Note 77 — CHAP. VIII. Of Turneps.

As I have formerly drilled Wheat between Rows of Turneps, so I have since had the Experience of drilling Turneps between Rows of Barley and Rows of Oats: I have had them in the Intervals between Six-feet Ridges, and between Four-feet Ridges, and between those of several intermediate Distances; but which of them all is the best, I leave at present undetermined. I shall only add, that the poorer the Land is, the wider the Intervals ought to be; and that, in the narrow, ’tis convenient at the Hoeing, to leave more Earth on that Side of each Interval whereon the Turneps are to be drill’d; and this is done by going round several Intervals with the Hoe-Plough, without going forwards and backwards in each immediately: But in the wide Intervals the Earth may be equal on both Sides of them.

I will propose another Method of Drilling, which may be very advantageous to those who sow their Barley upon the Level, and sow Turnep-seed amongst it, at Random, as they do Clover; which is, of late, a common Practice in some Places. The Barley keeps the Turneps under it, and stints them so much, that they are useful in the Winter or Spring, chiefly by the Food their Leaves afford to Sheep, their Roots being exceeding small; and for this small Profit they lose the Time of tilling the Ground, until after the Turneps are eaten off; which is a Damage we think greater than the Profit of such Turneps; To prevent which Damage, they may drill them in Rows at competent Distances, and Horse-hoe them, and set them out as soon as the Barley is off: This will both keep the Ground in Tilth, fit for another Crop of Spring Corn, and cause the Turneps to grow great enough (especially if Harvest be early, and the Winter prove favourable) for feeding of Sheep in a moveable Fold to dung the Ground into the Bargain.

What induces me to propose this Improvement is, that a Gentleman plows up his Barley-Stubble, and transplants Turneps therein, and Hand-hoes them with Success. By the proposed Way all the Expence of transplanting (which must be considerable) will be saved; and the setting out cannot be more than an Eighth of the Labour of Hand-hoeings; and I conjecture the Horse-hoed Turneps may be as good; for they (though stinted) having their Tap-roots remaining unmoved below the Staple of the Land, their horizontal Roots, being supply’d with Moisture from the Tap-roots, immediately take hold of the fresh-plowed Earth, as soon as ’tis turned back to them; whereas the transplanted, having their Tap-roots broken off, and their Horizontal Roots crumpled in the Holes wherein they are set, must lose Time, and be in Danger of dying with Thirst, if the Weather proves dry.

Also this Way seems better than the common Practice of sowing Turneps upon once plowing after Wheat; because the Wheat-land commonly lies longer unplow’d by Six or Eight Months than Barley-land; and therefore cannot be in so good Tilth for Turneps as Barley-land may, unless the former be of a more friable Nature, or much more dunged, than the latter. Besides, these Wheat-Turneps are uncertain, in Respect of the Fly that often destroys them at their first coming up; which Misfortune happened the Autumn 1734 to almost all that were sown in that Manner.

I have observ’d, that Barley sown on the Level, and not hoed, overcomes the Turneps that come up amongst it; but that Turneps, which come up in the Partitions of Treble Rows of my Ridges of Horse-hoed Barley, grew so vigorously as to overcome the Barley. And this was demonstrated at Harvest in a long Field, one Side of which had borne Turnep-seed, and the drilled Ridges of Barley crossing the Middle of it; and both Ends of the Field having Barley sown on the Level, one End of every Ridge cross’d the Turnep-seed Part of the Field for about Ten Perches of their Length.

I observed also, that the Turneps near the Edges of the Lands of sown Barley, adjoining to the hoed Intervals, grew large, but not so large as those in the Partitions on the Ridges, their Intervals being hoed on each Side of them.

But different from this have I seen shattered Turnep-seed coming up in the like Partitions of drilled Wheat, on the very same Sort of Land, so miserably poor and stinted, that they scarce grew a Hand’s Breadth high, when those Turneps which the Hoe left in the Sides of the Intervals, and at the narrow Edges of the unhoed Earth of the Interval Sides of the Rows of Wheat, grew large; and the Wheat was good also: But I do not remember how the middle Row of it succeeded.

This last Experience of the Turneps among the Wheat was got by this Accident: The Wheat was drilled after drilled Turneps on Ridges of a different Size. The Turneps were all pulled up before the Ground was plowed for the Wheat; but as Turnep-seed never comes all up the first Year, enough remained of this to come up (though thinly) in the Wheat, to shew exactly where every Row had been drilled; whereupon the Observation was made.

[78]This Wheat, being thus drill’d on the new Ridges made in the Intervals, betwixt the Rows of Turneps, being well Horse-ho’d in the Spring, prov’d a very good Crop; it was drill’d in treble Rows, the Partitions Seven Inches each.