On the Drill Hushandrij of Turnip.s-. 
69 
It is well known, that white turnips degcnerato In feeding- qua- 
lities when they get beyond a certain size, especially if not con- 
sumed early ; therefore our attention must not be devoted to 
size only, in growing- them, although it is very desirable to attain 
as much bulk per acre as is consistent with good quality. 
Where the young turnip })lants are very thin in the rows they 
may easily and readily be singled by the hoe alone ; but, where 
turnips are very thick in the rows, it is desirable, if not actually 
necessary, that singlers should be employed. A man, with an 
active boy or girl, of about ten years of age, singling after him, 
will do in this case quite as much work in a given time as two 
men, equal as hoers, where they single their own plants. I have 
often heard this stated by good turnip- hoers; and in proof that 
they believed the advantage of singlers even greater than I have 
stated, I have seen men take it in turn to single after each other 
early in the morning, before their children arrived in the field, 
although, from the length of a man's back, he would much rather 
hoe than single. A child that will attend to proper directions, 
may single turnips quite as well as a person fully grown ; and 
indeed any increase of size tends to disqualify for the work. In 
all rows of turnips, some of the plants f'rotn the first take a de- 
cided lead of the others, and the difference would daily increase. 
Therefoie the hoer must not be too particular about leaving the 
plants at regular distances ; but take out those that are decidedly 
marked as dwarfs, even if he makes a space of two or three inches 
beyond what would otherwise be desirable, and for the same 
reason he must in some cases leave the plants nearer together, 
rather than go to the usual distance to leave one much inferior. 
The same reasoning will apply in singling, and the child should 
have directions accordingly. Where the hoeing is done by men, 
with children following them to single the plants, the hoe ought 
to be rather shorter than when each sets out his own. There- 
fore, if the average distance required is 10 inches, a hoe of about 
81 inches in length will be sufficient, and that is the com- 
mon size in the district I more particularly allude to. I think 
that where this average distance is not adopted, a greater v/ould be 
more desirable than a less space, especially for swedes. The hoe 
requires drawing through the plants just below the surface of the 
soil, with a firm and steady hand; for if the "chopping" system 
is followed, the work will be imperfectly done ; in some places 
the soil will be removed too deeply, and probably the manure 
along with it ; and in others the plants intended to be removed 
will be imperfectly cut, or taken off above the ground, and after a 
few days they will so far recover as to seriously impede the growth 
of those intended to be left single. The singlers should take hold 
