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Vol. I.
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564

ON THE ARABLE LAND

of producing heavy crops of grain and hay, and excellentpasture ; the turnip culture must be considered as the main-stay of all good husbandry, on soils to which it is adapted.

It is not uncommon to let turnips at an agreed price, orboard, for each sheep or beast weekly. This varies, accordingto age and size and demand, from fourpence or less, to eight-pence, or more, for each sheep weekly, and from two shil-lings to five for each beast. An acre of good turnips, say30 tpns, with straw, will fatten an ox of 60 stone, or ten Lei-cester sheep. Supposing the turnips worth six guineas, thiswould bring the weekly keep of the ox to six shillings andthreepence halfpenny, and of the sheep to about scvenpencchalfpenny a-week. In this way of letting, however, disputesjnay arise, as the taker may not be careful to have them eatenup clean.

The person who lets the turnips has to maintain a herdfor the taker; and when let for cattle, and, consequently, to beled olf, the taker finds a man and horse, and the letter main-tains both. The taker has to provide hurdles or nets for fen-cing the allotments 5 but the letter must fence his own hedges,if necessary. The period at which the taker is to consumethe whole, is usually fixed in the agreement, that the lettermay be enabled to plough and sow his land in proper season.

13. Turnips are very seldom secured, though sometimes aportion is drawn and formed into heaps, like potatoe camps,to be described afterwards, and lightly covered with straw ;or preserved for some time under a roof or shed. On theseoccasions, the shaws or leaves, and the tap-roots, must be cutoff and removed, before storing up, to prevent heating androtting.

It has been asserted, that turnips ought on no account tobe preserved in heaps on the ground, in the manner of keep-ing potatoes, to be afterwards explained ; but that they shouldalways be stacked, like corn, on stands, or staddles, and co-vered with straw; in which way they will keep for severalmonths. It is, however, a common practice in many parts,