On the Farming of Essex. 
21 
quantity of manure; and the injury done to the land by carting 
off, or by treading^ heavily with sheep during the winter months, 
and more especially by suffering crops of turnips, rape, cabbages, 
or other food of like nature to remain late upon the land, for the 
use of early-lambing ewes and other stock, does deteriorate it to 
such an extent as nearly to exhaust the manure for the next crop, 
which is exemplified sometimes by a portion of the field remain- 
ing in fallow and producing crops 20 per cent, better than that 
from which the green crops have been taken. 
To obviate this should be the especial care of the farmer ; and 
perhaps in no other county in England is the mean so well pre- 
served. From the soil being variable, some fields upon every 
farm are not adapted to the cultivation of turnips, whilst, on the 
other hand, mangold-wurzel may be produced with less expense, 
and is more valuable both in the quantity and quality of the 
food ; and as this root is much cultivated, it will not be out of 
place to allude to the system pursued in its cultivation before 
we proceed further. There are three varieties of this valuable 
root generally in use : the long red, having a long clear root, 
growing from 12 to 18 inches in length, of a pale red colour, and 
bright green leaves, with beautiful veins of red ; another variety 
of red, similar in colour but of a globular form, tapering down- 
wards and approaching near to the shape of a turnip, with leaves 
exactly similar to those of the long variety before described ; a 
third variety is like the last in shape, but of a pale orange colour, 
with lighter coloured leaves, and orange coloured flesh. There is 
also a long variety of this colour j but from being less productive 
than the red varieties, it is not grown extensively. 
In comparing the merits of the three varieties, much depends 
on the quality of the soil upon which it is grown ; for upon the 
heavy clay lands, and in dry seasons, the long kind is by far the 
most productive variety, but upon lighter soils the globe succeeds 
best ; and in the experiments made by the writer in several 
seasons, upon weighing the roots the proportion was as follows, 
and with very little variation as to the number of roots in the dif- 
ferent seasons : — 
lbs. 
90 roots of Long red upon the square perch inl 
rows 2 feet 4 inches apart j 
83 roots Globe red, ditto 435 
92 roots Globe orange, ditto 375 
Long orange, ditto 415 
These experiments were made, in successive years, upon good 
sound wheat land, with tenacious subsoil of strong loam lying 
upon chalk clay, well drained and manured ; seasons moderately 
moist. 
lbs. lbs. 
435 536 
400 375 
330 436 
375 
