On the Drill Husbandry of Turnips. 
6] 
the first stage, it may not be amiss to remark, that, the more thickly 
you sow the seed (other circumstances being- equal), the more 
rapidly the young j)lants will run each other up, as it is with young 
trees in a plantation. If we were certain all the seed would grow 
and arrive at the state for hoeing, it would only be necessary to 
sow a very small quantity ; but, as there are numerous risks before 
the plants are ready for hoeing, prudent men will adopt the most 
secure method, and not risk their capital, even if they know some 
instances of fortunate results on soils of a peculiar nature, or in 
particularly favourable seasons, by using only a small quantity of 
seed. I used to sow from 4 lbs. to olbs. per acre for swedes, and 
from 3 lbs. to 4 lbs. for white turnips, and even greater quantities 
where I sowed early in the season. 
For level sowing it is also desirable to have the seed covered as 
closely after the drill as practicable, in order to retain the moisture 
then in the soil, and to prevent the risk of less favourable weather. 
Some do this by rolling ; but if heavy rains follow, especially 
immediately after the land is sowed, the flattened and compressed 
surface will not admit it so freely, but cause the soil to set and 
run together. Some harrow with common harrows, but these, 
even in favourable weather, are apt to remove the bones or other 
drill manure which may have been used. Others, knowing the 
danger of adopting either of these methods, leave the seed to take 
its chance of being covered by the loose soil that may (or may not) 
fall upon it after the drill, thinking that, if the seed get covered, 
the more thinly the better. This would be very plausible, if 
hoeing had not to follow, which must remove some of the surface 
soil ; therefore, if the manure lies close to the surface, the turnips 
cannot be hoed without removing it also. After observing the 
disadvantage of each of these methods, I had some new harrows 
constructed. That they might be light, the " bulls," or parts to 
contain the teeth, were made of dry foreign pine, and the "slots," 
or cross-pieces, of thin ash of the best quality ; the teeth being 
short and light, in fact not much larger than " tenpenny nails.'' 
Two of these harrows hooked together, when in use, by common 
gate-loops and hooks, were very easily drawn by one horse, and 
took a breadth of about 8 or 9 feet; thus only one horse's fool- 
marks came where, by using common harrows, those of three 
horses would have been, which in damp weather is of great 
importance. 
These light harrows not only answered my expectations, but 
proved that they had advantages I had not anticipated : they left 
the land with a more even surface than other harrows had done, 
causing it to resemble a flower-bed when newly broken by a 
garden-rake. This tends much to promote the growth of all the 
seed at once, and proved so advantageous to turnips, that I after- 
