Part 9

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.

[71] Turnep seed will come up from a greater Depth than most other Sorts of Seeds.

[72] I have seen drill’d Turnep-seed come up daily for a Fortnight together, when it has not been mixt thus, the old with the new.

[73] I have had the first Turneps that came up all destroy’d by the Fly; and about a Fortnight afterwards more have come up, and been ho’d time enough, and made a good Crop.

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].

[74] Drill’d Turneps coming all up nearly in a _Mathematical Line_, ’tis very nearly that a Charlock, or other like Weed, comes up in the same Line amongst them, unless it be drill’d in with the Turnep-seed, of which Weeds our Horse-ho’d Seed never has any; there being no Charlock in the Rows, nor any Turnep in the Intervals: We know, that whatever comes up in the Interval is not a Turnep, though so like to it, that, at first coming up, if promiscuously, it cannot easily be distinguished by the Eye, until after the Turneps, _&c._ attain the rough Leaf; and even then, before they are of a considerable Bigness, they are so hard to be distinguished by those People, who are not well experienced, that a Company of _Hand-hoers_ cut out the Turneps by Mistake, and left the Charlock for a Crop of a large Field of sown Turneps. Such a Misfortune can never happen to drill’d Turneps, unless wilfully done, be they set out ever so young.

[75] The sooner they are made single, the better; but yet, when they are not very thick, they may stand till we have the best Convenience of singling them without much Damage; but, when they come up extraordinary thick, ’twill be much more difficult to make them single, if they are neglected at their very first coming into rough Leaf.

[76] Because such young Turneps will enjoy the more of the Pasture made by the Plowing, and by that little Pulveration of the Hand-hoe, without being robb’d of any Pasture by their own supernumerary Plants.

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.

[77] 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.

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.

[79] The least Number will be the largest Turneps; yet we should have a competent Stock, which I think is not less than Thirty on a square Perch.

[80] The Distance need not to be regular; for when a Turnep has Six Inches of Room on one Side, and Eighteen Inches on the other Side, ’tis almost as well as if there was one Foot on each Side: tho’ then it would be equally distant from the Two Turneps betwixt which it stood.

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].

[81] Because this alternate Hoeing doth not at all endanger the Roots by being dried by the Sun; for whilst one half of the Roots have Moisture, ’tis sufficient; the other Half will be supplied from those; so that they will soon take hold of the Earth again after being moved by the Hoe.

[82] Sometimes, when Turneps are planted late, this alternate Hoeing suffices without any Repetition; but when they are planted early, ’twill be necessary to hoe them again; especially if Weeds appear.

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.

[83] I do not think that we can go nearer to the Plants with the Hoe-plough, than within Three Inches of their Bodies.

[84] We ought not to use the _Bidens_ for this Purpose, before the perpendicular Roots are as big as one’s little Finger.

[85] Some of these Prong-hoes have Three Teeth, and are reckoned better as a _Tridens_ than a _Bidens_; but this is only in mellow Ground.

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].

[86] But yet sometimes the Weeds, or other Circumstances, may make it proper to give them a _whole_ Hoeing at first.

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].

[87] This deep Plowing so near to the Row is very beneficial at first; but afterwards, when the Plants are grown large, and have sent their Roots far into the Intervals, it would almost totally disroot them; and they, being Annuals, might not live long enough for a new Stock of Roots to extend so far as is necessary to bring the Turneps to their full Bigness.

_Note_, At the last Hoeing we generally leave a broad, deep Trench in the middle of each Interval.

[88] But, if the Weather prove wet, we always suffer those Furrows to lie open, until the Earth be dry enough to be turn’d back again to the Row, without smearing or flicking together; unless such Weather continue so long that the Weeds begin to come up, and then we throw back the Furrows to stifle the Weeds, before they grow large, tho’ the Earth be wet.

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].

[89] But if some Sorts of Earth have lain so long unmoved as to become very hard before the first Hoeing, the Hoe, going very rear to the Rows on each Side, may cause such hard Earth whereon the Rows stand, to crack and open enough to let in the Drought (_i. e._ the Sun and Air) to the Roots in very dry Weather. In this Case ’tis best to _Horse-hoe_ alternately, as is directed in _Page_ 86.

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].

[90] I have had Turneps upon poor undung’d Land, that weigh’d Fourteen Founds a-piece; but these were only such as had more Room than the rest. I have seen a whole Waggon-load of drill’d Turneps spread on the Ground, wherein I believe one could not have found one that weighed so little as six Pounds; or if the Rows had been searched before they had been pull’d up, they would have weighed Seven or Eight Pounds apiece one with another; we weighed some of them that were Thirteen, some Fourteen Pounds each, and yet they stood pretty thick: There might be, as I guess, about Fifty on a square Perch; but this Crop was on sandy Land, not poor; and was dung’d the Third or Fourth Year before; and had every Year a ho’d Crop of Potatoes, or Wheat, until the Year wherein the Turneps were planted.

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.