6. 



Tlie Ruta-baga Turnip. 



193 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 The Ruta-baga Turnip. 



Mr. Editor, — In the " Massachusetts 

 >ughman," a correspondent is inquiring 

 : cause of so many " sneers at the busi- 

 is of raising the ruta-baga turnip; a great 

 ny at the present day despising the root, 



once thought it nice." In the course 

 lis observations, he gives it as his opinion 

 ,t the crop has become deteriorated by 

 ng grown, side by side, with the French 



1 English turnips and cabbages; they 

 zing long stems, large spreading roots and 

 mgy insides, and not keeping well in the 

 iter; and then he goes on to say, that 

 jrn is found to mix when grown together." 

 w, if the several sorts of turnip, cabbage 

 1 ruta-baga, are grown together, and the 

 id from either kind be reserved and sown, 

 ire would be no question that the produce 

 uld exhibit a woful " mixing," indeed ; but 

 they are merely grown together, and not 

 •mitted to seed, I should have no fear of 

 sir mixing, let them be as closely set as 

 l please. But herein is the chief cause 

 the complaint against both the ruta-baga 

 1 the sugar-beet — the land on which they 



! grown, is not sufficiently cultivated be- 

 e the seed is sown ; it should be repeat- 

 y ploughed and harrowed, and rolled, with 

 r iew first to exhaust the land of weeds, by 

 ning down every crop so soon as it ap- 

 irs above ground ; and next, to spread a 

 sh surface of soil to the atmosphere as 

 en as possible, by which the land becomes 

 eetened, as well as pulverized to a great 

 pth; and into this well pulverized soil the 

 ints send their tap roots, where, finding 

 triment suitable for their growth, they are 

 t induced to throw out those strong lateral 

 )ts, so often complained of, but, relying 

 on the small fibres which shoot fortli from 

 3 sides of the bulb for a supply of food, 

 llected near the surface of the land, they 

 pend upon the single tap root for water, 

 >m below, which, being supplied in purity 

 d plenty, the bulb grows to perfection ; its 

 ces, properly elaborated, concocted and 

 itured, circulate, instead of becoming 

 ignant; and therefore, the plant remains 

 althy, affording no food for the blight, or 

 'ing animalculse, which are sure to infest 

 e crop so soon as its juices become putrid, 

 )m whatever cause that might arise, but 

 tiich is most generally attributable to an 

 iwholesome and sour subsoil ; for which, 

 wever, the subsoil plough is destined to 

 icotne a renovator indeed. With such 

 iltivation, the ruta-baga will be found to 

 '■ no longer spongy and fork-rooted, but 

 keep perfectly sweet and sound through 



the winter and late spring. And to this su- 

 perior cultivation, is, no doubt, attributable 

 the fact, that the largest class of cattle in 

 England, are fattened for the market by the 

 turnip and hay alone ; the culture of their 

 root crops being attended to with the great- 

 est care and success ; forming the first crop 

 in their admirable rotation, namely ; turnips, 

 barley, or oats, clover, wheat; by which 

 their lands are kept clean, and go on im- 

 proving for ages. The land designed for 

 turnips, is ploughed deep in the fall of the 

 year, and laid dry by means of cross-furrows, 

 for carrying away the winter rains; it is 

 run back in early spring, and when dry and 

 fit for working, it is harrowed and rolled, 

 and cleared from root weeds, and suffered 

 again to rest, to produce another crop of 

 weeds; these are again turned in, and the 

 land is again well worked ; and when the 

 weeds again appear, they are again smo- 

 thered, and the land again well pulverized. 

 All this is performed by about midsummer, 

 when the crop of turnips is sown, after the 

 land has been well manured with compost, 

 collected during the winter, and pulverized 

 by turning in the spring; this being ploughed 

 in by a shallow and very narrow furrow 7 , the 

 seeds are covered by a single light harrow- 

 ing. It is very customary to sow the turnip 

 crop broad-cast ; and a single hand-hoeing is 

 usually found sufficient to keep them clean, 

 after five ploughings and the effectual de- 

 struction of as many crops of weeds. This 

 is the universal practice throughout the tur- 

 nip districts of England, where the system 

 of cleaning the land while no crop is grow- 

 ing on it to form an obstruction to their la- 

 bours, has long been found to be the most 

 economical, as well as the most effective ; 

 the quality of the crop being in proportion 

 to the labour bestowed upon it in cultiva- 

 tion. 



Since writing the above, my attention has 

 been turned to an account of the manage- 

 ment of a field that had become impover- 

 ished and choked with weeds, which is wor- 

 thy the notice of those of your readers who 

 might have lands in the same condition ; it 

 is contained at pages 271-2, of the third 

 volume of the Cabinet ; and as some of our 

 friends may not be in possession of that vol- 

 ume, I have transcribed it for reinsertion, if 

 it meet your approbation ; for I believe it is 

 on a subject which is becoming of growing 

 interest to all who are engaged in the culti- 

 vation of the soil ; and particularly at this 

 time, when the differences of opinion with 

 regard to the value of root crops as cattle 

 feed, are indeed about as distant as " light 

 from darkness." Vir. 



Dec. 29th, 1842. 



