ON ROOT CROPS. 



make recently in conversation, arising from a doubt 

 of my own ability to furnish any thing which may be 

 worthy of your attention. But two considerations 

 have induced me to overcome this feeling ; 1st, I am 

 aware that, if what I communicate is not in itself of 

 much importance, yet it may be the means of sug- 

 gesting some hints which may be productive of bene- 

 fit to the community ; and 2d, if professional gentle- 

 men, whose talents and wealth have placed them far 

 above dependence upon the pecuniary advantage 

 resulting from agricultural pursuits, are wilhng to 

 give not only their influence, but to some extent their 

 time and property also, to advance tlie interest of tlie 

 agricultural part of the community, they have a right 

 to expect that those whose whole time is devoted to 

 practical agriculture, will, when required, furnish such 

 facts and observations as may be made serviceable 

 to the public. 



The present state of society requires all the efforts 

 both of scientific and practical agriculturahsts, to en- 

 able the farmer to advance with the rest of the com- 

 munity. Manufactures, the construction of rail- 

 roads, &c., have so raised the price of labor, and 

 such is the competition in the market, owing to the 

 great and increasing facilities for internal communi- 

 cation, that we must either abandon our farms en- 

 tirely, or apply to them the same enterprize and in- 

 genuity which is carrying the other departments of 

 society so rapidly forward. 



I have thought the advantages resulting from the 

 cultivation of roots, have been, and still are very 

 much underrated, notwithstanding all that has been 

 written upon the subject. Perhaps the principal rea- 

 son why farmers so generally neglect this part of ag- 

 riculture is, because the statements are supposed to be 

 made by individuals who have attained large crops by 

 excessive manuring and very expensive cultivation, 

 and of course such as practical farmers generally can- 



