203 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
June 10. 
need bo practised, for though the plants may he young, 
and not deep-rooted, yet if the soil be loose below them 
(as we expect it to he), the sun’s action will bring up 
sufficient moisture from below to meet all the wants of 
the roots, and though the top portion will keep drying 
up deeper and deeper every day, yet the descending 
root will, in all vegetation, keep pace with it, and in its 
search for moisture, will penetrate deeper and deeper, 
until it feels less effects from sunshine, and, conse¬ 
quently, cease to show its influence, in opposition to 
this grand natural principle, is the dribbling system of 
supplying moisture by artificial means, or the equally 
reprehensible way of over-doing it, by regular and 
systematic drenchings. The latter mode, by cooling the 
ground, retards the vegetation in a manner something 
like a human being having their lower extremities 
immersed in cold water all day, while the dribble 
system, by falsely tempting the roots of the plant to 
remain near the top, exposes them to those sudden 
changes of drought and moisture so fatal to their 
welfare, and, probably, the neglect of giving them their 
food at the stated time, may be at the expense of their 
lives, supposing the dry weather to continue, and the 
dribbling system to have diverted their principal roots 
to near the top, so as to take the advantage of the little 
moisture supplied, besides which, frequently watering 
the ground hardens and sours it, and unless means be 
taken to break it up, the sun soon bakes it into that 
unpleasant mass, so distasteful to vegetation as well as 
unsightly to look upon. 
When, therefore, beds of seedlings must have water, 
let them have it, if possible, on a dull day ; and if the 
following one be a bright sunny one, shade them a 
little, by preading some boughs over the beds, or by 
some other contrivance, whereby the fiercer rays of 
sunshine will be arrested without the plants being much 
deprived of light; while some plants of a more robust 
character will be benefited by having a good watering; 
and, a few hours after, the ground may be stirred 
around them, in order to break that sealed-up surface 
which artificial watering so invariably assumes ; added 
to this, some slight mulching, wet dung, or leafy matter, 
will arrest that evaporation which robs the ground of 
wliat has been so lately added. J. Robson. 
THE AFTER-CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 
OF ROOT-CROPS. 
In the after'management of the young plants of 
Turnips, Mangold, or Carrots, when drilled on the flat 
and level surface, the first operation required is to 
harrow across the drills, once or twice, according to the 
state of the land. If the land has been beaten down 
hard by heavy rains, it will be necessary to use the 
harrows, or drags, until the surface soil is made loose ; 
it is, however, best to allow one day between the bar- 
rowings, when a succession of them is required, taking 
care always to choose dry weather, and when the land 
is white and dry upon the surface. 
The harrowing should always be commenced as soon 
as the young plants are able to withstand the operation, 
because it not only loosens the soil, and accelerates 
growth, but it destroys a great many small weeds, and 
disturbs the insect enemies of the plant—such as the 
fly, wireworm, and grub. It should also be understood, 
when the plant is irregular and defective, that a serious 
loss of plant may be the consequence of using the 
harrows too frequently. 
In case the roots are grown upon the stetch, and a 
regular plant is obtained, a single barrowing across the 
stetch may be of advantage; but, generally speaking, 
it is not required, as the land does not usually run 
together so hard in ridge culture as it does on the flat, 
llorse-hoeing will be required next, and this is, certainly, 
the most important operation in the inter-culture of 
root-crops, it being the cheapest, the most expeditious, 
and the most beneficial to the plants. Two modes of 
horse-hoeing are adopted : one, that of hoeing between 
a number of rows at once, taking the same number of 
rows as the drill; and it answers well for Turnips, 
where they come quickly, and when the land is light 
and loose. But in early - sown crops, as Mangold, 
Carrots, and Swedes, the land generally being more 
consolidated, the best and most effective implement is 
the single horse-hoe, which cuts up the weeds, and 
moves the soil to any depth required; as it, however, 
only boos one row at a time, although it is the most 
expensive, yet one horse will hoe about four acres in a 
day, and the number of hoes may be increased according 
to the size of the farm. 
My own mode of using the single horse-hoe, previous 
to liand-hoeing, is as follows:—A day or two after the 
harrows have been used, to commeneo on one side of 
the field, and cut up the weeds as close as possible to 
the row on the right hand side of the plants, without 
destroying them, and go over the whole field in this 
manner; then, after the lapse of a day or two, sufficient 
to give time for the plants which might have been 
partially buried to become erect, to commence hoeing 
on the other side of the field, cutting the weeds, as 
before, on the left hand side of the row. By this plan, 
all the ground is moved, except a space of two or three 
inches whereon the rows of plants are growing. The 
advantages of this mode arc twofold—there is very little 
work left for the hand-lioes and singlers, and, the earth 
being moved close to the plants, it increases their 
growth amazingly. In case of wet weather setting in 
suddenly after this operation, the hand-hoeing may be 
deferred much longer without injury to the crop, there 
being no weeds left between the rows. The next work 
to be done is hand-hceing, and singling; and, as this is 
a somewhat expensive operation, it becomes important 
bow it may be best effected at the least cost. 
The hand-hoeing and singling is often done by a gang 
of men, who, at one operation, cut out the weeds from 
the rows, and single the plants to the distance they are 
required to remain; but it can be done better and 
cheaper by men cutting out the plants, leaving them in 
small bunches, at the distance required, with women or 
boys to follow, singling out and leaving the strongest 
plant in the bunch. The work can be done in this way 
with great exactness, and at a cheaper rate, than when 
men only are employed; the women often being very 
expert at this work. 
Mr. Pusey has published a plan, whereby it is stated, 
he saves considerable expense in hoeing Turnips, by 
using the horse-hoe lengthways and crossways, which, 
of course, leaves the plants in bunches, at regular dis- 
