96 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS AND SUGGESTIONS 

 ON ROOT CULTURE. EXPER13IENT IN FEED- 

 ING flIANGEL WURZEL TO BULCII COWS. 



Subject continued from p. 724, vol. VII. 

 To the Editor of the Fanners' Register. 



I am iniluced, thus early, again to trespass on 

 your columns, on the subject of roots, I'rom va- 

 rious indications 1 perceive niaiiilesled by Viririnia 

 farmers to enter on their culture, and to test their 

 merits. In tiie present comparatively improved 

 state ofagricultural science, and ol'the means now 

 within the reach of every individual to obtain pos- 

 session of the new lights the last ten years have dis- 

 closed, it would argue prolbund ignorance and neg- 

 lect in not embracing one ol'the most obvious means 

 of improvement, which has done so much (brother 

 countries, and must eventually produce the same 

 results here. I am quite sure that no misgivings 

 need be entertained about the climate. Nine 

 years' steady culture, without a failure, in !at. -11, 

 has convinced the writer of its excellence, and he 

 thinks, on the whole, it is superior to either Eng- 

 land or Scotland ; and any where north of James 

 river, and probably in the southern slates, the 

 same results may be obtained, regulating the time 

 of sowing to the latitude. In n)y Ibrmer commu- 

 nication on roots, was stated generally the mode of 

 culture practised by the writer. He now proposes 

 to offer some suggestions on the best mode of pre- 

 paring the land lor a crop of either turnips or man- 

 gel wurzel, time of sowing, the proper distance 

 at which to drill the seed, selection ol' roots (or 

 seed, together wish the result of an experiment in 

 feeding mangel wurzel to milch cows, and some 

 observations, which it is hoped may have a ten- 

 dency to induce many of your nunierous readers 

 to become root growers. I am quite sure that no 

 farmer can winter cattle with advantage without 

 the aid of succulent Ibod ; nay, I will venture to 

 add, that no man ought to be the owner of horned 

 cattle or sheep in this rigorous climate, if he ne- 

 glects to avail himself of this rich provision of na- 

 ture's bounty, evidently designed by a kind provi- 

 dence lor the comfort and health of the animal 

 creation, and finally of mankind. Calves intended 

 for steers scarcely ever recover from the eft'ects ol' 

 a five months' diet of straw and stalks. Let any 

 individual select two spring calves of equal age 

 and constitution — suH'er one to run in the usual 

 way, having as much sweet hay as can be eaten — 

 give the other in addition to what hay will be con- 

 sumed, half a bushel of turnips, the day from 

 grass gointi to grass coming, or I'rom 1st Novem- 

 ber to 1st May — and then, if the turnip-led calf is 

 not a year in advance of the other, with respect to 

 condiiion, size, &c., and, moreover, delightful to 

 look at, and creditable to the owner, then I will 

 say tiiat all my reasoning must l)e taken at a con- 

 siderable discount. 



In speaking of the turnips I wish to be under- 

 stood as referring exclusively to the purple topped 

 Swede, or ruta baga. Every other known' va- 

 riety (fifteen or sixteen in number) has been 

 grown by the writer at one time or another, and 

 finally rejected, and however useful some may be 

 lor early fall fiieding of ewes and store cattle in 

 the mild climate of Great Britain, they are utterly 

 worthless here. Of beets there are many varie- 

 ties, red, white, green, and blood-colored. The 



white is the sugar beet of France ; mangel wur- 

 zel is a hybrid beef, far superior for cattle to all 

 the rest, and exhibits when cut transversely circu- 

 lar rings of red and white, very crisp, and grows 

 very much out of the ground. This is the true 

 kind, and well worthy of all care and of the best 

 preparaiion. But to my subject. Sod is, or ought 

 to be, with fi?vv exceptions, the foundation of every 

 crop, and that is precisely what the turnip wants ; 

 on which 1 would haul, in the month of April, 15, 

 20, or 25 two-horse loads long manure per acre, 

 according to the condition of the land, spread 

 broadcast as evenly as possible, and then ploughed. 

 If the manure was old or in a finely divided state, 

 or what is commonly called short manure, the 

 land should be evenly and deeply ploughed first, 

 and then the manure applied, toireiher with 40 

 bushels carbonated lime per acre. Turnips delight 

 in a calcareous soil. Presuming the land to remain 

 idle, no further working would be necessary, ex- 

 cepting weeds make their appearance more than 

 common, nnlil the 1st July in this latitude, the 

 lOlh for Virginia, when the spring furrow should 

 be reversed, bringinjr the manure to the surliace, 

 (if under,) harrowed severely, and left until the 

 time of sowing, which here ought not to be 

 thought of until the lOih of July, or thereabout, 

 just as you may be ready, 10 days later in Virginia, 

 middle of June in New York slate. Then let 

 the ground be again harrowed, and proceed after- 

 wards, as stated in your December number. If it 

 is designed to apply concentrated manure in addi- 

 tion, let it be scattered or drilled along the small 

 furrow on the ridge left bj^ the coulter of the drill, 

 previous to passing the roller over. A lisht one- 

 hoise roller is here meant, six inches diameter, 

 four feet Ions, taking two ridges al once ; this is a 

 very important operation, lor, if the soil is not very 

 compact about these small seeds, and dry weather 

 follows, there is great risk of their coming up 

 evenly. Independently however of that considera- 

 tion, turnips delight to sirike in a soil made tolera- 

 bly solid. South of New York there is not the 

 least necessit}^ that the land should remain idle. 

 A very valuable crop can be taken between April 

 and July, ameliorating and cleansing in its nature. 

 I mean the common field pea, white or gray, 

 sown broadcast per acre ; they will be off early in 

 June, afiording ample time for future operations. 

 Twenty bushels per acre may reasonably be ex- 

 pected, which would defray all the expenses of the 

 turnip crop. My turnip ground the past season 

 afforded me a fine crop of oats cut green on the 

 20ih June, and made into hay ; but the roots being 

 in full viiror gave me considerable trouble in pre- 

 paring the land lor the drill, so much indeed as de- 

 terred me from again pursuing the same course. 

 Peas are the thing. The Ibregoing remarks apply 

 to mangel wurzel, excepting the season of sowing, 

 and that no previous crop can be obtained. The 

 time for sowing in this latitude I believe to be 

 about the 1st June; but take care to have them 

 " any how," for they are a treasure. I have a 

 word or two to say respecting the distance at 

 which turnips and beets ouiiht to be drilled. Any 

 thing short of three feet will not answer, and even 

 at that distance it is almost impossible to give them 

 the requisite tillage, if the preparation is good. 

 Twenty-seven inch-drills are very general in Nor- 

 folk and in Scotland; but in the United States, 

 where the foliage on green crops is double in 



