Chap. II.] RpTA Baua culture. 9d 



bits. These are picked out of the ground, and when 

 washed by the rain, other sheep follow and live upon 

 them. Or, in default of other sheep, hogs or cattle 

 are turned in in dry weather, and they leave not a 

 morsel. 



136. Nor are the f/reens to be forgotten. In Eng- 

 land, they are generally eate)i by the sheep, when they 

 are turned in upon them. When the roots are taken 

 up for uses at the home-stead, the greens are given to 

 store-pigs and lean cattle. I cut mine off, while the 

 roots were in the ground, and gave them to fatting 

 cattle upon grass land, alternately with Indian corn in 

 the ear ; and, in this way, they are easily and most 

 profitably applied, and they come too, just after the 

 grass is gone from the pastures. An acre produces 

 about four good wagon loads of greens ; and they are 

 taken off fresh and fresh as they are wanted, and, at 

 the same time, the roots are thus made ready for going 

 at once, into the heaps. Pigs, sheep, cattle ; all like 

 the greens as well as they do the roots. Try any of 

 them with the greens of white turnips ; and, if they 

 touch them, they will have changed their natures, or, 

 at least, their tastes. 



137. The Mangel Wurzel, the cabbage, the carrot, 

 and the parsnip, are all useful , and the latter, that is 

 to say, the parsnip, very valuable indeed ; but the 

 main cattle-crop is the Ruta Baga. Even the white 

 turnip, if well cultivated, may be of great use ; and, as 

 it admits of being sown later, it may often be very de- 

 sirable to raise it. But reserving myself to speak fully, 

 in a future part of my work, of my experiments as to 

 these crops, I shall now make a short enquiry as to the 

 value of a crop of Ruta Baga, compared with the value 

 of any other crop. I will just observe, in this place, 

 however, that I have grown finer carrots, parsnips, and 

 Mangle Wurzel, and even finer cabbages, than I ever 

 grew upon the richest land in Hampshire, though not 

 .a seed of any of them was put into the ground till the 

 month of June. 



138. A good mode, it appears to me, of making my 

 proposed comparative estimate, will be to say, how I 

 would proceed, supposing me to have a farm otmy own 



