24 THE SHEPHERD'S MANUAL. 



nessee, Missouri, and the states south of these, this system of win- 

 ter feeding has been practiced for many years by the better class 

 of farmers with success. Mr. C. W. Howard, of Georgia, a 

 highly trustworthy gentleman, a farmer and a frequent writer 

 upon agricultural topics, and who has given much attention to the 

 culture of fodder crops, communicated some time ago to the Rural 

 Carolinian the following directions and facts in regard to the cul- 

 ture of turnips for sheep feeding in the open field in the south : 

 " Take a field, plow it deeply with a two-horse plow, subsoil if 

 possible, harrow thoroughly and roll. Lay off the land in rows 

 two-and-a-half feet apart, with a wide and deep furrow. If there 

 be not stable manure, apply three to five hundred pounds of Am- 

 moniated Superphosphate of Lime ; the addition of some potash 

 would be useful ; throw the dirt back with two furrows, and level 

 the ridge with a board. Use the Weathersfield drill, or some 

 other, costing about nine dollars. Sow with it two pounds of seed 

 to the acre. The "Weathersfield drill opens the furrow, drops the 

 seed, covers, and then rolls it by one and the same process. When 

 the plants have formed the third leaf, which is rough, thin them 

 out with the hoe and hand to about eight inches apart, give them 

 a good plowing with a narrow scooter, and the cultivation is 

 completed. The cultivation of an acre of turnips will cost as 

 follows : 



Plowing ..$ 2 00 



Harrowing 50 



Boiling 50 



Seed.. 100 



Sowing: 25 



Hoeing and Thinning 2 00 



Plowing 1 00 



Fertilizer 1000 



$17 25 



" The result will vary according to the soil, the season, and the 

 cultivation. Five hundred bushels is a poor crop. One thousand 

 bushels is a good crop. Fifteen hundred bushels is an extraordi- 

 nary crop. This number of bushels, (1,550), was made last year 

 by Dr. Lavender, of Pike County, Ga. That gentleman took the 

 premium at the last Georgia State Fair. His statements deserve 

 implicit reliance. They were made under oath. His process of 

 obtaining this remarkable yield was as follows : 



" * The soil was a sandy loam. Turned over a heavy clover sod 

 in June with a Dixie plow ; harrowed twice with a Nishwitz har- 

 row on the 21st of August ; ran twice in the furrow, deposited in 

 the bottom of the furrow 3,600 pounds of stable manure, com- 



