126 



RENNIE S AGRICULTURE. 



Quantity of 

 Seed per Acre, 

 and Conserving 

 Moisture. 



Fall Turnips, 

 for Early- 

 Feeding. 



When and How 

 to Harvest 

 Swedes and 

 Store for 

 Winter. 



three pounds per acre, and is best sown with the 

 ordinary horse seed drill. See III. 65. In twenty- 

 four hours, if the drills are dry, roll them down with 

 a heavy roller, so as to hasten capillary action, and, 

 as with mangel-wurzels, pulverize the surface to 

 conserve moisture. If the surface is kept pulverized 

 with a Breed weeder there will be no difficulty in 

 getting a catch, even if there is no rain. Thin the 

 same as mangels, with a turnip hoe. This work 

 should be done early, while the plants are in the 

 second rough leaf. To secure best results, level and 

 thorough cultivation should be continued during 

 the growing season. 



There are many varieties of fall turnips, and 

 while their nutritive value is not equal to the swede, 

 yet they have certain qualifications that recommend 

 them. Some, being more rapid growers, can be 

 sown later, as a catch crop, after a crop of early 

 potatoes or on clover sod. The last of June or the 

 early part of July is not too late for some of these. 

 They should be sown in shallow drills, and cultivated 

 and harvested in the same manner as swedes for 

 early feeding. Some farmers prefer to sow them on 

 the level, using an ordinary grain drill, each alternate 

 spout being stopped. They then feed them off on 

 the land in the fall. Sheep and young cattle thrive 

 well on this excellent food, and it will be found par- 

 ticularly advantageous when pastures are dry and 

 scanty. This soiling crop gives stock a good start 

 for the winter. Among the ordinary fall turnips 

 the most suitable varieties are the yellow Aberdeen, 

 greystone, and the ordinary white. 



In Northern Ontario the time to harvest swedes 

 is the last days of October; the first week in 

 November answers in Central Ontario. There are 

 various methods of doing this work when help is 



