116 TURNIPS. 



Ah ! says the farmer, this will never do ; the crop will 

 not be worth the expense. First make one fair experi- 

 ment, and we are confident you will not give up the pur- 

 suit ; you ought to take into consideration, that after the 

 turnips are off the ground, it will be in a high state of 

 preparation for several succeessive crops, of various 

 kinds, and that without this, or similar tillage, it may re- 

 main during your life in an unproductive state. 



The time of sowing depends upon the application of 

 the crop ; from the middle of July to the first of August, 

 is the proper time, if intended for winter feeding. A 

 damp time should be chosen. 



The quantity of seed sown on an acre by the turnip 

 farmers, is never less than one pound, more frequently 

 a pound and a half The crop may be greatly aug- 

 mented in product, by going over the ground, once at 

 least, with a hoe, for the purpose of extirpating the 

 weeds, and thinning the plant, so as to stand from six to 

 eight or ten inches apart, according to the size they are 

 expected to grow. If the weeds rise again, as they 

 commonly will in old ground, the hoe should be applied 

 the second time. Here again will the farmer exclaim 

 against the expense and trouble of hoeing ; but let him 

 try one acre in this way, and leave another of the same 

 quality to nature, as is too frequently done, and he will 

 find, says M. Mahon^ that the extra produce of the hoed 

 acre, will more than six times compensate for the labor 

 estovved. 



Among numerous precautions, recommended to pre- 

 vent the destructive ravages of the lly, the following are 

 considered the most eifectual. To steep the seed in fish 

 oil twelve or twenty-four hours, drain it off, and mix 

 the seed with dust or piaister, to separate and enrich it. 

 Or in a dry season, soon after the plants have come up, 

 sow very thinly over them, some powdered soct or 

 lime, in a dewy morning. But probably the most effec- 

 tual method is, to use a heavy roller after sowing. The 

 turnip fly is always found most numerous in rough work- 

 ed ground, as there they can retreat and take shelter 

 under the clods, from the weather, birds, &c. 



Some strongly recommend cultivating the common 

 turnip in drills, in a manner similar to ruta baga, except 

 that they are allowed to grow nearer each other in the 



