666 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



in ditJercnt ciBCumslanees and soils. Thus ihe 

 leafless varielieis will be ol' a beiier qualiiy, and 

 will ripen belter in a cold and niois'i soil, wliiltfl 

 those which keep oh the sun Irora their lools will 

 proieef. theuiselveis belter in a drought on a diy 

 and scorcising eoil. The varieties whose tubcr- 

 c'e<3 itiid io ruise iheniseives ro the suruce ahould 

 Ott uilied more, ai.d consequently plauied more tiio- 

 lani, than the o;her kiridtf ; the irvanuiii ul iliose 

 V. ho.se tubercles naiuraliy grow downw anis should 

 be propoitionabiy .opposite. One sees i.y this that 

 liie study ol the vaiieties is lar Irom ueing in- 

 diticrent, and that to obtain in quaiuiiy and (luaiity 

 the best possible produce, ii is necessary to com- 

 bine local circunitiawces wilh the halms of the 

 variety, and lo modily the culture in con.'equence 

 ihereui; Among the numexous varieucts which 

 exist, 1 f-hall only mention son.e of the most va- 

 luable. Lecurmchonjaune, called the yellow Hol- 

 land in the Parisian markets, is very light and 

 tiigestible. La iniffe cVaciit is a pale reJ, tMiriy 

 and very good. La Descroiziile is ol a rose color, 

 jietiy long, of an excellent quality, and keeps 

 well. Thu early dwarf la yel;ow, round, and re- 

 markable lor its extreme precocity. It ripens in 

 June. Ti'.e fine early is a variety vvhick has 

 been latelj- brought horn the United JSlalee, and 

 is almost as lorward as ihe preceding, but more 

 mealy and ofa belter quality. La Chave, or Shaw, 

 is yeiiow, obluiig auj more Jorward, larger and 

 more productive ihan the triiffe cTaout. It is ihe 

 most valuable ol the early vaiieiies ibal 1 know. 

 The late Irish, called the j^mericanai Neulchalel, 

 m Swiizerliind, and ihe Swiss potato at Valen- 

 ciennes, is valuable because it can be kf'pt until 

 midsummer without sprouting. Many other va- 

 rieties might be men;ioned, paiiiculariy among 

 ilio pale led and the large jenuw. Many ot th:8 

 last variety have the merit ol being al the same 

 time productive and very good. The varieties 

 ol' the potato are not absolute, but defiend olien 

 on the climate and the soil, and ik is proper that 

 one should try many kinds belore he determines 

 which he shall cultivate. The seed can here be^ 

 of great use in creating new- varieties in dih'erent 

 tiluaiioiif, more suiieU lo the climate in which 

 they aie originated, than those brouglu Irom a 

 distance. 



I have received from M. Saline a wild potato, 

 the type ol all of our varieties, but its small ^nd 

 brown tubercles are inlerior to our good gpecies. 

 I iiive mentioned this vaneiy oniy on account ol 

 ilie inlercsi which it oHers m relation to natural 

 history and to the history ol' this plant, soimpori- 

 ani in our rural economy. To the dilieieni 

 viuieiits ijieiiiioned above 1 will here add the 

 Siinvitlc. h is'a yeiiow, oblong potaio, and wrs 



)iained Irom ihe feed by M. Sainvlllr, a Ihrmer 



01 disiinciion, who had ihe kindness lo communi- 

 cate it lo me, with many oiher good varieiies ob- 

 t lined in the same manner. It is one ol' the 

 tiesi potatoes thai 1 am conversant vviih, has' a 

 lirie pul|), is dry, mealy, and has a line 9,ivor. 

 This and the iJescroiziile are, I ihink, the only 

 puiatucB which can without too much exair"eraiioii 

 he (^mpared to the chestnut. The fir^T working 

 'o be yiven to the potatoes nmy he done very 

 ulvantHgcously with a harrow, draguiig it irans- 

 ver;ely on the rows so.iie lime after planting, 

 when Ihe t-hools first begin to show ihemselves 

 above the ground ; they pass the harrow twice 



over the rows, this is a good and economical 

 mode of working the potato. 



Navet, turnip. Rabiouk. Brusica jRapa. — 

 The resources which the lurnij) lurnishes as lood 

 lor cattle through the winter are generally known. 

 From lime immemorial they. huve used this root 

 in France lor liitiemng beeves and to aid in the 

 keeping ol cows, sheep and hugs. Turnips like 

 a soil rather lighi and ory, than stili and moisi, 

 well prepaied, clean and manured. I'he ordina- 

 ry time lor sowing them is horn the first ol July 

 lo the first ot August, it however may in some 

 cases be delerred as late as ihe first of iSepiember 

 and in others may be much earlier. The usual 

 mode of sowing mem m Fiance is to sow ihem 

 broad-cast; that of sowing (hem in rows would be 

 ct^rtainly prelerable on account ol the greater lacihty 

 ol weeding and working them, il the implemenit! 

 suitable lor this work, such as the cultivator, the 

 small triangular harrow, andoiher similar instru- 

 ments, were more used among us. One can 

 even after having sown them bioad-cast trace 

 the rows with these instruments at the fiisl work- 

 ing. J3ut, in whatever manner one sows them, 

 il IS always advantageous lor the lurnips, and lor 

 tiie crop that lollows them, that they be thin and 

 well woiked. Aiihough it is generally very ad- 

 vantageous 10 give the culiure of turnips the 

 care which i have indicated, yei I should add that 

 they Irequently gel. very good crops of this root 

 with much less cme, and in sowing them after a 

 single light vvoiking given to the stubble fields 

 the seed will tlirne iI the season is lavorable. 

 Although this is t)y no means the best n-iode, yet 

 m coutuiits where iliis culture is but liiile advanced 

 ilolten renders good service to iheiarmers. It la 

 particularly in the rye lands, light and sandy, that 

 iliis manner of cultivaimg ihe turnip can be 

 practised uiih success. A I large varieties are 

 suitable lor the larmer ; ihe one principally used 

 IS the large turnip ol Limousin called ihe Jiabi- 

 oule. There are many varieties of the turnip. 

 That of y/uvergne with a red top is excellent, the 

 Norfolk is s iii fnore renowned, but it is slow in 

 coming lo maturity, and for that reason does not 

 suit lor late sowing, and n quires a carelul culture 

 to obtain iis lull develofienu in ; a third, originally 

 from Holland, and noticed in my collection as ihe 

 Turnep luUif, is valuable on account of the liicili- 

 ty of its success, ihe rapid advancement and the 

 great size of its roots. It is much better suited 

 than the other varieties lo be sown laie and under 

 untavorable circumstances. The round yellow fur- 

 nip is also a very good variety ; it grows less out ef 

 (he giound than ihe Jiabiuvle, and does not ac- 

 quiie such great size ; its |julp is close and firm, 

 and it can stand the host rather beiier. A new 

 variety, the yellow Scotch turnip, has lately spread 

 a liiile in Sioiland and Englanu, because it is said 

 10 be better able than all others to stand the cold. 

 Among ihe long turnips one of ihe most beautilul 

 and best lor the larmers is the long navet de cam- 

 pagne, from Alsace, sometimes known as the large 

 Berlin turnip. The turnips should be dug up 

 and put away belore the co:d weather, at least all 

 ihai you do not wish lo have eaten where they 

 eland, by ihe sheep, which is in some instances 

 rery advisable, 'i'hey sow generally six pounds 

 of seed to the hectare.* 



* A hectare is equal to two English acres. 



