May I'J. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
127 
knowledge of agricultural chemistry which the most 
learned only possess, wo are not in a position to say 
| precisely how much injury a succession of heavy rains 
j does to a stiff, retentive soil, when its outer surface 
J presents so easy an ingress, and its substratum so' difficult 
an escape, for the want of proper drainage, etc., yet it 
is easy to foretell the evils which must result from a soil 
compelled to part with all its superfluous waters by 
evaporation only, or nearly so. 
The trampling of ground, when soddened by wet, has 
a soddening effect, and some are so imprudent as to do 
this in the thinning of their seedling crops, or in the 
planting out of others. Surely there may be much 
done by judiciously selecting the proper time for each 
operation, and if out-door work has to be performed 
when the ground is saturated with wet, there arc other 
duties which may as well be performed then as at any 
other time; the rolling and mowing of grass plots might 
he proceeded with, and the turning and preparing of 
dung, &c., for hotbed purposes; nay, even the very walks 
themselves might be rolled if they do not stick to the 
roller, and many other duties which will easily present 
themselves to the attentive observer in such a way as 
to enable him to arrange his work accordingly, without 
inflicting on his tillage-ground the mischief which must 
ensue if trod upon when in a very wet state. It is not 
too much to say, that with certain lands, and in certain 
seasons, such bad treatment is felt throughout the 
year ; for if the soil be so compressed and consolidated 
at the time of digging, it turns up as stubborn as if it 
were clay, and the solid mass, refusing access to the 
kindly influence of the air, remains in that hardened 
condition until the long-continued action of the atmo¬ 
sphere has again returned it to something like its former 
friable condition. But this is attended with a loss of 
time which cannot be well spared, and though it would 
be wrong to say that no progress was made by vegeta¬ 
tion during this period, yet such progress has been far 
short of what it would have been under more favour¬ 
able circumstauces. The present season is certainly 
not one in which the ground works pleasantly, under 
the most favourable circumstances; but its tenaciousness 
need not be aggravated by working amongst it as if it 
were intended to make bricks of it. 
At present the walk edgings must be looked to, and, 
if needs be, fresh ones laid, and moist weather is the 
best for such work;—if the edging be of Box, it will 
want cutting-in every year, and the present, or a week 
later, is not a bad time for it, the moist weather so 
quickly inducing a fresh growth, that before the dry 
weather sets in to brown it, a good spring growth 
probably will have taken place again, sufficient to cover 
all the cut leaves and other unsightly parts. This is 
not altogether a mere matter of form, for Box edgings 
require cutting or clipping every year, and there is no 
time better than when the summer shoots have ad- 
j vanced a little (say half their length), provided the 
: weather be showery at the time, for everything depends 
on its being done so, and as the season, up to the period 
at which we write (the fiOth), has been unusually moist, 
the growth has been quite equal to the average of 
seasons. 
The damp weather, too, is favourable to the breaking 
up and laying down of any old walk requiring it; and 
as there is a probability of its being fine and dry here¬ 
after, such jobs as can be most advantageously done 
while it is wet ought to be got on with at once. 
While we condemn the treading or digging of ground 
when in a wet, sodden condition, we hardly need remind 
the amateur that the most of it dries very speedily at 
this season, and the sooner the operation is done after 
the ground will allow it, the better, as the beneficial 
effects of drying wind and bright sunny days accelerates 
the process of pulverizing the soil much more rapidly 
now than the changing weather of mid-winter, not even 
excepting hard frosts; for, although the latter will re¬ 
duce the stiff, retentive lumps to a state of comparative 
firmness, we are far from certain whether the objects 
aimed at, i. e., increased fertility, be attained so well by 
a winter as by a summer’s tillage, even should the latter 
be only for one-third of the time; but more of this 
anon. J. Robson. 
SWEDISH TURNIP CULTURE. 
The preparation of the land for Swedish Turnips is 
a matter of the highest importance, and must, certainly, 
be considered a subject which ought to rank first 
amongst all agricultural operations, for in the four- 
course rotation, on the cleanliness of the Turnip fallow, 
will, in a great measure, depend the productiveness of 
the succeeding crops. 
With regard to the Turnip itself, if the land is not 
well prepared, it cannot be expected that the crop will 
receive the full benefit of the manure applied; and, 
however important manure may bo considered towards ■ 
raising a crop of roots, yet the mode of preparing the j 
land, is, perhaps, of still more importance. I consider 
the obtaining a plant of Turnips to be of the first con¬ 
sequence; and 1 think J may venture to say, that tbe 
chance of a full plant, in the majority of seasons, is 
more dependant upon tillage than upon manure. 
l’ast experiments, and my own experience, induce ; 
me to believe, that the Swedish Turnip requires a ; 
different culture and state of the land from that 
necessary for the growth of the varieties of common 
Turnip; I, therefore, treat only of the preparing land 
lor Swedes upon this occasion, and intend making the 
tillage for common Turnips the subject of a separate 
paper at a future time. 
The necessity for treating the subject in detail be¬ 
comes apparent, when we know that a majority of 
farmers consider a great deal of ploughing, and other 
labour, is necessary to produce a crop of Swedes, whether 
the land is clean, or otherwise. Indeed, until within a 
few years past, the impression seems to have been 
almost universal, that the preparation of the land for 
this crop is an expensive operation, which cannot be 
avoided under any circumstances. 
I, therefore, shall treat the subject under two separate 
divisions. 
L' irst. The tillage of land, when foul, and infested 1 
with twitch, or couch grass. 
Second. The tillage of land, when clean, and free j 
from that weed. 
fhe preparation of land lor a crop of Swedish Turnips, 
when in a foul state, of necessity involves a course of 
autumn tillage, which should be commenced the first 
opportunity after harvest, by scarifying the land a suf¬ 
ficient depth, to remove the grass, weeds, and stubble, I 
which, after being separated from the soil, by the use of 
the harrow, roller, &c., should be collected and burnt, if j 
dry enough, but if too wet for burning, be carted away 1 
to a heap and allowed to rot, when they will become i 
useful for many purposes. The land should then be 
