the season advances 

 the distance between the plants is diminished. The value 

 of the root in any season is very considerable, but more 

 especially after a dry summer, when most other winter 

 food is scarce." 



The seed-bed can be made in any spare piece of ground 

 where the soil is well prepared and in good condition. 

 Where it is intended to use the plants for a succession 

 of crops, it is desirable. to follow Mr. Davis' plan, but 

 where only one transplantation is required, they may 

 be sown in the bed broadcast, like cabbages and other 

 garden vegetables. In planting out at successive periods 



