MR. colman's address. 17 



Of the value of English turnips I shall not say much. They 

 are very easily raised. Cattle and sheep are very fond of them, 

 and will thrive upon them. In Great Britain many of their 

 cattle are entirely fattened upon them, and English beef is cele- 

 brated all over the world. Upwards of eleven hundred bushels 

 have been raised to an acre by Mr. Featherstonhaugh of New- 

 York, and premiums have been given in Scotland to crops of 

 seventy-five and ninety-six tons to the Scotch acre, which is one 

 fourth larger than ours. As a second crop they may be raised 

 to great advantage. 



The Ruta Baga is a highly valuable crop. I have raised 

 nine hundred bushels to the acre at a less expense than the same 

 extent of potatoes could be cultivated, and four hundred and six 

 hundred bushels have been produced on sward land from which 

 a crop of grass has been taken the same season. A crop of four 

 hundred bushels to the acre was raised on a grass ley and sowed 

 on the 18th of July; but I am inclined to believe that the best 

 mode of culture is to raise the plants in a seed bed and transplant 

 them either with a short stick or by running a single furrow at 

 the distance at which it is desired the rows should be made, 

 dropping the plants on the land side of the furrow and letting a 

 man follow to set them up and draw the earth to them with a 

 hoe. Where they ai'e transplanted a much longer season is 

 obtained, as this need not take place until the last of July or 

 even as late as the middle of August. 



They are said to be excellent food for horses ; and, when 

 steamed, valuable for swine. I know them to be of great value 

 for oxen and all dry stock ; and for cows, abating an unpleasant taste 

 which they give to the milk ; and both carrots and ruta baga 

 may be applied with great advantage to the feeding of sheep 

 intended for the butcher. The manure which is made from 

 sheep or cattle fed on turnips, with their yards well littered, from 

 the extraordinary secretions of urine which turnips produce, is of 

 a superior quality. The value of carrots for milch cows is well 

 understood, not increasing the quantity of milk so much as pota- 

 toes ; but giving it richness and sweetness, and contributing to 

 keep the animals in the best condition. 



