144 



CULTIVATION OF PLANTS. 



to the medium distance to be left between the plants; and the 

 distance should be according to their expected size. Sometimes 

 the cultivator passes again along the intervals, but more fre- 

 quently the hand-hoeing, just referred to, concludes the pro- 

 cess; the weeds being now kept down by the rapid growth of 

 the plants, and the overshadowing of the intervals by the 

 leaves. 



Harvesting is postponed as long as the season will permit. 

 The roots are pulled by hand, laid on the ground, the tops of 

 the two rows facing each other. A hand following with a bill- 

 hook, with a light blow separates the tops from the roots as 

 rapidly as three or four persons can pull them. Three men 

 will, in this way, harvest, of a good crop, three hundred 

 bushels per day.* The tops are gathered into heaps and taken 

 to the barn-yard in carts daily for the stock, until they are con- 

 sumed. 



There are various methods adopted of storing turnips. The 

 Gcnesee Farmer recommends pits to be dug in the field where 

 they are raised, limited to two feet in width, of an indefinite 

 length, and not more than two feet deep.' But it is all-important 

 that the soil and sub-soil of the place where the pit is sunk, be 

 light and dry. They may be buried in almost any soil, pecu- 

 liarly adapted to their culture,. The turnips are stored by hand, 

 and require great care, and should terminate in a ridge about 

 eighteen inches above the ground. 



The crown of the ridge is then to be pierced with an iron 

 bar, at intervals of about a yard, into which a wisp of straw 

 may be inserted, so as to let off the rarified air; otherwise the 

 roots will heat, and the rarified air not being permitted to 

 escape, the turnips are apt to rot. For want of this precaution 

 many crops have been nearly lost. No danger need be feared 

 from the admission of frost to the roots through these open- 

 ings. The best way is to store them in barns, or in cellars. 

 They must always be guarded against frost. 



Yield. The amount of produce per acre varies according to 

 the soil, good or bad tillage, and other circumstances. Six 

 hundred bushels of the common or English turnip are gene- 

 rally considered as a good crop but heavier crops are fre- 

 quently raised. The Farmers' Cabinet, vol. iii. p. 17, gives, 

 on the best authority, eight hundred and fifty-two bushels to 

 the acre. The ruta-baga, with proper care, yields large crops 

 on an average, and with the same treatment, one-third more 

 than the common turnip. Numerous instances are on record 

 of from twelve to sixteen hundred bushels being raised to the 



* Judge BCEL, Complete Farmer, p. 266. 



