Chapter VII.
Arable Land

Sect. X - VETCHES.

Have long been cultivated in this county, but not upon a very considerable scale, the extent and excellence of the natural pastures rendering a large proportion of them the less necessary ; they are universally allowed to be excellent food for horses, and in point of nutriment, when green, are believed to be much superior to green clover.
The principal object in view of their growth, is for cutting green and carrying to the stables for horses, who do well with them in the spring months, with the addition of a little corn, and thus reserve the pastures for other stock, and are always in readiness for their work ; as the county abounds in mowing meadows, no account is made of making them into hay, and that is seldom the case : a few are saved for seed, perhaps sufficient for the quantity sown in the county.
They are generally sown after ploughing up the stubble of some crop, most commonly wheat or oat stubble ; at Dishley they have been often drilled with Cooke’s drill ; the time of sowing is October, but sometimes sooner, and a little later, seldom or never any sown in the spring ; they are begun to mow as early in May as they are fit, and continued till going out of blossom in July, when, if any remain, they are left for seed ; they are seldom here mown mare than once. An acre of good vetches will last six horses a month, and they are in perfection for this use about two months, consequently, two acres is sufficient for six horses. In the autumn of 1807, vetches for sowing were sold here at from fifteen shillings to a guinea per bushel ; they are sown two bushels or more per acre.
At Lord Moira’s, a few vetches are grown for horses but hay and corn given principally. Mr. Rutherford, the farming bailiff, informed me, that he had grazed off with sheep four acres of vetches in May, and planted potatoes after with the plough June 1, without muck, and that the potatoes had been a good crop.
Vetches, where the land is clean, are sometimes succeeded by turnips as a main crop, but more generally by turnips or cole for spring sheep pasture, to be followed by a green crop, and are seldom succeeded by wheat.
Upon a supposition that a horse eats 1½ cwt. Of hay per week, that is, six horses eat 9 cwt. Per week, or 36 cwt. Per month ; this last is equal to one acre of vetches ; and if hay be worth five pounds per ton, vetches as a green crop, are worth nine pounds per acre, and so in proportion ; hence it may be estimated, whether they are of most value eaten green, made into hay, or saved for seed, according to circumstances.

Sect. XI – BUCKWHEAT

Is sown but on a very small scale, and, indeed, the land is generally of much too good a staple for this inferior plant to be attended to as an article of profitable culture ; it is only adapted to light or sandy new inclosed soils, too weak for turnips, where a crop of it, ploughed in green, may increase the quantity of vegetable matter in the soil, or be occasionally, or in part, saved for a crop ; its summer, or late spring culture, tends to ameliorate the soil. The only instance I met with of its growth in this county was at Lord Moira’s, where it is often sown by hedge sides, upon headlands, or short land corners of turnips or cabbage land, but no farther attention paid to it ; it is left to be harvested by the pheasants, for whose use it was principally intended ; or, if near buildings, it is found out and preyed upon by the poultry.

Sect. XII. – TURNIPS, AND SWEDISH TURNIPS,

May be included in the same Section, as they are grown exactly upon the same principle, in the same course, and with the same culture ; the only difference being in the point of time, in which the Swedish take the lead, being sown a little earlier. These crops are cultivated to a great extent in this county, where the oat and wheat crops, being very generally grown upon one ploughing of a turf, are also generally succeeded by a green crop, most commonly turnips.
1. Soil – They are grown upon all soils that are not too strong and heavy ; but in general such soils here may be denominated mild friable loams, more or less tenacious, some inclining to sand, others to clay ; on the former class turnips can be grown and used to the greatest advantage ; the latter are more adapted to cabbages.
2. Tillage, Manure, &c.- The wheat or oat stubble is ploughed up before winter, cross-ploughed and harrowed down in March, and so soon as the spring seed time is over, a third ploughing is given in May ; sometimes stubble cole, or early turnips, are sown upon the stubble ploughed immediately after harvest, and the produce eaten off in April ; in that case, the second ploughing is only given in May, and the land may be equally forward and ameliorated from the effects of the winter crop ; the land is now harrowed down level, and the manure carried on, which is town or farm-yard muck, properly reduced by fermentation, ten or twelve cart loads, near a cubic yard each in its loose state, laid on per acre, or from one to two wagon loads of lime per acre, each load from two to three tons, or sometimes both ; the land has generally two more ploughings, and the sowing of Swedish turnips commences the end of May, and continues through the whole month of June. The common turnip, of all the known varieties, is sown through the month of July. In my tours through the county in 1807, I estimate, that between Leicester and Loughborough, and in many other of the best parts of the county, from two to three acres of Swedish turnips are sown for one acre of the common turnip, and probably near two acres to one the county through.
Mr. Honeyborne informed me at Dishley, that they sow the Swedish turnip upon all the ground they can get ready to sow before the middle of July, and common turnips upon the remainder ; their proportion is about two acres of the former to one of the latter ; they are at present all sown broadcast ; have tried various modes of drilling, and particularly Bailey’s system, in ridges, with horse-hoeing ; but thinks too much ground is thus lost, and the crop thereby diminished ; and in every mode of drilling turnips, more labour is necessary, as by the time the drill machine can be put in motion, the crop may be sown in the usual way ; and Mr. Honeyborne being a good deal engaged at that season in the ram business, and generally just then making his annual excursion to Ireland, is obliged to leave the turnip-sowing to servants, or believes, if he could attend to it himself, he should make more comparative experiments, by sowing part of his crop with the drill.
Upon Mr. Stone’s sheep farm, at Barrow, are many acres of Swedish turnips, cabbages, and cole, both summer and stubble sown, but no common turnips. The Swedish here are sown broadcast, and in general throughout the county turnips are sown broadcast, but with a few exceptions.
At Lord Moira’s, the whole crop is drilled, both common and Swedish, upon Bailey’s system ; the ground is well worked, harrowed down level and limed, and the lime well harrowed in ; and when sufficiently cleaned and pulverized, and the sowing season, as above, being arrived, it is stricken into one bout ridges ; the muck-cart follows, and muck is trailed along the hollows, between the ridges ; a plough follows the muck-cart, and turns a furrow each way upon the muck ; the drill-machine is then applied, preceded by a roller, which pressed down two ridges, and the machine deposits a row of turnip-seed along the middle of each ridge, just over the muck, which are from two foot to two foot three inches asunder, from middle to middle ; all the operations should go on at once that the seed may be drilled upon fresh soil, and being just over the manure, a quick vegetation takes place, and with this management the crop scarcely ever fails. About 1½ lb. of common, and tow pounds of Swedish turnips, is used per acre, which is about the quantity generally sown broadcast : the rows are horse-hoed, and occasionally the splitting horse-hoe is applied, which lowers the ridges by bestriding the plants. SEE IMPLEMENTS, CHAP. V. The plants are thinned in rows by hand-hoeing, which goes off light, as the business of cleaning the crop is much facilitated by the hoe-plough ; the crop is also hand-weeded if necessary.
That more skill, ingenuity, and system, are thus displayed than in common broadcast sowing cannot be denied, and near 30 acres are annually thus managed ; and Mr. Rutherford, the farm bailiff, intends to persist in this method, and when the workmen are used to it the work goes on as regularly and with as little difficulty as the common method ; but I am not sure that any advantage attends to it, or that the crops thus cultivated, and which were shewn to me, are any better than the average crops of the county ; but the turnips are generally well managed, and twice hoed and hand-weeded, if necessary ; first hoeing, 5s. per acre and beer ; second hoeing, 2s. 6d. to 3s. and the hoeing well understood.
When the weather is too wet to go on with turnip-hoeing generally, Mr. Marshall properly advises, sooner than let the workmen stand still, to let them go over the field, and thin the clusters, if such there be, and they will have less trouble with them afterwards.
Sowing troughs, for sowing turnip-seed by hand, worked by one or two persons, have been used in Staffordshire with success, but only partially adopted ; and I was not informed, and unluckily forgot to enquire, whether they have been used in Leicestershire.
The principal Leicestershire farmers are very particular in the choice and selection of their turnip-seed, both common and Swedish. At Dishley they have long been famous for saving the seed of the latter, by selecting the best formed roots, and thus improving the species ; and it is very probable, that a new and improved variety might be raised by planting for seed a few of the best formed roots of the Swedish amongst the best English sorts, as the Norfolk white, or tankard turnip, and as soon as the flowers of the Swedish open, snip off with a fine pair of scissors the anthers, leaving the stigma’s to be impregnated by the English plants, by which means a new variety might be produced, having the shape and form of the English male, and the hardiness and qualities of the Swedish female, by which they were produced.
It is well known that turnips, both the common and Swedish kinds, are a very tender and casualty plant, in the early stages of their growth, liable to be preyed upon and destroyed by myriads of insects, almost too small for observation ; or to be injured by unkindly seasons, excess of either drought or moisture being alike pernicious to them, so that they are very uncertain of coming to a crop, and it requires the best managed cultivation to give them a fair chance of success ; it is certainly the best management to sow them every day upon the fresh soil after the plough, by which means a quick vegetation takes place ; and some have spurted the seed, by soaking it before sowing, to promote this object ; which method Dr. Darwin advises more attention to. The land should be finely pulverized and well manured to push their growth, as when they get into the second or rough leaf they are generally considered to be out of danger.
The insects by which turnips are preyed upon, and injured or destroyed, have engaged the attention of the more curious farmers. Mr. Marshall, who appears to be accurate as a naturalist, has stated the mischief to be done by different species of insects ; 1, the turnip beetle (chrysomela nemorum). This is, I believe, the most common. It has wings two, covered by two shells, colour dark chocolate, with a yellow line on each shell ; legs six, black, 2 hind ones thick, skippers, fly when much disturbed, and are soon out of sight ; length one-half a line, or one-twentieth of an inch (Berkenhout) ; length of the body and head one-twelth to one-tenth of an inch, and breadth about half its length (Marshall).
2. The Turnip alphis (aphis brassicae) in its animalculæ state extremely minute, fifty or more beneath on pair of seedling leaves of a young turnip-plant ; in its fly-state with four wings, two long and two short, body black, size of a grain of mustard-seed, extremely prolific, ten generations produced in one season, and each successive generation beginning to breed at ten or twelve days old ; first generation oviparous, hatcjed by the sun ; the succeeding ones, except the last, viviparous, and fifty, on an average, produced at a time ; so that the produce of a single fly in a season is 50+50+50 to the tenth power, which amounts to countless millions. Dr. Darwin believes this species to be so wonderful in their increase, that, from their immense numbers, they may, in process of time, destroy the vegetable world.
3. Turnip tenthredo. I believe the tenthredo rustica of Linnæus, less frequent on turnips than the former, common on willows ; and when they increase beyond the usual numbers, resort to turnip-fields : great ravages were committed on turnips by the caterpillar of this fly in the summer (I think) of 1785. After hot weather they attacked the turnip plants when full half grown, perforated the leaves into net-work, and did not finally disappear til the frost set in, but have not, to my knowledge, been formidable since : many farmers were arlarmed, thinking a new enemy to the turnip crop had appeared. I suppose some circumstances in the weather had that year been very favourable to their increase, but that their progeny was prematurely destroyed by the frost.

4. Slugs, or snails, are said to be injurious, and sometimes destructive to a turnip-crop. Mr. Vagg’s grand secret of night-rolling is now well known, and still recommended by some persons, as tending to squeeze and destroy injurious insects better tan rolling in the day-time.
To prevent or destroy other insects lime has a good effect ; and Dr. Withering recommends strewing the ground with soot, or whipping the growing plants with green boughs of elder ; or drawing such boughs over the growing plants, to keep off insects.
Dr. Darwin is of the opinion, or at least thinks it probable, that if infusions were made in hot water, or for a longer time in cold water, of those leaves which no insects devour, as of walnut, laurel, fox-glove, henbane, hounds tongue, ragwort, or tobacco, and were sprinkled on the ground just after the young plants spring up, it might prevent, or destroy insects, without injuring the crop ; this, however, can be practiced on a small scale.
Ducks have been employed in large droves, and with success, in devouring the tenthredo caterpillar ; they should be pent up all night, and driven early in the morning fasting into the midst of the turnip field, when they will set to work, and fill their craws as full as they will hold ; this should be repeated daily till the field is cleared. They will also devour slugs and worms ; but as the number kept must of course be limited, their use, in this respect, is necessarily confined to a moderate compass.
The following means of preventing the depredations of the fly on turnips has been practiced with success in another county, and is already before the Board ; but as the importance of the subject is such that it cannot be too generally known, or too often repeated, I shall beg leave to insert it in this place, in hopes that its efficacy may be fully ascertained ; it is principally directed to the turnip beetle before described.
As prevention is better than cure, the process begins with the following preparation of the seed ; mix an ounce of flour of sulphur with every pound of turnip-seed, at least twenty-four hours before sowing ; sow two quarts, or four pounds of seed to an acre regularly and well, and so as to cover the ground all over without vacancies ; then look over the ground once or twice a day for the fly, if with a microscope the better. If the fly be discovered immediately harrow, if not harrow in time to thin the crop, and cross harrow till thin enough for hoeing. If the fly comes or continues, then sow eight bushels per acre of dry lime, or dry shifted fine ashes ; and at all events hoe in time, and repeat the hoeing if necessary ; the sowing of lime or ashes should be done early in the morning, or late in the evening when the dew is fallen, as it then better adheres to the leaves ; a crop thus managed has never been known to fail ; but the author of it says, if people will not be at the trouble they must take their chance. He expects, and I think is entitled to some public remuneration, if the remedy should be proved never failing. It is very probable that soot, as a top-dressing, might answer equally well with lime or ashes.
The author of the method observes, that the fly is not fond of being often disturbed ; and thinks the various operations of harrowing and hoeing have a tendency to drive it, if the smell of the sulphur should nor prevent its appearance ; but at all events the top dressing, after it having been frequently disturbed, will expel it from the field. This remedy is given with great confidence, and its efficacy well attested.
The hoeing of turnips is here well understood and managed. Mr. Marshall says, the first turnip hoe-ers that appeared in this county were sent by the Marquis Townsend, from Norfolk, to the neighbourhood of Tamworth ; it is now understood by every good labourer.
With regard to the mode of consumption, they are various ; some are fed on the land by hurdling sheep ; and where the ground is not dry enough for that method, they are drawn or carried off to grass land, and a small proportion are drawn off to stalls. The effects of frost are less felt than formerly, as the early sowing is very generally Swedish, which are nearly first proof ; and the late sowing preserving their succulence and their tops green and fresh, are more protected, and less liable to be injured by frost ; no modes of preservation are resorted to that I heard of, nor any considerable quantity drawn before hand against frost. When they cannot be come at for frost and snow, hay and cabbages are resorted to. The common turnips are eaten first, and the Swedish towards spring ; these latter washed and sliced are favourite food for rams and other choice sheep stock, and might be given with advantage to any kind of stock, not excepting horses.
Respecting their value, I believe from three to five pounds per acre is as much as a crop can be sold for to eat on the premises ; but they are more generally cultivated by persons who consume them with their own stock.

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