Turnip-growing. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2171, 3 October 1895, Page 8

Turnip-growing. TO THE EDITOR.

Sin,— l see by your issue of the 12th inßt. that the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society are offering prizes up to £i oor over for the best five to ten aocs of turnips. I also note that Moesra Nimmo and Blair are offering artificial manure to tho value of £15 15s iv two prizes for the best ten acres of turnips. This is a step in the right direction, and I am pleased to see that the hints I gave in your columns, over 12 months since are bearing fruit. With your permission I will give your readers my experience in turnipgrowing in the yearß from 1846 to 1852. In those days the ngricultural societies always gave prizes for root crops, aud the artificial manure merchants also gave prizes through the societies for the be3t crops giown with certain manures only. In tbose rinys I competed five successive yeai^a, and was successful four times, growing swede turnips with guano only. I tried four stripa through the fiold two years running with guano, superphosphate, boimluat, and dung and lime, and each time the guav.o had the largest crop. I used 4cwt to the acre— 2cwt drilled with wood ashes and the seed, and the otber2c\vtso\vn broadcast. The judgee, in arriving at their awards, if they foiuul the competition anything close resorted to tho weighing machine and measured a pole, and so arrived at their award. Tho general rule was to drill 21iu apart, but I ahv.iys drilled 21in ; and although in calculating the pole I lost a drill- that is to fay, those drilled 2lin would have nine drilla to weigh, whilst thosa drilled 2-iiu would only have eight, yet the eight as a rule won. 1 account for it in this way : Tbe extra 3iu in width allows you to Work the borsehoe fully throe days before it would be safe to do it with the 2lin, and all practical men will understand the benefit of hoeing early, so as to get the plant up out of the way of the ily and giub. lam fully persuaded that turnip or root growing will be one of tho main features of the Otago A. and P. Association iv the near future ; and deservedly co, as the success of tbe farmer in a great measure depends on growing artificial food for winter feciing.— l am, etc., Join Cole Cuapple. Allandale, Ophir, September 20. P.S. — Since writing tbe above your issue of the ' 19th inst. is to hand, by which I find that Messrs Donald Reid and Co., as agents for tbe Islington fertilisers, offer two tons of their manure* or £10 in cash, to be awarded for field competition, of turnips ; and Messrs Tothill, Watson, and Co. offer a prize of £5 5s for the best ton acres of turnips grown from Button's seeds.— J.C.C.

At Oamaru a young woman named Gallagher was fined £10, with £% 13s 6d costi, for soiling liquor without a license at Livingstone. She is the daughter of the owner of (he houee, who lo&t his license recently.