Experiments upon Swedes. 
77 
If the land is in a poor, unmanured condition, the difference in 
tlie vvejtjht of roots taken from 2 acres of hind — one acre con- 
taininj^ 2000 or 3000 pLants less than the other — may be hardly 
appreciable, provided the roots have not been drilled too far 
apart and not singled out too wide apart ; for on the acre 
on which a less number of roots is grown, each root has 
more room, and, as the land is in a poor condition, the plants 
are less stinted in food than on the second acre. We obtain 
thus larger but fewer roots on one acre, and smaller but more 
roots on the other ; and the difference in the produce of both 
acres may be imperceptible, and even in favour of the acre on 
which the smaller number of roots were grown. But supposing 
the land is in a high state of fertility, and each plant can find 
abundance of ready-prepared food, the result must be quite dif- 
ferent. If singled out too wide apart, the roots will be found not 
much larger than on similar land planted moderately close ; and 
in the latter case the weight per acre will be larger than on the 
former. 
Here, as in so many other instances, it is impossible to lay 
down exact rules how far apart the drills should be, and how 
wide the plants should be singled out. On some land 26 inches 
by 15 inches is not too wide ; on other land 22 inches is a good 
width between the drills, and 12 inches a fair distance between 
the plants. If the soil is shallow and poor, the drills should be 
at least 26 inches apart, and the plant singled out rather wide ; 
for the roots in that case will extend their feeding-fibres on the 
surface, and require a larger space than they do in a deep, Avell- 
pulverised, loamy soil.* On the whole, I am inclined to think 
that in many cases we do not get so heavy a crop of roots when 
we plant too far apart, as when we plant closer. Farmers do 
not like to see their neighbours grow bigger roots than they 
themselves can grow ; but I question much whether the objec- 
tionable custom of giving silver prize-cups to large-sized roots 
has not done a great deal towards diminishing the quality as 
well as the quantity of the produce in bulbs per acre. I am 
inclined to think an acre of roots of moderate size, and grown 
tolerably near together, is worth more money than an acre of 
* The proposed time and mode of consuming the crop will have nearly as much 
to do with determining these distances as the soil. Late white turnips, intended 
to serve as spring food for ewes and lambs, may well be sown with 5 drills, occu- 
pying the same space as 3 rows of Swedes intended to be partly drawn and stored. 
Plants not fully developed, and young, resist atmospheric influences far better 
than those that are ripe and large. It is by no means clear to me that on the 
poorer soil the smaller root is not more eligible, apart from the question of total 
weight per acre. 
The difference between the power of full grown white mustard, and that which 
is but a few inches high, in resisting frost is remarkable. For many of man's 
uses the ideal and fully developed plant is not the most serviceable. — P. H. F. 
