1226 Swedes, Turnips, and Mangolds. [mar., 



improvement of soil conditions brought about by the judicious 

 growing of wild white clover and the application of basic slag. 



(7) The varieties tested constitute only a few of those now 

 on the market, but it is hoped that the results given will be 

 helpful to farmers in making a suitable selection. It should be 

 be borne in mind, however, that the suitability of different 

 varieties varies with soil and cHmate as well as other conditions. 



(8) Attention is specially drawn to the figures in the tables 

 giving the amounts of dry matter per acre produced by the 

 different varieties. These figures are the truest indication of 

 the value of a root crop to the farmer. 



HOW MANGOLDS COMPARE WITH SWEDEt AND TURNIPS. 



Long-continued trials at Cockle Park show that mangolds do 

 not mature so well in the northern as in the southern counties. 

 They also indicate that the manuring for this crop must be 

 much more liberal than that for swedes and turnips. At 

 Cockle Park the seed is sown in drills 27 in. wide at the rate of 

 8 to 10 lb. per acre. It is previously steeped in water for 24 

 hours and then spread in the sun to dry before sowing ; this 

 practice hastens germination. The crop is usually sown between 

 2ist April and 8th May. Earlier sowing gives an undue pro- 

 portion of " bolted " plants, and later sowing is too late in the 

 north for this crop. A considerable proportion of plants bolt, but 

 it is better to aUow this to happen than to run the risk of 

 having a much smaller crop from late sowing. Mangolds have 

 been grown year after year on the same land at Cockle Park, 

 but quite good results have been obtained by growing them in 

 rotation, alongside other roots. For the 3 years, 1 917-19, 

 about 27 J tons per acre of Prizewinner Yellow Globe mangolds 

 have been produced. The average amount of dry matter 

 contained in the crop was about 11 per cent., or about 3*02 

 tons per acre. This is approximately equal to the average 

 content of swedes over the 4 3^ears, 191 5-1 8. 



The following manuring per acre gave excellent results in 

 these years : 12 tons dung, 2 cwt. sulphate of ammonia, 3 cwt. 

 high-grade basic slag, and 2 cwt. common salt. The dung is 

 spread in the drills, and all the artificials are applied on the 

 top before the drills are split. 



Mammoth Long Red mangolds have also been grown at 

 Cockle Park. These have given about the same weight of 

 roots per acre, but they have a higher dry-matter content 

 (viz., 12-9 per cent.) than Prizewinner Yellow Globe mangolds, 

 and have consequently produced considerably more dry matter 



