THE TURNIP CROP. 307 



detrimental to vegetable life, and which must be again dis- 

 solved before any availment is made of the contents. This 

 objection may be urged in the case of liquid-manure drills ; 

 the application will be much inferior to the effect of the 

 moisture in the soil by the above-mentioned mode of pre- 

 paring the land, which has been filtered into the earth by 

 Nature's process, and retained in its menstruum." 



107. We now come to the "selection" and the "sow- 

 ing" of the seed. As to the seed, it is scarcely necessary 

 to repeat here what we have in previous Chapters of this 

 series so insisted upon that it is of the utmost importance 

 to procure it of good quality and true to kind. It is 

 painful to think of the system of adulteration which is 

 regularly carried on by many dishonest tradesmen throughout 

 the country. The dangers arising from this source can 

 only be avoided by either dealing with w ell-known and 

 honest houses, or by growing and sowing seed for direct 

 use on the farm. The following, by Mr. Dixon, on th* 

 subject of growing seed for direct farm purposes will be 

 useful. Nothing is so important, he says, as " good seed. 

 No other agricultural seed has such a tendency to degen- 

 erate ; every precaution must be taken to secure good and 

 pure seed, by selecting the most finely formed bulbs to 

 transplant for seed ; the very largest roots need not be se- 

 lected, but perfectly sound, handsome inform, whether purple 

 top, green top, or red top, for these are the three colours. 



108. "A calcareous soil, if in other respects properly 

 manured, may be planted or sown with Swede turnips that 

 is repeated every eight or ten years. A ferruginous soil 

 requires a longer time, unless liberally dressed with lime 

 or marl. The nature of the soil, the altitude of land on 

 which turnips are grown^ or manure used ; or whether the 

 seed be sown comparatively late, or the contrary, are cir- 

 cumstances which influence the growth and colour of the 

 bulbs. In low altitudes turnips are generally more sound, 

 and keep sound much longer, if sown from the first week 

 to the end of the third week in June. I sowed some seed 

 last year about the 20th of June ; the seed was two years 



