Farming of Cumherland. 



229 



for the turnip-crop ; and where it is dry, and the manures 

 liberally applied, the bulbs attain a great size, if duly thinned 

 to 12 or 15 inches apart. Advocates are not wanting for greater 

 distances, but the majority are more apt to leave the plants at 8 

 or 10 inches asunder, and materially injure the crops, unless on 

 very heavy or imperfectly drained lands Avhich cannot support 

 heavy crops. All seem agreed that the middle of October is 

 not too soon to commence storing swedes : this should be done 

 in dry weather, if possible, for the bulbs invariably keep best 

 when stored dry, and better still if not allowed to remain exposed 

 over night after being cut ; the whole work goes quicker on, less 

 injury is done to the land by carting, and more time is gained 

 for wheat-soAving. 



The usual form of storino: is the lono; rido:e of 6 or 8 feet wide 

 at the bottom, tapering to an edge at the top, and covered with 

 thatch. When the crop is abundant, it is usual to plough down 

 the tops immediately after they are cut off.* 



When the proportion of turnip-crop is too small for the con- 

 suming stock, it becomes needful to feed with the tops while 

 they continue fresh ; and, in the absence of direct experiment, it 

 is yet undecided whether feeding cattle with the green tops or 

 ploughing them in is the better course. 



Large quantities of turnips are now consumed on the ground 

 by sheep and some by cattle ; a few are at the pains of having 

 turnips cut for lambs and young sheep, giving them in troughs, 

 and find great benefit from it, as the sheep thrive better, and 

 leave little or no waste of the roots. In consuming on the 

 ground in the growing state, or drawn and given loose on the green 

 sward,! the waste of turnip-shells and skins amounts to as much 

 as the cost of cutting, and the sheep seldom do as well. The 

 parishes of Brampton, Irthington, Hayton, Lanercost, Wetheral, 

 and some portions of the adjoining parishes, contain a great 

 extent of dry soil, or which has required little draining, forming 

 a district of excellent turnip and barley soil, and, perhaps, in 

 few parts of England are the crops more abundant or better 

 managed. 



A few days after the Falkirk September tryste, the parties 

 from a distance, who are accustomed to purchase sheep there for 

 turnip-feeding, assemble at Brampton to meet the turnip-growers. 



* To aid in pressing the tops down into the furrow, a drag-chain, with a weight 

 at the end, is in use on the Lowthian Gill Farm and a few others. It is fixed on 

 the plough-beam, and works opposite the fore part of the turning furrow. 



+ It has lately been observed that on light land, where turnips have been re- 

 peatedly grown, or been given to sheep or cattle on the stubble or lea, or where 

 turnip stacks have stood in the previous year, the plants are very subject to fork 

 into " fingers and toes." This is now found to occasion some inconvenience, as the 

 maggot which causes the disease is said to continue about three years in the soil : 

 and where it is known to be, it is useless to attempt growing turnips. 



