PROFITABLE CROPS FROM TEX ACRES. 77 



was plowed, harrowed, and drills opened, three and one-half 

 feet apart, for fodder corn. Manure was placed in these drills to the 

 depth of three or four inches. Planted with White Southern Corn 

 at the rate of two bushels to the acre, lightly covered, and cultivated 

 with a one-horse cultivator once a week until about four feet high, no 

 more labor being required until curing time. This late planted 

 second crop is not so productive as the general fodder corn crop, 

 which yields with me about eight tons of dry fodder per acre. 

 Part of the same land where the oats were grown was used for late 

 or fall cabbage, and Cowhorn and Aberdeen turnips. The cab- 

 bage was planted out in rows prepared in about the same manner 

 as for the fodder corn. The ro^vs were opened by the plow and a 

 good fork full of manure which had been made through the summer 

 was dropped two feet apart, and covered with a hoe. The plants 

 being in the seed bed and strong, were well watered and lifted with 

 a dung fork so as not to injure the roots. The work of planting the 

 cabbage was done late in the afternoon. The hills were opened with 

 the corner of a sharp hoe, the plant set in, some soil drawn over it 

 with the hand, and then stamped or firmed with the heel of the boot. 

 In a few days, when the cabbage had straightened up, the soil was 

 drawn around the plants with the hoe. Once more hoeing, and run- 

 ning the plow through the furrows, was all the work they required. 

 In harvesting the cabbage, a deep furrow or trench was plowed, the 

 cabbage pulled by the roots and turned into the trenches as close as 

 they could be packed together. (See article on Cabbage.) My 

 manure being all consumed in that portion of the field where I had 

 planted the fodder corn and cabbage, I had to resort to bone meal 

 for the turnips, which, however, I consider the most valuable fer- 

 tilizer for that crop. This is used in the drills at the rate of 300 Ibs. 

 the acre. Drills were opened with a two-horse plow to the depth 

 of nine inches, the bone dust was sown on the back of the furrow 

 and the next furrow covered it to a depth of two or three inches. The 

 turnips were drilled in with a one-horse drill, taking two rows at a 

 time, at the rate of two pounds of seed to the acre. The growth was 

 so quick, that in two weeks we went through the field singling or 

 thinning them. By " singling " is mearifc thinning to one plant. This 

 crop I believe produced over thirty-five tons per acre, and left the 

 ground in far better condition than it was when I commenced in the 

 spring. The value of the turnip crop, if sold, would have been $3.50 

 per ton. Thus we see that on the ten acres with which I started in 

 the spring by sowing a crop of oats, I obtained a net profit of more 

 than $800, as shown by the table given, and this after counting the 

 labor. It will be seen that I paid $1.00 per bushel for the imported 



