314 



The Turnip Culture. 



Vol. VII. 



The Turnip Culture. 



"No person ever deserved better of his country, than 

 he who first cultivated the turnip."— Lord Kames. 



The introduction of the turnip amongst 

 the cultivated crops, constitutes an era in 

 the art of husbandry. Of the several va- 

 rieties, three may be selected as most wor- 

 thy of attention ; they are the yellow, the 

 white, and the ruta-baga. 



1st. Ruta-baga or Swedish turnip, is the 

 most important of these varieties, and yields 

 the largest quantity of vegetable matter for 

 the use of farm-stock; it should be remarked 

 also, th:it there are varieties of this root, the 

 best having a yellow colour, globular form, 

 and no neck or stem. The seed should be 

 black and full ; one pound being sufficient 

 for an acre, half that quantity producing 

 plants enough, but as the seed is liable to 

 fail, a pound is not too much to insure a 

 crop; the time for sowing being from the 

 2Uth of June to the middle of July; the soil 

 best adapted for their cultivation, being a 

 light, dry and friable loam, or almost any 

 dry soil, with the exception of strong and 

 heavy clays. The land is best prepared by 

 throwing it into drills with the plough, in 

 which compost or short manure may be 

 placed and covered with a bout of the 

 plough, forming a ridge, upon the top of 

 which the seed might be drilled. The ruta- 

 baga nourishes well on a clover lay, which 

 may be broken up after the first crop of hay 

 is carried ; the plants making their appear- 

 ance in a few days, if the season be favour 

 able ; the cleaning being performed by means 

 of a cultivator; the thinning of the plants 

 being done by hand, to the distance of eight 

 or ten inches in the rows. The quality of 

 this crop depends upon the size, and what is 

 remarkable, the largest roots possess the 

 most nutriment. The value of the crop is 

 very variously estimated, the product being 

 on an average, on good land, 600 bushels per 

 acre, the profits being sometimes estimated 

 as high as 80 dollars per acre, their value 

 varying in different seasons and places. It 

 is one of the most valuable crops raised by 

 the firmer, although they are less esteemed 

 than formerly; still they are excellent food 

 for all kinds of cattle, sheep and horses, and 

 produce large quantities of the best manure. 



2. The white turnip requires the same 

 soil and treatment, and the sowing may be 

 delayed for a longer time. It is not so 

 nutritious as the preceding, but is still ex- 

 cellent as a second crop, and for cattle feed 

 in the fall of the year, by which course light 

 soils may bo improved. The Tnnkard va- 

 riety of white turnips, often yields an enor- 



mous crop, and is closer in its texture than 

 the Norfolk white. 



3. The yellow varieties may be sown 

 about the 15th of July, and are richer than 

 the whites, although inferior to the ruta- 

 baga. Sinclair estimates the amount of 

 nourishment in 64 drachms, as follows: 



This table shows the superiority of the 

 ruta-baga over all the other varieties; it 

 yields about six or seven per cent, of its 

 whole weight of nutritive matter, while the 

 white varieties afford but four per cent., and 

 in the largest roots, only three and a half 

 per cent, of their whole weight; hence one 

 acre of ruta-bagas, is equal to one and a 

 half acre of the whites. — Gray's Practical 

 Agriculture. 



If every one would content himself with 

 cultivating no more land with an exhaust- 

 ing crop than he could well manage; if he 

 would never plant with the view of taking 

 more of the original stamina from the land 

 in the present crop, than he communicates 

 to it, we should see less of what is called 

 poor land; for we are inclined to believe 

 that there is much less difference in the 

 quality of land, than in the management of 

 it. Strong land with a hard pan, yields 

 more when it is first cleaned, and will last 

 longer than light land; but when both are 

 reduced by exhausting crops, it is generally 

 conceded that the lighter land for many pur- 

 poses, is more valuable than the heavier: 

 by pursuing a regular rotation of crops with 

 effectual manuring, it is thought the lighter 

 land will give most profit, and that the crops, 

 through the extremes of drought and wet, 

 will be most sure. — Farmer's Visitor. 



" I HAVE NO INFLUENCE." 



What if the little rain should say, 



So small a drop as I 

 Can ne'er refresh those thirsty fields— 



I'll tarry in the sky! 



What if a shining beam of noon 

 Should in it's fountain stay, 



Because its feeble light alone 

 Cannot create a day ? 



Doth not each rain drop help to form 

 The soul-refreshing shower. 



And every ray of light to warm 

 And beautify the flower? 



