56 



Alderman Meehi sr.ys : " It seems very ungracious 

 that \vhen you have grown a splendid crop of turnips, 

 at an expense of $35 to $50 the acre, the sheep are 

 to consume it, leaving you nothing but the price of 

 the hay and cake you gave them with it; but it is 

 a system that can't be avoided, until you find some 

 cheaper source of manure/' 



That is you may sell the fat sheep for enough over 

 their original cost, to pay for the hay and cake you 

 gave them ! But how can they afford to give so 

 much for the nitrogen in the turnips ? Is it because 

 the turnips are eaten on the ground, and that makes 

 all the nitrogen available. And besides this, the 

 manure from the cake and hay and phosphates are 

 all deposited on the soil. No liquids are lost. 



Mechi also writes : i; At this moment (March, 1857} 

 you cannot buy lean sheep under 7s. per stone ol S 

 Ibs.. (net dead weight,) whilst the price of fat sheep 

 is only 6s. per stone; so that probably those who 

 purchase lean stock now will have to give away 

 their root and green crops without return, except the- 



manure.'' 



The fact is, it takes so much labor, so much bone 

 dust, or super phosphate, or other manures, and so 

 much time, to grow a good crop of turnips, and to- 

 feed them on the land, so that none of the liquid 

 shall be lost, that we. in our cold climate must look 

 lor a cheaper source of nitrogen than by raising 

 turnips to feed to sheep or cattle We must give 

 more attention and more labor, and more manure to- 

 other green crops to secure a heavy yield, and then 

 they will show their power, whether we plow them 



