CHAP. VIII. Of Turneps.
Reading edition
As far as I can be inform’d, ’tis but of late Years that Turneps have been introduc’d as an Improvement in the Field.
All Sorts of Land, when made fine by Tillage, or by Manure and Tillage, will serve to produce Turneps, but not equally; for chalky Land is generally too dry (a Turnep being a thirsty Plant); and they are so long in such dry poor Land before they get into rough Leaf, that the Fly is very apt to destroy them there; yet I have known them succeed on such Land, tho’ rarely.
Sand and Gravel are the most proper Soil for Turneps, because that is most easily pulveriz’d, and its Warmth causeth the Turneps to grow faster, and so they get the sooner out of the Danger of the Fly; and such a Soil, when well-till’d, and Horse-ho’d, never wants a sufficient Moisture, even in the driest Weather; and the Turneps being drill’d will come up without Rain, and prosper very well with the sole Moisture of the Dews, which are admitted as deep as the Pulveration reacheth; and if that be to Five or six Inches, the hottest Sun cannot exhale the Dews thence in the Climate of England: I have known Turneps thrive well in a very dry Summer by repeated Horse-hoeings, both in Sand and in Land which is neither sandy nor gravelly.
When I sow’d Turneps by Hand, and ho’d them with a Hand-hoe, the Expence was great, and the Operation not half perform’d, by the Deceitfulness of the Hoers, who left half the Land unho’d, and cover’d it with the Earth from the Part they did hoe, and then the Grass and Weeds grew the faster: Besides, in this Manner a great Quantity of Land could not be managed in the proper Season.
When I drill’d upon the Level[69], at Three Feet Intervals, a Trial was made between those Turneps and a Field of the next Neighbour’s, sown at the same Time, whereof the Hand-hoeing cost Ten Shillings per Acre, and had not quite half the Crop of the drill’d, both being measur’d by the Bushel, on Purpose to find the Difference[70].
In the new Method they are more certain to come up quickly; because in every Row, half the Seed is planted about Four Inches deep[71]; and the other Half is planted exactly over that, at the Depth of half an Inch, falling in after the Earth has cover’d the first Half: Thus planted, let the Weather be never so dry, the deepest Seed will come up; but if it raineth (immediately after planting), the Shallow will come up first: We also make it come up at Four[72] Times, by mixing our Seed, half new and half old (the new coming up a Day quicker than the old): These four Comings up give it so many Chances for escaping the Fly, it being often seen, that the Seed sown over Night will be destroy’d by the Fly, when that sown the next Morning will escape, and vice versa[73]; or you may hoe-plow them, when you see the Fly is like to devour them; this will bury the greatest Part of those Enemies; or else you may drill in another Row, without new-plowing the Land.
This Method has also another Advantage of escaping the Fly, the most certain of any other, and infallible, if the Land be made fine, as it ought to be: This is to roll it with a heavy Roller across the Ridges, after ’tis drill’d, which closing up the Cavities of the Earth, prevents the Fly’s Entrance and Exit, to lay the Eggs, hatch, or bring forth the young ones to prey upon the Turneps; which they might intirely devour, if the Fly came before they had more than the first two Leaves, which, being form’d of the very Seed itself, are very sweet; but the next Leaves are rough and bitter, which the Fly does not love: I have always found the Rolling disappoint the Fly; but very often it disappoints the Owner also, who sows at Random; for it makes the Ground so hard, that the Turneps cannot thrive, but look yellow, dwindle, and grow to no Perfection, unless they have a good Hoeing soon after the rough Leaves appear; for when they stand long without it, they will be so poor and stinted, that the Hand-hoe does not go deep enough to recover them; and ’tis seldom that these rolled Turneps can be Hand-ho’d at the critical Time, because the Earth is then become so hard, that the Hoe cannot enter it without great Difficulty, unless it be very moist; and very often the Rain does not come to soak it, until it be too late; but the drill’d Turneps being in single Rows with Six-feet Intervals, may be roll’d without Danger: For be the Ground ever so hard, the Hand-hoe will easily single them out, at the Price of Six-pence per Acre, or less (if not in Harvest); and the Horse-hoe will, in those wide Intervals, plow at any Time, wet or dry; and, tho’ the Turneps should have been neglected till stinted, will go deep enough to recover them to a flourishing Condition.
Drill’d Turneps, by being no-where but in the Rows[74], may be more easily seen than those which come up at Random; and may therefore be sooner[75] singled out by the Hand-hoe; which is another Advantage; because the sooner they are so set out, the better they will thrive[76].
Three or Four Ounces of Seed is the usual Quantity to drill; but, at random, Three or Four Pounds are commonly sown, which, coming thick all over the Ground, must exhaust the Land more than the other, especially since the sown must stand longer, before the Hoers can see to set them out.
The Six-feet Ridges, whereon Turneps are drill’d in single Rows, may be left higher than for double-row’d Crops; because there will be more Earth in the Intervals, as the single Row takes up less.
There is no prefix’d Time for planting Turneps, because that must be according to the Richness of the Land; for some Land will bring them as forward, and make them as good, when planted the beginning of August, as other Land will, when planted in May; but the most general Time is, a little before, and a little after Midsummer.
Between these Rows of Turneps[77], I have planted Wheat in this Manner; viz. About Michaelmas, the Turneps being full grown, I plow’d a Ridge in the Middle of each of their Intervals, taking most of the Earth from the Turneps, leaving only just enough to keep them alive; and on this Ridge drill’d my Crop of Wheat[78], and towards the Spring pull’d up my Turneps, and carried them off for Cattle.
When Turneps are planted too late, to have Time and Sun for attaining to their full Bulk, some drill a double Row on each Six-feet Ridge, with a Partition of Fourteen Inches; but I am told, that in this double Row the Turneps do not, even at that late Season, grow so large, as those planted at the same time in single Rows, tho’ the double Row requires double the Expence in setting out; and there will be less Earth ho’d by the Breadth of fourteen Inches of the deepest Part of the Ridge, and consequently the Land will be the less improv’d for the next Crop. We need not to be very exact, in the Number[79] or Distance[80] we set them out at; we contrive to leave the Master-turneps (when there is much Difference in them), and spare such when near one another, and leave the more Space before and behind them; but if they be Three Master-turneps too near together, we take out the middlemost.
Turneps that were so thick as to touch one another when half-grown, by means of well Hoeing their wide Intervals, have afterwards grown to a good Bigness, and by thrusting against one another became oval, instead of round.
’Tis beneficial to hoe Turneps (especially the first Time) alternately; viz. to hoe every other Interval, and throw the Earth back again before we hoe the other Intervals; for by this Means the Turneps are kept from being[81] stinted: ’Tis better to have Nourishment given them moderately at twice, than to have it all once, and be twice as long before a Repetition[82].
Tho’ the Earth on each Side the Row be left as narrow as possible[83]; yet ’tis very profitable to hoe that little with a Bidens[84], called here a Prong-hoe[85]; for this will be sure to let out all the Roots into the Intervals; even such as run very nearly parallel to the Rows.
This alternate Way of Hoeing Plants that grow in single Rows, is of such vast Advantage, that four of these, which are but equal to Two of the whole Hoeings in Labour, are near equal to four whole Hoeings in Benefit; for when one Side is well nourished, the other Side cannot be starv’d[86].
Besides, where a great Quantity of Turneps are to be ho’d, the last ho’d may be stinted, before the first are finish’d by whole Hoeings.
In this alternate Hoeing, the Hoe-plough may go deeper[87] and nearer to the Row, without Danger of thrusting it down on the Left Side, whilst the Plants are very small; because the Earth on the other Side of the Row always bears against it for its Support: But in the whole Hoeing, there is an open Furrow left the first Time on both Sides of the Row, and there is Danger of throwing it into one Furrow in plowing the other; or, if the Row is not thrown down, it may be too much dry’d in hot Weather, by the Two Furrows lying too long open: Yet, when the Turneps are large before Hoeing, we need not fear either of these Dangers in giving them a whole Hoeing; as I have found by Experience, even when there has been left on each Side of the Row only about Three Inches Breadth of Earth; tho’ it is not best to suffer it to lie long open[88].
Dry Weather does not injure Turneps when Horse-ho’d, as it does sown Turneps; the Hand-hoe does not go deep enough to keep the Earth moist, and secure the Plants against the Drought; and that is the best Season for Horse-hoeing, which always can keep the Roots moist[89].
Dung and Tillage together will attain the necessary Degree of Pulveration, in less time than Plowing can do alone: Therefore Dung is more useful for Turneps, because they have commonly less time to grow than other Plants.
Turneps of Nineteen Pounds Weight I have several Times heard of, and of Sixteen Pounds Weight often known; and Twelve Pounds may be reckon’d the middle Size of great Turneps: And I can see no Reason, why every Turnep should not arrive to the full Bigness of its Species, if it did not want Part of its due Nourishment.
The greatest Inconvenience, which has been observ’d in the Turnep-husbandry, is, when they are fed off late in the Spring (which is in many Places the greatest Use of them), there is not time to bring the Land in Tilth for Barley; the Loss of which Crop is sometimes more than the Gain of the Turneps: This is intirely remedied by the drilling Method; for, by that, the Land may be almost as well till’d before the Turneps are eaten, or taken off, as it can afterwards.
If Turneps be sown in June, or the Beginning of July, the most experienced Turnep-Farmers will have no more than Thirty to a square Perch left in Hand-hoeing; and find that when more are left, the Crop will be less; but, in drilling the Rows at Six Feet Intervals, there may be Sixty to a Perch; and the Horse-hoe, by breaking so much more Earth than the Hand-hoe does, can nourish Sixty drill’d, as well as Thirty are by the sowing Method, which has been made appear upon Trial; but, I think, about Forty or Forty-five better than Sixty on a Perch; and the Number of Plants should always be proportion’d to the natural and artificial Pasture which is to maintain them; and sixty Turneps on a square Perch, at Five Pounds each (which is but a Third of the Weight of the large Size of Sheep-Turneps), make a Crop of above Eighty Quarters to an Acre[90].
When Turneps are planted late (especially upon poor Ground), they may be a greater Number than when planted early; because they will not have time enough of Heat to enjoy the full Benefit of Hoeing, which would otherwise cause them to grow larger.
The greatest Turnep-Improvement used by the Farmer, is for his Cattle in the Winter; one Acre of Turneps will then maintain more than Fifty of Meadow or Pasture-ground.
’Tis now so well known, that most Cattle will eat them, and how much they breed Milk, &c. that I need say nothing about it.
Sheep always refuse them at first, and, unless they have eaten them whilst they were Lambs, must be ready to starve before they will feed on them; tho’, when they have tasted them, they will be fatted by them; and I have seen Lambs of Three Weeks old scoop them prettily, when those of a Year old (which are called Tegs) have been ready to die with Hunger amongst them; and for Three or Four Days would not touch them, but at last eat them very well.
In some Places, the greatest Use of Turneps (except for fatting Oxen and Sheep) is for Ewes and Lambs in the Spring, when natural Grass is not grown on poor Ground; and if the artificial Grass be then fed by the common Manner, the Crop will be spoil’d, and it will yield the less Pasture all the Summer: I have known Farmers, for that Reason, oblig’d to keep their Ewes and Lambs upon Turneps (tho’ run up to Seed) even until the Middle of April.
There are now three Manners of spending Turneps with Sheep, amongst which I do not reckon the Way of putting a Flock of Sheep into a large Ground of Turneps without dividing it; for in that Case the Flock will destroy as many Turneps in a Fortnight, as should keep them well a whole Winter.
The First Manner now in Use is, to divide the Ground of Turneps by Hurdles, giving them leave to come upon no more at a Time than they can eat in one Day, and so advance the Hurdles farther into the Ground daily, until all be spent; but we must observe, that they never eat them clean this Way, but leave the Bottoms and Outsides of the Turneps they have scoop’d in the Ground. These Bottoms People pull up with Iron Crooks, made for that Purpose; but their Cavities being tainted with Urine, Dung, and Dirt from their Feet, tho’ the Sheep do eat some of the Pieces, they waste more, and many the Crooks leave behind in the Earth; and even what they do eat of this tainted Food, can’t nourish them so well as that which is fresh and cleanly.
The second Manner is, to move the Hurdles every Day, as in the First; but that the Sheep may not tread upon the Turneps, they pull them up first, and then advance the Hurdles as far daily as the Turneps are pull’d up, and no farther: By this Means there is not that Waste made as in the other Way; the Food is eaten fresh and clean; and the Turneps are pull’d up with less Labour than their Pieces can be[91].
The Third Manner is, to pull them up, and to carry them into some other Ground in a Cart, or Waggon, and there spread them every Day on a new Place, where the Sheep will eat them up clean, both Leaf and Root: This is done when there is Land not far off, which has more Need of Dung, than that where the Turneps grow, which perhaps is also too wet for Sheep in the Winter; and then the Turneps will, by the too great Moisture and Dirt of the Soil, spoil the Sheep, and in some Soils give them the Rot, yet such Ground will bring forth more and larger Turneps than dry Land; and when they are carry’d off, and eaten on plow’d Ground in dry Weather, and on Green-swerd in wet Weather, the Sheep will thrive much better; and that moist Soil, not being trodden by the Sheep, will be in much the better Order for a Crop of Corn. And generally the Expence of Hurdles, and removing them, being saved, will more than countervail the Labour of carrying off the Turneps.
These Three Ways of spending Turneps with Sheep are common to those drill’d, and to those sown in the random Manner; but they must always be carry’d off for Cows and Oxen; both which will be well fatted by them, and some Hay in the Winter: The Management of these is the Business of a Grazier.