734 



The Cultivation of Mangolds. [march, 



hole. Mangold seed should not be sown deeper than | to i in. 

 A roller should follow the drill when seed is drilled on the flat, 

 and as a firm seed-bed is necessary, ridges should also be rolled 

 if the soil is loose or open. 



Subsequent Treatment. — soon as the young plants are well 

 up the horse-hoe should be set to work, and all weeds must be 

 kept down between the rows by repeating the hoeing until the 

 wide-spreading leaves or the growth of the roots would render 

 further treatment in this way harmful. Hand-hoeing also must 

 be sufficiently frequent to keep down weeds between the plants 

 in the rows. "Singling" commences as soon as the plants are 

 well established, and usually from six weeks to two months after 

 sowing. The plants are set out 12 to 14 in. apart, the lesser 

 distance when the rows are over 2 ft. apart. Some skill is 

 necessary to carry out this operation, since several plants may 

 grow from one "seed," and a second singling may be requisite. 



Top-dressing the crop with cwt. nitrate of soda is 



frequently practised when the crop is about two months old, or 

 two half-dressings may be given at a few weeks' interval.* 



Pulling. — Harvesting of the mangold crop takes place during 

 October or early November, after yellowing of the leaves. The 

 quantity to be lifted may vary from 1 5 to 50 tons per acre, from 

 20 to 30 tons being usual. Mangolds are pulled up by hand, 

 the leaves are tivisted off to minimise " bleeding," and the roots 

 are then thrown into heaps and covered with the removed 

 leaves. 



Storing. — Being very liable to injury by frost, mangolds must 

 be carefully covered. They may be stored in large quantities 

 in pits or clamps. The roots are first arranged in a long 

 triangular prism — about 6 ft, wide at the base. This clamp 

 is then covered thinly with straw or bracken, this in turn being 

 covered with 9 in. of soil dug from all round the clamp, 

 which is thus left standing on ground surrounded by a wide 

 trench. The ridge layer of soil is best put on a week or so later 

 in order to permit complete ventilation. Stored in such a 

 manner mangolds will remain in excellent condition throughout 

 the winter, during w^hich time the roots will "ripen." 



* A note on the manuring of the m ingold crop, which may be rea.l with the present 

 article, was given in the /(?//r//^/ for April, 1905. 



