140 



THE GENESEE FAR5IER. 



of such manure the following year is ver^ slight, es- 

 l)ecially if tlie land is sown with any of the cereals. 

 On clover, the mineral manure left in the soU some- 

 times proves beneficial. This is in accordance with 

 theory ; and we believe agi-ees with the experience 

 of farmers who use guano on the poor soils in Ma- 

 ryland and Virginia. 

 On the whole, then, 

 ! hese results are highly 

 tJivorable to top-dress- 

 ing wheat with guano 

 and other manures, af- 

 fording available nitro- 

 gen at a cheap rate. 



KOHL-KABI. 



This plant is begin- 

 ning to receive increas- 

 ed attention as a farm 

 i\)ot crop, in England. 

 it is in many respects 

 ^(etter adapted to suc- 

 ceed in our dry climate 

 than the turnip. Mok- 

 rox says of it : " Kohl- 

 llabi is the hulb of dry 

 jiiDinieis; heat and 

 drouth are congenial to 

 it,, and experience has 

 jU-oved tiiat tliis plant 

 ij'rovvs, prospers, and 

 yields an enormcnis crop 

 und^er circumstances 

 where.in Avhite turnips 

 imd Swedes could barely 

 exist." 



This plant became 

 first knuwu in 1597, and 

 in its orij^nnal state, as 

 aiii)ears fruia tlie ac- 

 companying engraving, 

 which is a Juc simile 

 of one in Gerarde's Herlal, published in 1633, seems 

 quite a different plant from what it does now. The 

 contrast between i\m plant and the perfection to 

 which it has now attaijied — as shown in our cut of 

 the Late Green Kohl-Babi, taken from the Journal 

 of the Royal Agricultaral Society of England- 

 shows wliat wonders may be performed in the way 

 of iuii)roving plants, by & judicious system of cul- 

 tivation and care. 



In 1837, according to Mr. Towers, the attention 

 of Englisli farmers was first systematically directed 

 to the culture of Kohl-Rabd as a field crop. In 



ORIGINAL KOHL-RABI 



consequence of the failure of the turnips in some of 

 the middle and eastern eoiinties of England, from 

 the effects of the ravages of a Gateqjillar, a substi-. 

 tute for turnips was eagerly looked for and tt)une} 

 in thi.j plant, whose bulbs, at that time being raised 

 on a stout fibrous stem, after tlie manner shown- m 

 our first cut, effectually 

 defied the grubs, Tlic- 

 caterpillars disappear- 

 ing shortly afterward,, 

 the cultivation of • the 

 turnip was resumed, 

 and the Kohl-Rabi 

 seems to have been 

 generally abandoned. 



In 1847, Mr. Hewitt 

 Davis drew attention 

 again to this plant; he 

 stated that he had been 

 very successful for some 

 years in raising heavy 

 crops uix)n poor soils, 

 and contrasted its great 

 value in comparison 

 with Swedes and com- 

 mon turnips, wliich 

 ■were nearly or quite a 

 total failure that year 

 in the south of Eng-" 

 land, from the effects of 

 long-continued drouth 

 Since that, according to 

 Messrs. Peter Lavsoji 

 & Son, of Edinbui-gh, 

 Scotland, the culture of 

 Kohl-Rabi has been 

 rapidly extending, es- 

 pecially in Ireland. Its 

 growth in Scotland is, 

 however, at present 

 very limited, fiom a be- 

 lief that the climate is 

 too severe. This is now proved to be a mistake, 

 as it is found to be hardier than the Swede^ and is 

 quite unaffected by frost, even with the thermometer ' 

 10° below freezing. 



It was formerly diflicult to procure good seed of 

 the Ivohl-Rabi^ most of that used being imported 

 from Germany; but the Messrs. Lawson, who are 

 probably the largest seedsmen in the world, have 

 paid much attention to its eultivation of late years, 

 and are now able to supply seed of the best quality 

 and most improved varieties. It may be grown 

 on ajij good turnip soil, but it has been found that 



