THE TURNIP CEOP. 299 



land upon the early working in spring. This should be 

 done in March, or the beginning of April at the latest. 

 One ploughing or two scarifyings should generally prove 

 sufficient for dry clean turnip-land ; but if it is not clean, 

 the working required will be much greater. 



100. Where cleaning of the soil has been neglected in 

 autumn, Mr. Vallentine proceeds to point out how it may 

 be done in spring, so as best to retain the moisture. In 

 alluding to the practice often followed of ploughing turnip 

 fallows even clean land some three or four times in 

 summer, in order to thoroughly pulverise the soil, he says 

 that he does not hesitate to denounce this practice as quite 

 against the economy of labour and the chance of a good 

 crop of turnips. On light soils, he believes that one 

 ploughing in spring is amply sufficient, this being given 

 in April at the latest ; and to be followed by the scarifier. 

 The action of this implement he believes to be specially 

 valuable, as, while it pulverises the soil and brings the 

 weeds up to the surface, it exposes little or no fresh soil 

 to the action of the sun. 



101. Autumn dunging of stubbles has been recommended 

 as a means to retain the moisture in the soil; this Mr. 

 Vallentine believes to be a good course on clay and loamy 

 soils when clean, so that the dung is not carted upon the 

 land when it is too wet; but he does not approve of the 

 practice on light soils. In dry turnip-land, to retain the 

 moisture it is necessary to plough as seldom as possible, and 

 to roll the surface as often as the land will bear without 

 crusting the surface. Where dung is applied in dry 

 weather for turnips intended to be grown on the flat, the 

 land should be rolled the same day as the dung is ploughed 

 in. If grown on the ridge, the operation of ridging, 

 spreading the dung, and reversing the ridges on the dung, 

 should all be done the same day, and the seed sown as 

 rapidly as possible. Our authority is much against the 

 practice of spreading dung over a great breadth of land at 

 once. Where it is considered desirable to retain the 

 moisture in the field, this should be avoided. Dry turnip- 



