THE TURNIP CROP. 311 



114. Thinning and after Culture of the Turnip. On 

 the supposition that the young plants have rapidly got 

 into and past that state of development which is the best 

 security against the ravages of the "fly" (see par. 116 on 

 the enemies and diseases of the turnip) and that regular 

 well filled rows of healthy vigorous plants delight the eye 

 of the farmer and fill his mind with a pleasant forecast of 

 heavy crops ; his first care is the " singling " or thinning. 

 To judge from the way in which the thinning of turnip 

 crops is performed by some, it might be supposed to be 

 one of no great importance, so marked is the careless 

 " happy-go-lucky " style in which the whole work is gone 

 through. Yet those of our readers who know what the 

 operation really is, what are its aims and objects, those 

 who have watched it being carried out in the field, or better 

 still, who have taken hoe in hand, or stooped with pains- 

 taking care over the drills, do not need anything we can 

 say to convince them of the practical gain there is to the 

 crop if this " singling " is well done. It is indeed no ex- 

 aggeration to say that, upon the proper thinning of the 

 turnips in the drills depends their goodness at the close of 

 the season. Let any one set aside the plants growing on 

 any part of a drill, and allow them to grow up, and on to 

 the end of the season just as they can, and compare the 

 roots with those of carefully thinned plants, and they will 

 be surprised at the wonderful difference there is between 

 them. Each plant and it seems almost absurd to state 

 such a self-evident truth, were it not that many do un- 

 doubtedly ignore, or at least overlook it and the important 

 practical truth which it inrolves each plant, we repeat, 

 requires a certain amount of soil in which to develope it- 

 self, it is not possible in practice, of course, to say what 

 will be the maximum stage of development of any parti- 

 cular plant or plants, but it is obvious enough, that if a 

 minimum space of soil be given to it, the maximum growth 

 of the plant will never be obtained. We thus find in 

 practice, that where thinning is carelessly and imperfectly 

 because carelessly performed, we can trace with great 



