80 
Marufolds Rtimnno to Seed. 
nitrate of soda, but, as noted above, rape cake sometimes results 
in a greater proportion of bolters. 
It seems, however, to make little difference whether the 
plant has much or little nitrogen, or whether potash or phos- 
phoric acid is added or omitted ; in fact, it is not the nature or 
amount of plant food that makes the difference but the action 
of the manures upon the tilth and texture of the soil. On the 
Barn Field in question the soil is a stiff stony loam which has 
fallen into a poor mechanical condition where it has been 
farmed with artificials only for the last fifty years : it is difficult to 
get a nice seed bed, and in some seasons a very imperfect plant 
is obtained in consequence. But where farmyard manure is 
applied every year, and to a less degree where rape cake is 
used, the constant addition of organic matter has kept the 
land in good tilth, so that in most years the mangolds start 
more quickly and grow away more evenly and raj^idlj'^ on 
the dunged plots than on those dressed only with artificials. 
There being more humus in the soil, the yoi;ng plants siifl'er 
less from drought and are not checked so much if a dry time 
comes Vvdiile they are still small. 
Thus we see that the largest proportion of bolters occurs on 
the plots on which growth is most free and iininterrupted ; 
we may also add that early sowing seems to conduce to bolting.' 
Now these results on the whole agree with what has been seen 
everywhere this season ; excessive bolting has accompanied an 
early start of the mangold seed and unchecked growth during 
the earl}’ stages. It was the general experience this year that 
even when mangold seeding was thrown late by the weather 
germination was not long delayed, and the repeateil small rains 
kept the plant moving from the very first. Why this should 
conduce to bolting cannot be explained ; it is interesting, how- 
ever, to find from the Rothamsted results that the season is only 
responsible and that the character of the manuring will make 
no difference, for of course under ordinary conditions of farm- 
ing the exaggerated differences in tilth between the plots 
receiving farmyard manure and those dressed with artificials 
only will never occur. 
The question is sometimes asked as to the food value of 
mangolds that have run up to seed ; of course their chief draw- 
back is the hard woody chai'acter they assume, but the 
following analyses made this season by Dr. N. H. J. Miller, at 
Rothamsted, may be of interest : — 
\ — — 
’ On this point Sir John Thorold has supplied me with some interesting 
evidence. He writes : “ I sowed Vilmorin’s half sugar beet on the 27th April. 
One plot was destroyed. ... I re-sowed it on the 24th June, hardly any 
of it ran to seed whilst the remainder ran ver}’ badly both in the garden and on 
the farm.” 
