PROPAGATION AND CHAP. 



" this hoeing must be, at first, near the plants, with a 

 <( spade, and each time afterwards, a foot distance, till 

 " the earth be once well dug j and, if weeds appear 

 <( where it has been so dug, hoe them out shallow with 

 <c the hand-hoe. But, dig all the piece next the out-lines 

 " deep every time, that it may be the finer for the roots 

 " to enter, when they are permitted to come thither. If 

 <( the turnips be all bigger, as they stand nearer to the 

 " end B, it is a proof that they all extend to the outside 

 " of the piece, and the Turnip 20, will appear to draw 

 <( nourishment from six foot distance from its centre. But 

 " if the Turnips 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, acquire no greater 

 " bulk than the Turnip 15, it will be clear, that their 

 " roots extend no farther than those of the Turnip 15 

 <e does j which is about four foot. By this method the 

 " distance of the extent of roots of any plant, may be 

 " discovered. There is also another way to find the 

 " length of roots, by making a long narrow trench, at the 

 " distance you expect they will extend to, and fill it 

 <f with salt ; if the plant be killed by the salt, it is 

 " certain that some of the roots enter it. 



112. " What put me upon trying this method, was an 

 " observation of 1 two lands, or ridges, (see Platell. Fig. 3.) 

 " drilled with Turnips in rows, a foot asunder, and very 

 " even in them ; the ground, at both ends and one side, 

 " was hard and unploughed. The Turnips not being 

 " hoed were very poor, small, and yellow, except the 

 " three outside rows, b c d, which stood next to the land 

 " (or ridge) E, which land, being ploughed and harrowed, 

 " at the time the land A ought to have been hoed, gave a 

 " dark flourishing colour to these three rows ; and the 



