FIFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VI. 425 



receive such small seed. Sow rather thin, six to eight seeds to the inch, and 

 cover lightly, not over one-half inch. Be careful not to sow thicker or 

 deeper. If sown more thickly the young plants, which grow very fast from 

 the start, will smother each other, unless thinned out very soon. As every 

 seed sown will sprout, it saves lots of trouble if the sowing is done as 

 mentioned. 



In four to five days the young plants are up, and right after this a wheel 

 hoe ought to be run as close as possible on each side of the rows. Do this 

 on a warm day and all the small weeds that have started are done for. This 

 is generally all the cultivation needed, unless the land is badly infested with 

 weeds. The seed is best sown in rows two and one-half feet apart. In three 

 or four weeks the plants will be four to six inches high, and from now on 

 are ready to be used. I start in to thin them to about three inches apart, 

 and while they are so young and small I feed them just as they are, roots and 

 all. The remaining plants grow fast now, and by the time the last thinnings 

 are used up will be ready for more room. Space them now to six inches. 

 These thinnings and everything from now on should be cut into suitable 

 lengths for the fowls, say one-quarter to one-half inch, so as to save and 

 make use of the whole plant, as by this time the stems are long and thicker. 

 The stuflf is soft as cheese, and cuts very easily; it takes not more than five 

 minutes to cut up a bushel of it. 



After this second thinning, which leaves the plants at about six inches 

 apart, and as they grow bigger, I begin to cut every other plant above the 

 third or fourth leaves. These shortened plants, which now stand at one 

 foot apart, will sprout again, and will be ready for another cut by the time 

 those that have been left are used in the same way. I can always, on good 

 soil, get two or three cuttings in this manner, and it is astonishing what an 

 amount of green food a little piece of ground will raise. As 1 said before, 

 the plants will grow faster than one can use them up. Rape will grow fast 

 and rank, even in very dry seasons, on good soil. 



Fowls of every age and description are fond of rape, and thrive on it; so do 

 cows and sheep or pigs. I have often wondered why farmers in general do 

 not use the plant more. But very few have ever heard of it or seen it. Some 

 of my neighbors, whom I induced to try rape, were surprised by its rich and 

 fast growth and ease of cultivation. They sow it very thin as described, and 

 begin to cut it when about a foot to a foot and a half high. By cutting 

 above the lower leaves they get two or three big crops, and one acre will 

 easily furnish green stuff for three or four cows during three months just 

 when pastures begin to grow thin. 



Rape will stand some frost, and can be used into November. By 

 sowing in succession four or five weeks apart a poultryman has all the green 

 he may wish for. 1 am keeping about four hundred fowls, and by sowing 

 at three different times four rows one hundred feet long each time, I have 

 always plenty of green stuff with little effort or expense. I use every day 

 about three solid bushels of cut rape. A clover or hay cutter will cut it easily 

 and to perfection. 



Now as to kale: (Curly Scotch winter kale is the best.) This is another 

 valuable and easily raised plant, which is not grown as much as it deserves 

 by poultry men. It grows almost as fast as rape, and can be used and 

 handled in the same manner. But it will need twice as much room in the 



