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CHAPTER XL 



ROOT CROPS. 



It would not be an extravagant statement to say that the 

 cultivation of root crops is not known in America ; for, notwith- 

 standing the fact that it is usual to see one or two acres of turnips 

 or carrots on a farm, the cultivation of these crops to the extent 

 to which they are grown in Europe almost never occurs in 

 America. The reasons for this are obvious, and are based chiefly 

 upon the high price of farm labor, and upon the fact that, except 

 in certain limited regions, women and children rarely work in the 

 field. 



The growth of turnips and mangels forms one of the leading 

 items of the cultivation of nearly all English farms, and a very 

 large part of the work is done by women and children, frequently 

 working in gangs under a contractor, and moving from one part 

 of the country to another, as their services may be required. It 

 will be a long time before farmers in this country will be able to 

 make any thing like the important use of these crops to which 

 they have attained in more thickly settled regions ; — for where a 

 farm of from fifty to two hundred acres is operated entirely by 

 two or three hands, they have quite enough to do to attend to the 

 cultivation of the corn crop and the harvesting of the hay, both 

 of which occur at the time when the most labor is required in 

 the root fields. 



This state of affairs, however, while it is often an argument 

 against the growth of very large areas of roots, by no means mili- 

 tates against the cultivation of such smaller patches as it may be 

 within the power of the farmer to properly attend to. On good 



