14G BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



the leaves. Gatlier all kinds in dry weather — leave in heaps 

 two or three days to dry before storing. If the grower has not 

 dry cellar room to store his roots in, they may be preserved as 

 follows : " Dig a pit six feet wide, ten or fifteen feet long, and 

 eiglitcen inches deep, pile the roots as steep and high as the 

 base will carry and kccj) them ; cover the lieap with a layer of 

 straw six inches thick, and follow witli a covering of earth six 

 inches deep, patting it down so that the rains shall not furrow 

 it ; set one or more tile ventilators loosely filled with straw ; 

 in covering the heap throw np the earth so as to leave a ditch 

 around it about two feet from the base line, being sure to so 

 construct it as to drain the water away ; cover the heap with 

 an additional six inches of earth as late as the season will allow. 

 Ileaps of roots, however stored, must be properly ventilated — 

 vegetable matter is invariably decomposed by heat, hence the 

 frequent loss invariably resulting from a want of care in storing 

 til cm. Let them be kept at as low a temperature as possible, 

 above freezing point. All growers of root crops know by dearly 

 bought experience, that if the crop is not properly manured or 

 cultivated, it is the most costly crop gathered on the farm. 



If a farmer is unable to provide the requisite manures, or if 

 he has not the time to cultivate the crop, and is unwilling 

 to pay for the labor required, (the chief labor being required in 

 the busiest season of the year,) he will suffer less pecuniarily, 

 by getting along as best he can, without attempting to raise it. 



Tlie farmers of England are governed by reason and circum- 

 stances in the cultivation of carrots, mangolds, ruta-bagas, and 

 white turnips, which do not bear directly uj)on the farmers 

 of New England. The farmers of England yearly furnish the 

 London market alone with the mutton of 1,500,000 slieep, and 

 more than a quarter of a million of fatted oxen and calves, and 

 pigs in proportion. The English market can always be sup- 

 plied with grain from abroad, but it must be supplied by the 

 home farmer witli beef. 



Besides this stern fact, the soil of England is in better tilth 

 than ours. In consequence of the necessity for rearing and 

 fattening so much stock in England, the lands are kept in a 

 better condition than we are ready or able to keep ours. The 

 climate of England also favors the economy of a root crop. 



