194 CULTURE OF TURNIPS. 



time of milking, or immediately after, or by steaming 

 before feeding, or putting a small quantity of the solu- 

 tion of nitre into the pail, and milking upon it. 



Turnips may be sown any time in June, in rich land, 

 well mellowed by cultivation. Very large crops are often 

 obtained sown as late as the middle of July, or first of 

 August, on an inverted sod. The Michigan or double- 

 mould-board plough leaves the land light, and in admira- 

 ble condition to harrow, and drill in turnips. A success- 

 ful root-grower last year cut two tons of hay to the 

 acre, on the 23d of June, and after it was removed from 

 the land spread eight cords of rotten kelp to the acre, 

 and ploughed in ; after which about three cords of fine 

 old compost manure were used to the acre, which was 

 sown with ruta baga seed, in drills, three feet apart, 

 plants thinned to eight or ten inches in the drill. No 

 after cultivation was required. On the 15th of Novem- 

 ber he harvested three hundred and seventy bushels of 

 splendid roots to the acre, carefully measured off. 



The nutritive equivalent of Swedish turnips as com- 

 pared with good meadow hay is 676, taking hay as a 

 standard at 100 ; that is, it would require 6.76 lbs. of 

 turnips to furnish the same nutriment as one pound of 

 good hay ; but, fed in connection with other food, as 

 hay, for instance, perhaps five pounds of turnips would 

 be about equal to one pound of hay. 



The English or round turnip is usually sown broad- 

 cast after some other crop, and large and valuable re- 

 turns are often obtained. The Swede is sown in drills. 

 Both these varieties are used for the production of milk. 



The chief objection to the turnip crop is that it 

 leaves many kinds of soil unfit for a succession of some 

 other crops, like Indian corn, for instance. In some 

 sections no amount of manuring appears to make corn 

 do well after turnips or ruta ba°:as. 



