Cultivation of Arabic Land. Ruta Baga, or SwediJJi Turnip. ] 65 



In feeding turnips off by all forts of animals, attention (liquid be paid on their 

 firft being turned upon them, that they do not remain too long, otherwife they 

 may be much injured by the diftention which is occaftoned by their eating too 

 greedily of them. 



Ruta Baga y or Swedijb Turnip. This is a root of the turnip kind, that has 

 long been known, but only lately introduced into cultivation with much advantage. 

 It has been confidered by feme as a variety of the yellow turnip, but it differs 

 greatly from it both in its texture and properties. In its top it has fomething of 

 the appearance of the rape or the cabbage; the bottom, or that part of the root 

 which is above the ground, is covered by a thick green tough cuticle or fkin, and 

 the internal flefhy part is of a denfe firm confidence, have ayellowifh tinge. It is 

 fufpected by fome cultivators that there are two varieties of this plant, the one hav 

 ing a white and the other a yellow root, the latter being confidered much the 

 belt. This may, however, probably arife from their having been grown in the 

 neighbourhood of plants of the turnip or cole kinds.* 



The principal inducements to the cultivation of this root are, according to Mr. 

 Young, firft, that where the fanner rf has the right flock of feed, the root yellow 

 in flefh and rough in coat, it lafts through all frofts, and may be depended on 

 for fheep quite through the month of April, though drawn two months before, 

 and fpread on a grafs field. 2. That it is an excellent and nourifhing food for 

 flieep, and alfo for any fort of cattle. 3. That it is equal to potatoes, keeping 

 Jlock fwine, a point of very great confequence. 4. That it is, next to carrots, the 

 very beft food that can be given to horfes. And 5. That it is fown at a feafon 

 which leaves ample time, in cafe of a failure, to put in common turnips, or cab 

 bages.&quot; 



It may be grown to advantage on moftof thofe foils that are too moift and hea 

 vy for the common turnip, but the land mould be brought into a tolerable ftate of 

 pulverifation, and be well impregnated with manure, before the feed is put into the 

 ground, or the plants put upon it. Such a preparation as is fit for turnips an- 

 fwers well in this cafe: paring and burning is perhaps the beft fort of preparation of 

 any for this kind of crop. It is perhaps from the want of this due preparation of the 

 land, and the putting in feed of a bad kind and at too late a period, that cultivators 

 have fo frequently failed in obtaining good crops of this valuable root. 



Seed. The feed fhould be conftantly collected from fuch plants as have been 

 tranfplanted, and which are the moft perfect of their kind ; as where this is neg- 



* Corre&ed Agricultural Reports oi the North Riding of Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire, 



