74 



THE FARMERS* REGISTER. 



proof, and I shall wait with a good deal of im- 

 patience for the opportunity of making another 

 experiment. Of what tmmense importance would 

 be such a discovery wiiieh would assure us the 

 whole of a crop of which we cannot now calcu- 

 late upon receiving more than one-half, unless we 

 have more than an average share of good luck.* 



" In addition to what has been staied above, 

 I must not lorget to mention that the litier upon 

 which the lime had been thrown was led away 

 to hogs as heretofore, and that they were not at 

 all incommoded by it. I used as much as three 

 quintals of lime to seven ounces and a half of 

 eeed, [eggs,] and I must confess that after hav- 

 ing been so liberal with it I had given up all 

 thoughts ol' deriving any advantage from the litter, 

 an advantage which is by no means unimportant 

 in our southern establishment, i soon perceived, 

 however, that the greater portion ol' the powder- 

 ed lime disappeared while the litier was drying, 

 and provided it was well shaken before it was 

 given to the hogs, it became nearly clean. As to 

 the excrementiiious matter, it remains white, but 

 the experience of five months has convinced me 

 that it may be eaten without the least danger to 

 the animals. There is then every thing to hope 

 and nothing to fear. Fawre-Ciguet." 



M. Jlinans Carrier. 



RUTA BAGA. 



From the New England Fanner. 

 Mr. Editor — In the summer of 1839, I sowed 

 3-4 of an acre of i:round with ruta ba^as and 14 

 of an acre adjoining with Dale's hybrid. The 

 ground was all prepared alike and the seed sOwn 

 on the same day. They all came np well, and in 

 the early part of the season Dale's turnip grew 

 more rapidly than the ruta bagas, and promised 

 an abundant crop. But when the roots had at- 

 tained the size of my finger, they began to rot ; 

 and I believe I had not a turnip on the piece 

 worth pullmg. None of the ruta bagas died. I 

 concluded that Dale's turnip was a less certain 

 crop than the others, and that I would try no more 

 of them. 



About the 25ih of June last, I sowed half an 

 acre with ruta bagas. They came up well ; but 

 by the time the roots were 1-4 of an inch in 

 diameter, I found ihey were dying. I did not 

 examine them particularly for some days ; or, 

 perhaps, weeks, after I made the d scovery. 

 When I did examine them, however, I found they 

 were rotting in the middle, and when the rot had 

 reached the outside of the root, the top died. On 

 many which were not dead, I found a small punc- 

 ture on the side, and on cutting the root open, I 

 found it had been eaten hollow near the top. On 

 pulling up and closely inspecting a large number 

 of them, I found in two or three a small white 

 maggot, about the size of the largest we see in 

 cheese. 



In pulling my crop, which though a light one 



* This is an important consideration to the Ameri- 

 can silk-ciilturist, since the loss which Europeans sus- 

 tain from the muscardine alone, is here seen to be 

 more than sufficient to counterbalance the disadvantage 

 of our high-priced labor. 



was not an entire failure, 1 found many ct" the 

 turnips, which had grown to a good size, were 

 hollow ; and many of them were quite delective. 

 All the crops of ruia bagas which I have noticed 

 in this quarter this season were rather light. 



Now, Mr. Ediior, I wish to know wlielher it is 

 common lor ruta bagas to sutler from this kind of 

 worm ; and if so, whether there be any remedy 1 

 Or is my disappointment owing to some mistake 

 of mine ? Tliat this question may be answered 

 I will state my management and the manner the 

 ground had been previously treated. The soil is 

 a sandy loam. In the spring of 1838 it was 

 covered with a strong sward, which was ploughed 

 in for corn, alter being well manured !i-om the 

 barn. In the fall, lime was applied at the rate 

 of eight casks to the acre. In the spring of 1839 

 it was again manured from the barn and ploughed 

 for mulberry trees. Twenty-five or thirty loads 

 of compost, made of stable manure, loam and 

 lime, to the acre were covered in the furrow with 

 the trees. Bt^fore hoeing, a top-dressing of 25 

 bushels of crushed bone and 25 bushels ol leached 

 ashes was applied to the acre. And as I was 

 desirous of gelling a large growth, alier hoeing 1 

 added 25 bushels of poudretie to the acre. In the 

 summer, I sowed common turnips, between the 

 rows. The crop this year showed thai the land 

 was in good condition. 



In the spring of 1840, the land was ploughed 

 and lay in the furrow till the time of sowing ruta 

 bagas, when it was harrowed, plouijhed a second 

 lime and then harrowed well. Liyht furrows 

 were then opened with a horse plough, a dressing 

 of bone manure was put in the furrows and 

 slighily covered wiih dust, when the seed was 

 sown in the furrows, by means of a drill harrow. 



If you, Mr. Editor, or any of your correspon- 

 dents, can tell me the cause ol' my (allure, and 

 the remedy, (if any,) 1 shall be highly gratified. 

 I think more light may be elicited by larmers 

 publishing their lailures, than by their publishing 

 their success. K. 11. P. 



Manchester, Ct-, Jan. 7, 1841. 



[We have seen crops of ruta baga similarly af- 

 fected. Have conjectured causes. Sometimes 

 the question with us has been, whether the evil 

 were not caused by the use of unlermented ma- 

 nure in the drills ; and at other limes we have 

 asked whether it were not early sowing, R. R. 

 P. has here shown that the cause must be diffe- 

 rent from eiiher of these. He is entitled to thanks 

 for " publishing his failures," and we would aid 

 him to a solution of his difficulties were it in our 

 power; but we can only join him in a request 

 that some one will give the needed information. 

 We will simply ask whether he or anyone else 

 has ever seen a cro[i euHer in ihis way, excepting 

 upon free or light soils and those highly manured. 

 On tenacious and moist lands, and upon sward 

 land we do not recollect ever witnessing such 

 failures. 



The inquiry relative to Mr. Ingersoll's piggery 

 accompanying the above communication we have 

 not published, because we are led to believe that 

 the communication reli^rred to, once made in 

 these columns, was never worthy of credit (we 

 know not from whom it came,) and because the 

 orentlemen is not now in this vicinity. — En. N. E. 



FaH3TER. 



