ROOT CROPS. 



37 



inch ol" the tip (»f one cud is turned up at a ri<i:;ht anjilc' to form a 

 guard for working close to small plants. The blade of the hoe should 

 be sharp on both edges, so that it will cut each way when pushed and 

 pulled. In order to make it take hold properly, it may be necessary 

 to bend the edges of the blade down slightly. To give the handle the 

 proper angle, the shank should be curved. It should flatten out into 

 a narrow, thin plate about 2 inches long and fasten to the blade by 

 means of two rivets. This hoe is not on tlie market, but ma}' be made 

 bv an}' blacksmith. An old saw makes excellent blades. The shank 

 should be made of Norway iron, 

 so that it may be bent to give the 

 handle the proper angle. 



Ruta-bagas are sometimes sown 

 in di-ills in the early spring and 

 transplanted like cabbage. The 

 plants may be transplanted like 

 kale, as the land is plowed. The 

 roots of the plants are placed 

 where the next furrow will cover 

 them and the tops are left stick- 

 ing out. For this method of 

 transplanting, see the discussion 

 of kale. 



About the 1st of November th<' 

 roots are topped, pulled, and 

 placed in narrow bins in the 

 barn. Ui)on the approach of 

 cold weather they are covered 

 with hay or straw. The tops are 

 sometimes cut off w'ith a sharp 

 hoe and the roots then dug with 

 a potato fork. ^lore generally 

 they are dug first, the worker 

 pulling on the top of the root 



with one hand as he bears down upon the handle of the j)otato fork 

 with the other. The roots of two or three rows are laid together with 

 the tops one way. The tops are then cut off with a long-handled 

 knife. Some tAvist the tops off, claiming that the roots do not bleed 

 and wither so much as they do when the tops are cut off. Roots are 

 grown mostly for winter use and are fed up to the 1st of April. 

 They are generally sliced before being fed to dairy cattle. 8ome 

 dairymen feed them whole, claiming that cows can handle large roots 

 nicely and that, unless the slicing is carefully done, they do not choke 

 so frequently when feeding on whole roots as they do on sliced roots. 



94 



Pig. 4.— a "scufflcv' hoe similar in principle 

 to that shown in figure 3, devised by A. B. 

 Leckenby, Seattle, Wash. The blade of 

 either of these hoes may be made from an 

 old saw blade. 



