462 
Farming of Devonshire. 
matter is washed away. The quantity applied per acre averages 
from 10 to 12 two-horse cartloads, which is spread after the lime 
and ploughed into the land. I would here recommend greater 
expedition in covering in the manure, as it is seriously injured by 
the exposure which it now so freely receives. In the South 
Hams the land is skirted (ploughed so as to miss a portion), 
harrowed, and burnt ; the ashes are removed and afterwards 
drilled with the seed, being looked upon as a sufficient manure 
for the root-crop. The land is now ploughed 6 inches deep : a 
small quantity of dung is then spread, after which it receives 
another ploughing. 
The turnip is drilled on the flat at distances varying from 12 to 
18 inches, and the swede from 18 to 27 inches. The latter is not 
commonly cultivated in Devonshire ; but, where it has been tried, 
an increased quantity of land is annually devoted to its growth. 
The varieties preferred are Skirving's purple top and the copper- 
crowns ; the favourite turnips are the white globe and green 
round. The use of some artificial manure (such as guano and 
superphosphate of lime) is frequently adopted, as by its stimu- 
lating properties the young plant is rapidly pushed into the rough 
leaf, and is thus secured from the turnip-fly. Hoeing is practised, 
but not to the extent which its advantages would justify. On 
some farms, where the horse and hand hoes are well used, the 
crops equal the best-farmed districts of England ; but these in- 
stances are so rare, that I am induced to add a few reasons for the 
practice. Whatever crop we intend to cultivate, to tliat plant 
alone should the soil yield its nourishment and support, and all 
others must be looked upon as intruders which plunder that 
which belongs solely to the former. The land cannot yield two 
crops without a diminution in the quantity of each ; and, if weeds 
are tolerated, more useful plants are proportionately checked in 
their growth. The present crop suffers from this cause, the suc- 
ceeding corn-crops are vei-y foul, and when the land is laid down 
in grass it is totally unfit for the reception of seed. The singling 
of the plants, their proper distance in the rows, and the general 
cleanness of the crop are absolute essentials for a large produce, 
and few who have not noticed it would credit the diflTerence 
caused by this more perfect tillage. Attention to these points 
will well reward any farmer for the extra supervision necessary. 
It is from this neglect that the produce of this district is so far 
below what the fertility of the land and a genial climate would 
lead us to expect — 15 tons per acre being the average for the 
county, not one-half what it might be under the system recom- 
mended. All the turnips and one-third of the swedes are fed on 
the ground by sheep, and the remainder are drawn either to the 
homestead for cattle or to the pasture-land for ewes. Artificial 
