1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARIVIER. 



389 



TUKNIPS. 



T IS not necessary to discuss 

 the value of the turnip crop. 

 We take it for granted this 

 is fully settled. The ruta 

 baga, and the purple-top 

 strap-leaf flat turnip, are 

 the kinds most extensively 

 cultivated in New England. 

 The great difficulty in the 

 way of cultivating the tur- 

 nip is the weeds. It costs 

 labor and time to keep thera 

 clear of weeds, and to thin them to the proper 

 distance. Sod land is in general, the best land 

 for turnips because it is more free from weeds. 

 A piece of pasture, or bound-out mowing land, 

 with a deep loamy soil, ploughed up about the 

 first of July, and harrowed thoroughly, is as 

 good ground for turnips as can be found. 

 Let this be marked into furrows by a light one- 

 horse plough, and well rotted manure, or su- 

 perphosphate be scattered liberally in the fur' 

 rows, — then throw back the soil that was 

 thrown out by the mould-board of the plough, 

 by means of the same plough, and sow the 

 seed with a drill, after which it is well to pass 

 an iron toothed rake lengthwise of the drills. 

 All manures in which fermentation' has not 

 been sufficient to destroy the vitality of weed 

 seeds should be avoided. All the remaining 

 work, except thinning may be done by the cul- 

 tivator. This should be used three or four 

 times, during the season. Turnips continue 

 growing till November in ordinary seasons. 

 They bear the frosts of autumn without injury. 

 They should be thinned out freely, when the 

 eoil is rich and they are growing thriftily, ten 

 inches apart is none too much. We are apt 

 to err in allowing them to grow too thick. 



The flat turnip is often sowed among corn at 

 the last hoeing. It grows after the corn is ripe. 

 If this practice is adopted, the stalks of the 

 corn should be cut in good season, to allow the 

 sun to reach the turnips more freely. When 

 land is free from weeds this is a good prac- 

 tice, as it does not interfere with the growth 

 of the corn and costs no labor, but the har- 

 vesting. The flat turnip is ready for use in 

 the fall and early part of winter. The ruta 

 baga keeps better, and improves by keeping 

 till February, when the flat turnips are mostly 

 used up. Horses may be readily taught to 



eat the ruta bagas, and will thrive on them, 

 when not severely worked. They should be 

 fed to them in small quantities at first, chopped 

 fine, and sprinkled with salt and ipeal. 



Cooked and mixed with bran or meal, they 

 make excellent food for hogs. If, owing to 

 the shortness of the season, the corn does not 

 ripen well, what better substitute can the far- 

 mer have than a pile of ruta bagas ? and with 

 a generous crop of corn, they will not come 

 amiss. The first dull day in hay time, the 

 turnip patch should be attended to. It will 



pay. 



. , 



THE CROP PROSPECTS. 



We have so little faith in the correctness of 

 the reports of the prospects for crops which 

 are usually published in commercial papers at 

 this season of the year, that we seldom copy 

 them. It is so obviously for the interests of 

 those who wish to buy the incoming harvest 

 cheaply to create the impression of a large 

 supply, that we look with much distrust upon 

 the predictions of an "unusually large crop," 

 "an increase of twenty-five per cent, over that 

 of last year," "the wheat crop of 1868 will be 

 fully one-third greater than that of 1867," 

 "the wheat crop will be immense," "an aver- 

 age of forty to fifty bushels per acre," and 

 similar expressions, made in relation to crops 

 in various sections, which we copy from a 

 single column of a New York city paper, now 

 lying before us. 



If we had confidence in the correctness of 

 these reports we would publish them, as prices 

 are always affected by the demand and supply ; 

 points on which farmers ought to \)e posted, as 

 well as the patrons of these widely circulated 

 sheets. But these "big, swelling words" of 

 country editors and city reporters, who dash 

 off their estimates from what they see from a 

 car winaow as the train rushes past a field, 

 and who may possibly be influenced by a de- 

 sires to "puff" a particular section, or who may 

 permit the wish for cheap bread to be "the 

 father of the thought" of an abundant crop, 

 need confirmation for our use. 



This whole subject of marketing produce 

 ought to be better understood by farmers. 

 There are papers enough in their interest to 

 circulate the facts necessary to enable them to 

 form an opinion as to the condition of the 

 crops and as to the prospects of the market. 

 But how shall these facts be collected ? May 



