CHAP. II.] RUTA BAGA CULTURE. 



72. Thus puzzled, and not being able to spare 

 time to do the job myself, I was one day looking 

 at my poor plants, which were daily suffering 

 for want of removal, and was thinking how glad 

 I should be of one of the CHURCHERS at Botley, 

 who, I thought to myself, would soon clap me 

 out my turnip patch. At this very time, and 

 into the field itself, came a cousin of one of 

 these CHURCHERS, who had lately arrived from 

 England ! It was very strange, but literally the 

 fact. 



73. T6 work Churcher and I went, and, with 

 the aid of persons to pull up the plants and 

 bring them to us, we planted out about two 

 acres, in the mornings and evenings of six days ; 

 for the weather was too hot for us to keep out 

 after breakfast, until about two hours before 

 sun-set. There was a friend staying with me, 

 who helped us to plant, and who did, indeed, as 

 much of the work as either Churcher or I. 



74. The time when this was done was from 

 the 21st to the 28th of August, one Sunday and 

 one day of no planting, having intervened. 

 Every body knows, that this is the very hottest 

 season of the year; and, as it happened, this 

 was, last summer, the very driest also. The 

 weather had been hot and dry from the 10th of 

 August; and so it continued to the 12th of Sep 

 tember. Any gentleman who has kept a 

 journal of last year, upon Long Island, will 



