84 



MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



COST OF TURNIP-CROP, ONE ACRE. 



Expense of manure, fitting, etc., same as for man- 

 golds, ....... 



1 lb. seed, * 



Hoeing and thinning first time, 4 days at $1.75, 



" " second " 3|- days, . 



Cultivating once, man and horse \ day, . 

 Harvesting, one man, 6^ clays, 

 Use of horse and cart, 2| days, at 75 cts., 



Total cost of the crop, ..... 

 7 per cent, interest on one acre land, 



$123 21 



I harvested two average rows of the turnips and weighed 

 them, and the yield was 2,595 lbs. on 2,625 square feet, 

 making 43,054 lbs. per acre. 



This, at one-third the value of hay, calling hay $20 



per ton, would equal 14,351 lbs., . . . $143 51 

 Deduct cost of crop, ...... 123 21 



Profit, 



$20 30 



I am in favor of raising roots for all kinds of stock, and 

 know that my young cattle grow much faster when I have 

 plenty of roots than they do fed only upon dry hay and bran ; 

 and I should no more think of depriving my cattle of roots 

 than I should my children of apples, grapes, oranges and other 

 fruits. Of mangolds, carrots and different kinds of turnips, 

 I have raised over 3,000 bushels at 60 lbs. to the bushel. 



I counted one load of mangolds to find what the average 

 weight was per root, and found it to be 4 1 6 4 3 of a pound, 

 and should have stated that I intend to have mangolds stand 

 in the row 15 inches apart and ruta-bagas 12 inches, with 

 rows 30 inches apart. I fed the tops of the mangolds to my 

 cattle ; having some forty head, it did not take long to con- 

 sume them, and only harvested them about each alternate 

 day. The tops from the turnips I did not use, as some had 

 lice on them. 



