Surely Patrick Miller's most significant contribution to agriculture in Scotland (The Herald, November 26) was the introduction of the swede which brought about a huge increase in the ability to overwinter livestock. He had designed a cannon for the King of Sweden who rewarded him with seeds for this newly-developed relative of the turnip. Oddly, many Scots call the swede a turnip (and the turnip a swede).

David McEwan Hill, 1 Tom Nan Ragh, Dalinlongart, Argyll.