VOL.. XXJ. SO. -li. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER 



333 



From the Now Genesee Farmer. 



CULTIVATION OP ROOTS. 

 By root culture, is generally understood the rais- 

 )g of the field beets, turnips and carrots, (but not 

 icIudinfT potatoes ) 



Although roots cannot be so extensively nor so 

 rofitably cultivated here as in England, yet to a 

 srtain extent their cultivation can bo made very 

 aneficial, and cspecinlly to the grain-growers, 

 ho have abundance of chaff and straw. 

 The value of roots for winter feeding is not 

 enerally realixed, and especially for fattening ani- 

 lals, and for those which are worked or milked, 

 'he great amount of succulent food which they 

 reduce per acre, and its great value for making 

 nd increasing the value of barn-yard manure, as 

 ell as for feeding, amply compensates for the ex- 

 a labor required in raising and securing them, 

 nd no farmer ought to neglect cultivating a few 

 sres each season. 



The best variety to raise, will depend much on 

 le kind of soil on which they have to be cultiva- 

 ;d, its fertility, &c. 



The ruta baga or Swedish turnip, is generally 

 e most productive on light sandy or gravelly 

 lils ; but a strong clay loam is best adapted to a 

 )untiful crop of the wurtzel and sugar beel ; and 

 ey will do very well on stiff clay, provided it is 

 entifully manured, and well pulv(!rizod by rolling 

 id harrowing. The long Allringham carrot re- 

 lires a light and deep soil, but the large White 

 senibles the wurtzel, and will produce more 

 untifully on strong ground. A rich alluvial soil 

 II generally produce any of them very well. 

 The relative value of the various roots for feed- 

 j has not been satisfactorily determined. The 

 irtzel and sugar beet are very similar, and require 

 J same soil and management. The latter is 

 ; >re nutritious per pound, but the former is gene- 

 I ly more productive, has fewer roots, and is.niuch 

 I sier gathered ; and, on the whole, is rather pre- 

 1 able. The carrot does not yield per acre equal 

 I the beet or turnip ; but for horses and working 

 I en, is more valuable. 'I'he wurtzel, or the large 

 I a;ar beet, are much the best for milch cows. For 

 t tening, the turnip is as valuable as any, and per- 

 I 3S preferable to the wurtzel. But the best for 

 t;h farmer to cultivate, is that which his ground 

 1 I produce most abundantly. 



An ample supply of wtU rolled manure, (and the 

 I re it is mixed with the urine and droppings of 

 I mals the better,) deep plowing, and thoroughly 

 I verizing with the roller and harrow, are very es- 

 I itial to a bountiful crop of any of them. To as- 

 It the beet and carrot seeds in vegetating, soak 

 t former four or five days, the latter two, in soft, 

 li moderately warm water; roll them in plaster, 

 • I endeavor to sow early, before the ground be- 

 «nes too dry. Put on plenty of seed — four 

 finds of beet, or two pounds of carrot, per acre : 

 ('erone or one and a half inch deep, and they 

 ^ 1 seldom fail. The turnip vegetates easily, but 

 i frequently destroyed by the fly as soon as it 



Jnes up. Soak the seed in tanner's oil, roll it in 

 ster, and it will check their ravages much. Sow 

 ^ low ridges or drills, two and a half cr three 

 It apart, and it will facilitate thS first hoeing 

 1;y much. 



Having cultivated from two to five acres of roots 

 \r annum, for 20 years, I will give what I con- 

 fer the best method, on stiff dry soils, (which 



mine are,) and what has most generally proved 

 successful. 



Apply abundance of well rotted manure; spread 

 it evenly over the surface, then plow well, (viz: 

 uniformly and deep ;) harrow effectually, and if ne- 

 cessary roll, so as to thoroughly pulverize the sur- 

 face and mi.x the manure with the soil, which ena- 

 bles it to retain tho moisture and increase the 

 warmth. This also assists the seeds in germina- 

 ting, and affords food to the young and tender 

 plants, giving them a vigorous start. Whenever 

 the manure can be applied and the ground plowed 

 in the fall, it is much the best; especially on stiff 

 clay ground. 



Soak the wurtzel and sugar beet well : there is 

 no danger of injuring it by doing so. I have fre- 

 quently had it sprout previous to planting. If you 

 cannot plant when tho seed is ready, and you fear 

 it is getting too much sprouted, put it into a cool 

 place ; move it carefully from one vessel to anoth- 

 er, so as to cool and dry it a little, but do not let 

 the sprouts become wilted. 



Planting on ridges gives the roots a deeper soil, 

 but the greatest advantage is in the saving of lime 

 in the first hoeing. Making the ridges three feet 

 apart, gives room to pass freely between them with 

 the horse cultivator and harrow, which is of more 

 consequence than the value of the extra ground. 



Commence weeding as soon as the plants can 

 be seen. Taking the weeds in time, saves much 

 labor, and prevents them from covering the ground, 

 and checking the growth of the plants. If there is 

 a good supply of plants, thin out some the first 

 time of weeding, but not too much, for many of 

 them may yet be destroyed. At the second hoe- 

 ing, thin well ; never leave two plants together, 

 unless there is a vacancy each side of them. At 

 the third hoeing, thin thoroughly. Give tho wurt- 

 zel and large sugar beet eight or ten inches — 

 white carrot six or eight — Altringham carrot four 

 or six inches to each plant. In July, the thinnings 

 of the wurtzel, white carrot and sugar beet, are 

 very valuable for table use, and a few may he left 

 when thinning for that purpose ; but they must not 

 be forgotten and allowed to remain. Gather in au- 

 tumn before the hard frost sets in. A light one 

 does not injure them, but when much frozen they 

 will not keep in winter. 



Those who have not cellars, can secure their 

 roots in pits or heaps, similar to potatoes. Put on 

 plenty of straw, but little earth — five or six inches 

 is plenty. Leave a hole open at the top, until cold 

 weather sets in, to allow the steam to pass off, for 

 they are subject to heat, especially the carrots. 



Feed to grown animals, (cattle or horses) from 

 one-fourth to three-fourths of a bushel per day, viz : 

 G.5 lbs. per bushel, according to the wish to feed 

 and the supply of roots. The latter quantity had 

 better be given at two different times. 



Respectfully, W. GARBUTT. 



Whealland, March 1842. 



Arranging Cattle in Summer Pastures. — Oxen 

 and steers may run together ; cows, heifers, year- 

 lings, and large weaned calves, each class by them- 

 selves. Bulls may run with oxen, if not ill-tem- 

 pered. Horses are better alone, and so are sheep. 

 Pastures ought to be divided so as to admit of a 

 change, and it is very desirable to have every pas- 

 ture watered with a running stream or spring. — 

 Jlmer. Agricult. 



Fniin the New Genesee Kurmer. 



VISIT TO DARIUS C;OMSTOCK'S FARM— 

 li.XPERIMKNTS IN RAISING CORN. 



Business calling me to Lenawee county, Mich., 

 I chanced to call on Dnriiis Conistock, at liin excel- 

 lent farm in the town of Raisin. Mr C. ia a vene- 

 rable mcmbor of the society of Friends; and, al- 

 though ho lias passi'd his 80th year, is daily en- 

 gaged in looking to matters about liis farm. His 

 eyesight has somewlmt failed, which cnnses him 

 much inconvenience, ns he is a student in matter* 

 pertaining to his occupation, and of course takes 

 the agricultural papers of tho day. 



Mr C.'fl motto is, " if a farmer ever runs in debt, 

 let it be for manure : for tlmt, if well applied, will 

 soon pay principal and interest." Mr C. had seen 

 it stated in your paper, that over one hundred bush- 

 els of corn had been raised on an acre of land. 

 He determined to try the experiment on two and a 

 half acres of light, sandy land. He applied thirty 

 loads of coarse barn-yard manure to the acre, and 

 turned it under in the middle nf May, by a furrow 

 seven inches deep. It was then rolled, harrowed, 

 furrowed, and planted, in the usual manner. It 

 was once hoed, and the cultivator passed through 

 it twice. One portion of the field was planted 

 with the largo dent, and one with the Duttoii corn. 

 The dent produced the best yield. Part of the 

 field produced 113 bushels to the acre, and tho 

 whole field averaged over 90 bushels to the acre. 

 The land was considered poor, but the manure told 

 the story. 



The same season he let ten acres of good land 

 to .cultivate on shares. The person had the privi- 

 lege of drawing manure from Mr C.'s bsrn-yard; 

 but he concludsd it would not pay the cost — and 

 what was the consequence ? Ilia corn was called 

 a fair crop, but it took the whole ten acres to ob- 

 tain as much as the old gentleman got from bia 

 two and a half acres ! 



Last year, friend Comstook again tried the ex- 

 periment, which Joseph Gibbons thus describes to 

 me in a letter : 



"He selected two and a quarter acres of sandy 

 land — a clover ley, which had been mowed the 

 preceding years. On this he spread 25 loads of 

 barn-yard manure to the acre. From the 10th to 

 the JSthof May it was turned under by furrow, 

 about 9 inches deep ; then about 25 loads of old 

 ashes, scrapings of the hen-house, chip manure, 

 &c., were added ; after which it was well harrow, 

 ed lengthways of the furrows, marked out, and 

 planted with the large dent and red-blaze varieties 

 of corn, in hills two feet apart, and rows three and 

 a half feet apart, with from four to seven kernels 

 in a hill, so that there might be sufficient for three 

 good stalks in each, after weeding. When it came 

 up, a handful of leached ashes on each hill, seemed 

 to check the grubs, which were plenty. The cul- 

 tivator was passed through it three times, and 

 it was twice hoed. When it was harvested, it 

 yielded a little over 100 bushels of sound corn 

 to the acre. In the same field there were near 

 two acres of the sugar beet, which yielded 1050 

 bushels to the acre, or over 30 tons." 



Yours, respectfully, J. Snow. 



The material world has its links, by which it is 

 made to shake hands, as it were, with the vegeta- 

 ble, the vegetable with tho animal, the animal with 

 the intellectual, and the intellectual with what we 

 may be allowed to hope of the angelic. — Lacon. 



