FARMERS' li E G I S T E R 



231 



whippintr; much vvhippinij imlicatpg a bad tem- 

 pered or !in inatlentive maiiacer, and will not he al- 

 lowed. The overseer must never, on any occasion, 

 unless in self defence, kick a negro, or strike him 

 wiih his hand, or a slick, or the hut-end of his 

 whip. No imusual puiiisliment must be resorted 

 to without the employer's consent. 



11th. The sick must he treated with great ten- 

 derness, and visited at least three limes a day, and 

 at night if necessary. The greatest attention must 

 be paid to all the children ; and ihey must be kept 

 clean, dry and warm by the nurses. Suckling and 

 pregnant women must he indulffed as much as 

 circumstances will ailow,and never worked as much 

 as others. Siicklers must be allowed time lo suckle 

 children, arui kept working as near the house as 

 possible. No liliing, spinning [?] or ploughing 

 must be required of pregnant women. 



12th. The use ol'spirits is absolutely forbidden 

 on this planintion, unless when prescribed by a 

 physician — not even a Christmas dram is allowed 

 the negroes. Should the o'v-.-rseer get drunk he 

 nmst expect to be instantly discharged. 



13th. The overseer is particularly enjoined to 

 keep the negroes as much as possible out ol" the 

 rain and li-om all kinds of exposure, and to see 

 that ihey make goud fires in cold weather and 

 alier rains. 



14ih. The overseer must not punish the driver 

 except on some extraordinary emergency that will 

 not aL'ow oi'delay, until the employer is consulted, 

 or this rule, the driver is, however, to be kept in 

 entire ignorance. 



lolh. !t is distinctly understood in the acree- 

 ment with every overseer, that whenever dissatis- 

 fied he can quit the employer's service, on giving 

 him one month's notice in wriiincr — nnd that the 

 employer may discharge him at any time, by pay- 

 ing him lor his services up to that period, at the 

 same rate as he agreed to pay for the year. 



ON ROOT CULTURE, AND THE DISTANOKS RE- 

 QUIRED BY DIFFERENT ROOTS. 



To ihe Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



March 6th, 1S40. 



In your February number I perceive that one 

 of your correspondents, who gays he is a cu'iivntor 

 in latitude 41'\ has bestowed upon me a brieCcom- 

 plimentary notice, lor which I here becj leave lo 

 return him my thanks. But he has done it in a 

 way lo produce erroneous impressions in recard to 

 (he meaning ol" the passages lo which he refers 

 in one of my former comnmnications, and there- 

 fore f owe if, both to your readers and myseilj lo 

 endeavor to correct his mistake. 



In speaking of the proper distances to sow tur- 

 nips, he says : " I think two feet ridges might do, 

 if straight." Tiiis remark he prefaces by assert- 

 ing, as a thing absolutely certain, although it is 

 very far li-om being so, that "narrow intervals," 

 (by vvhicii he means any less than lliree feet.) 

 "in the United StJites, are inadmissible." With 

 what propriety he can apply this unqualified asser- 

 tion to a country comprehending somewhere 

 about 25 degrees of latitude, with every varie'y of 

 soil and climate to bo found within such limits, I 

 \v\\\ not now inquire, but will confine my remarks 

 chiefly to my own case. Your correspondent has 



misconstrued me in this respect: he says, "1 

 think two leet ridges might do, if straight.^'' Now 

 this IS mere matter of opMiicn, worth liille or no- 

 thing, as such, to any body ; but it is malter of 

 experience also. Fur, more than once, 1 have ac- 

 tually compared two and three leet drills, not 

 "ridges," which do not suit our climate, (about 

 o7h degrees,) so well as drills on a level eurliice, 

 where the roots have a litlle earth thrown to them 

 as soon as the leaves are nine or len inches high. 

 This comparison was made in similiir soils, and 

 of similar fertility, as liir as 1 could judge; al- 

 though, if there was any ditlerence, Ihe thrce-lt'et 

 drills in the last trial were in the riclust ground. 

 It is true, that ihe comparison was not as accu- 

 rate as it might have be.m, and as it shall be here- 

 atier, if J live, for 1 did not weigh. But I could 

 discover no dilfercnce ei'her in the general or par- 

 ticular size of the roots, although I examined 

 them very minutely ; and Ihe, fact bring indispu- 

 table, that Ihe iwo-leet drills produced in number 

 one-third more roots, I inlerred that the whole 

 quantity was nearly, or quite, one-third greater, 

 ;iiid would, consequently, more than pay lor the 

 cxtra labor, lo say noihing of ihe common opi- 

 nion, that middle-sized roots contain more nu- 

 triment in pioporiion lo their bulk, than those 

 of the largest size. Much of this I admit was 

 conjecture, and of course may be wrong ; but tlie 

 comparison can easily and Uiirly be made by any 

 b(idy who has curiosity enough to make it; lor 

 three or (our rovvfs at each distance will sulfice. 

 Conjectures, iiow.ver, and assenion too, will be 

 found, upon examinalion, lo constitute a large 

 portion of your correspondent's communication. 

 Thus, after saying, ''I have had leaves of turnipa 

 to measure threc-leet frequently, belbre ihe bulk 

 was much larger than a goose-egg," he asks ihis 

 (question, " !!" such plants were in two-leet ridges, 

 what would become of them?" This question 

 he answers hirnsell' by replying: "Evidently 

 enough they would be sm.othered." Now I can 

 truly affirm that I have never seen such evidence, 

 although I also have had leaves o/' the ruta baga 

 turnip to measure ihree-leet in two-leet drnls, but 

 not frequently ; " and nothing like smolhering has 

 ever occurred, /or they had enough of light, air 

 and moisture lo nudce them grow very weil. But 

 the fict is, in reganl to turnips, that tiie largertho 

 leaves, ih.e smaller will be the roots in proportion. 

 Again, in speaking of beets, your correspondent 

 confidenily asserts, that the mangel wurtzel is 

 " far superior lor cattle lo all the rest." In reply 

 lo this, I must beg leave lo say, that he ought rot 

 to expect such anonymous authority to stand good 

 against the numerous names of experienced farm- 

 ers which have appeared in several of our agri- 

 cultural journals, who give ihe preference, afler 

 comparative trials, to the white sugar-beet. To 

 these have been added several statements of che- 

 mical analyses, proving Ihat the latter kind of 

 beet, iiad considerably more, o(" the saccharine 

 piirici[;le ihan the former. Now, if that principle 

 in vegetables be the chief source of nutriment to 

 llie animals fed on them, it inconiestably follows, 

 that your correspor.dera's preference f()r mangel 

 wurtzel for cattle is more a maticr of fancy than 

 of fact. 



Towards the close of his communication, your 

 correspondent adds : •' I have a word or i wo more 

 (0 say respecting the disi.iucc at which turnips 



