230 BOARD OF ^AGRICULTURE. 



remarks this afternoon, beets, mangolds (mangolds being but a 

 coarse variety of beet), cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, potatoes, 

 melons, onions, parsnips, pease, squashes, tomatoes, and turnips. 

 Of course, I can pass but very discursively over so broad a field. 

 1 can briefly discuss them, under the heads of soil — prepara- 

 tion of it — manure — sowing of seed — cultivation of the plants 

 — gathering of crops. I propose to speak of the roots first. 

 These are beets, mangolds, carrots, parsnips and turnips. I 

 will also classify with these onions, for although the onion is a 

 bulb, the cultivation is analogous. 



Of the Soil. — Of these roots, the turnip will accept the widest 

 scope of soil, from sand down through muck and clay. When. 

 I speak of the turnip, I mean also the ruta-baga. Of course, I 

 know the flat English turnip covets a sandy soil, whereas the 

 ruta-baga does better upon heavy soil. 



Next we come to beets and mangolds. These will grow on a 

 sandy loam down to clay. It is well to remark, however, that 

 grown on lighter soil, they are sweeter, and, as a general rule, 

 it is the same with all vegetables, as with all grasses, — the lighter 

 the soil adapted to them, the sweeter the product. I reccllect 

 some years ago a friend called on me to buy some mangolds. 

 I took him out to a field where there were two lots, one on up- 

 land, the other on lowland. Those on the lowland were the 

 largest and handsomest, and he said he would take those. I 

 asked him to taste them. He tasted them, and found those on 

 the lowland almost tasteless, while the upland mangold was 

 almost as sweet as the common market beet. Of course, the 

 more sugar we get, the more nutriment we get. Although 

 these vegetables have the greatest scope of soil, still, they will 

 thrive best on the soil best adapted to them, viz., a rather heavy 

 loam. 



The next in its scope of soil is the parsnip. This will grow 

 on heavy soil to muck ; it will not thrive on lighter soil. 



Next, carrots. These will thrive all the way from sand to 

 muck. On sand, as all our farmers know (I am telling old 

 truths here), they are long, regular and handsome. On muck, 

 if it is a dry season, they will be very forked. I never saw 

 them on rocky land so forked as I have seen them on muck in 

 a dry season. On rocky land, they will thrive, but it is very hard 



