The manner of this Hoing must be at first near the Plants, with a Spade, and each time afterwards, a Foot farther Distance, till all the Earth be once well dug; and if Weeds appear where it has been so dug, hoe them out shallow with the Hand-Hoe. But dig all the Piece next the out Lines deep every time, that it may be the finer for the Roots to enter, when they are permitted to come thither.
If these Turneps are all gradually bigger, as they stand nearer to the End B, ’tis a Proof they all extend to the Outside of the Piece; and the Turnep 20 will appear to draw Nourishment from six Feet Distance from its Centre.
But if the Turneps 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, acquire no greater Bulk than the Turnep 15, it will be clear, that their Roots extend no farther than those of the Turnep 15 does; which is but about 4 Feet.
By this Method the Distance of the Extent of Roots of any Plant may be discover’d.
What put me upon this Method was an Observation of [two Lands] (or Ridges) drill’d with Turneps in Rows, a Foot asunder, and very even in them; the Ground, at both Ends, and one Side, was hard and unplow’d; the Turneps not being ho’d, were very poor, small, and yellow, except the Three outside Rows, B, C, D, which stood next to the Land (or Ridge) E, which Land being plow’d and harrow’d, at the time the Land A ought to have been ho’d, gave a dark flourishing Colour to these three Rows; and the Turneps in the Row D, which stood farthest off from the new-plow’d Land E, received so much Benefit from it, as to grow twice as big as any of the more distant Rows. The Row C, being a Foot nearer to the new-plow’d Land, became twice as large as those in D; but the Row B, which was next to the Land E, grew much larger yet[2].
[2]A like Observation to this on the Land E, has been made in several Turnep Fields of divers Farmers, where Lands adjoining to the Turneps have been well tilled; all the Turneps of the contiguous Lands that were within three or four Feet, or more, of the newly pulveriz’d Earth, received as great, or greater increase, in the Manner as my Rows B C D did; and what is yet a greater Proof of the Length of Roots, and of the Benefit of deep Hoing, all these Turneps have been well Hand-ho’d; which is a good Reason why the Benefit of the deep Pulveration should be perceivable at a greater Distance from it than mine, because my Turneps, not being hoed at all, had not Strength to send out their Roots through so many Feet of unpulveriz’d Earth, as these can through their Earth pulveriz’d by the Hoe, tho’ but shallowly.
This Observation, as ’tis related to me (I being unable to go far enough to see it myself) sufficiently demonstrates the mighty Difference there is between Hand-hoing and Horse-hoing.
[F Plate 6.] is a Piece of hard whole Ground, of about two Perch in Length, and about two or three Feet broad, lying betwixt those two Lands, which had not been plow’d that Year; ’twas remarkable, that during the Length of this interjacent hard Ground, the Rows B, C, D, were as small and yellow as any in the Land.
The Turneps in the Row D, about three Feet distant from the Land E, receiving a double Increase, proves they had as much Nourishment from the Land E, as from the Land A, wherein they stood; which Nourishment was brought by less than half the Number of Roots of each of these Turneps.