_Of_ TURNEPS.
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].
[69] ’Tis impossible to hoe-plow them so well when planted upon the
Level, as when they are planted upon Ridges; for if we plow deep near
the Row, the Earth will come over on the Left-Side of the Plough, and
bury the younger Turneps; but when they stand on Ridges, the Earth
will almost all fall down on the Right Side into the Furrow in the
Middle of the Interval.
[70] And I have since found, that Turneps on the same Land, planted
on Ridges, with Six-feet Intervals, make a Crop double to those that
are planted on the Level, or even on Ridges with Three-feet Intervals.
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.
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].
[91] I have seen Three Labourers work every Day with their Crooks,
to pull up these Pieces, which was done with much Difficulty, the
Ground being trodden very hard by the Sheep; when one Person, in Two
Hours time, would have pull’d up all the _whole_ Turneps daily, and
the Sheep would have eaten them clean; but so many of those Pieces
were dry’d and spoil’d, that, after the Land was sown with Barley,
they appear’d very thick upon the Surface, and there could not be
much less than half the Crop of Turneps wasted, notwithstanding the
Contrivance of these Crooks.
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.