202 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



desirable for that purpose, but we grow them mainly as a 

 root crop for feeding purposes. But there is a constant 

 demand for them in the market, to be sold by the barrel, for 

 retailing purposes, and they bring for that purpose about two 

 dollars a barrel, which is a very good price. 



Question. Where do you get the seed? 



Mr. Ware. Grow it ; then I know I have got seed that is 

 good. And if any of you farmers want to get carrot-seed, 

 send down to Marblehead for it. 



Question. Are they highly colored? There is a great 

 call for carrots, especially where they make butter. 



Mr. Ware. These are high colored, and are especially 

 adapted to color the milk of Jersey cows. 



Question. You give them to the cows first? 



Mr. Ware. Certainly. I will now touch upon the turnip 

 crop. This is a second crop. We do not propose to grow it 

 except as a second crop. If you have a piece of land from 

 which a crop of potatoes, or pease, or any other crop, is taken 

 early, plough that land, harrow it, drag it, sow your seed, — 

 any time in August is early enough, generally, — and a good 

 crop of turnips is secured. Be careful not to sow too much 

 seed, because it is a great deal of work to thin them. 



Question. How do you sow your seed ? 



Mr. Ware. With the same machine, which can be adapted 

 to any kind of seed. It has a revolving brush inside that 

 will distribute seed of any kind and any size, through the 

 different sizes of holes. You cannot sow parsnip or carrot 

 seed, unless it is very nicely cleaned, with any other implement 

 with certainty. This will do it with certainty. The turnip 

 crop, as I said, is a second crop, and I consider it a valuable 

 crop to grow as a second crop. The specimen I have here is 

 the best variety. It is the purple-top, strap-leaf turnip. It 

 grows a small top and large bottom. It is a clean reot, sweet 

 and delicate, and if grown quick, it is a delicious vegetable. 

 I think it is valuable to feed to milch cows, and find it very 

 satisfactory. You have heard it said, and probably will 

 again, that the flat turnip is of no account; it is all water; 

 it has no meat-producing or milk-producing quality. In reply 

 to that, I will say that there is a man in my neighborhood who 

 fattened a pair of oxen one winter by feeding them three 



