RUT A BAG A CULTURE 



never seen any of either in America. The soil that I cultivate is 

 poor almost proverbially ; but, what it really is, is this : it is a 

 light loam, approaching towards the sandy. It is of a brownish 

 colour about eight inches deep ; then becomes more of a red 

 for about another eight inches ; and then comes a mixture of 

 yellowish sand and of pebbles, which continues down to the depth 

 of many feet. 



46. So much for the nature of the land. As to its state, it was 

 that of as complete poverty as can well be imagined. My main 

 crop of Ruta Baga was sown upon two different pieces. One, 

 of about three acres, had borne, in 1816, some Indian corn stalks, 

 together with immense quantities of brambles, grass, and weeds, 

 of all descriptions. The other, of about four acres, had, when I 

 took to it, rye growing on it ; but, this rye was so poor, that my 

 neighbour assured me, that it could produce nothing, and he 

 advised me to let the cattle and sheep take it for their trouble of 

 walking over the ground, which advice I readily followed ; but, 

 when he heard me say, that I intended to sow Russia turnips on 

 the same ground, he very kindly told me his opinion of the matter, 

 which was, that I should certainly throw my labour wholly away. 



47. With these two pieces of ground I went to work early in 

 June. I ploughed them very shallozv, thinking to drag the grassy 

 clods up with the harrow, to put them in heaps and burn them, 

 in which case I would (barring the fly /), have pledged my life 

 for a crop of Ruta Baga. It adversely happened to rain, when my 

 clods should have been burnt, and the furrows were so solidly 

 fixed down by the rain, that I could not tear them up with the 

 harrow ; and, besides, my time of sowing came on apace. Thus 

 situated, and having no faith in what I was told about the dangers 

 of deep ploughing, I fixed four oxen to a strong plough, and turned 

 up soil that had not seen the sun for many, many long years. 

 Another soaking rain came very soon after, and went, at once, to 

 the bottom of my ploughing, instead of being carried away in 

 stantly by evaporation. I then harrowed the ground down 

 level, in order to keep it moist as long as I could ; for the sun now 

 began to be the thing most dreaded. 



48. In the meanwhile I was preparing my manure. There was 

 nothing of the kind visible upon the place.&quot; But, I had the good 

 luck to follow a person, who appears not to have known much of 

 the use of brooms. By means of sweeping and raking and scratch 

 ing in and round the house, the barn, the stables, the hen-roost, 

 and the court and yard, I got together about four hundred bushels 

 of not very bad turnip manure. This was not quite 60 bushels to 

 an acre for my seven acres ; or, three gallons to every square rod. 



49. However, though I made use of these beggarly means, I 

 would not be understood to recommend the use of such means to 

 others. On the contrary, I should have preferred good and clean 

 land, and plenty of manure ; but of this I shall speak again, when 

 I have given an account of the manner of sowing and transplanting. 



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