60 



GRAIN. 



aaother exparienced and scieatific farmer will tell us — has told us — of 

 the enormous amount of turnips taken from an acre of light soil by 

 using a few loads of compost manure scraped up from the barn-yard 

 and applying 4 or 5 cwt. of superphosphate ; and from his own obser- 

 vation and experience it is much the best and. cheapest feed for horses 

 as well as for milch cows and working oxen ; propably corn growing is 

 the forte of the one and turnips that of the other. But where is the 

 proof on either side ? None has been shown. Having had some expe- 

 rience ourselves in growing both corn and turnips, having also gleaned 

 pretty carefully from those of large experience, we venture to make a 

 few figures showing the relative money value of each, also the compar- 

 ative value of the other cereals, and the value of hay compared with 

 other crops. Suppose we take the corn crop as the basis and we shall 

 not come very far from the truth when we say that the cost of labor 

 and manure for an acre of corn is the same in value as that of growing 

 an acre of turnips ; again, it is reasonable to suppose that a field that 

 will produce 1000 bushels of turnips, or 25 tons=50,000 lbs., will 

 give 80 bushels of corn, or 4480 lbs.=2^ tons. The turnip abounds 

 more in water than any other root. We have from the tables of Prof. 

 Johnson, Agricultural College, as follows : — 



Therefore we see by the above table, if it be correct, and there is no 

 evidence that it is otherwise, that the milking and fLittening properties 

 of corn are to the turnip as 72 to 11, but we have 50,000 lbs. turnip 

 to 4480 lbs. of corn, or 25 tons of turnips to 2 J of corn ; now 11 per 

 cent, of the turnip — the other 89 per cent, being water, woody fiber, 

 &c., and of no value — being multiplied by 50,000 gives 5,500 lbs. of 

 turnip per acre of real money value, and by estimating the price of corn 

 at $1.75 per 100 lbs., or IJ cents per lb, we have 5,500 lbs. at IJ 

 cents=|96.25, to which add the value of the tops, estimated by growers 

 generally from $3.00 to $5.00, and we have in round numbers, $100 

 as the value of the turnip crop per acre ; and by the same reasoning we 

 have the value of the corn, whole weight 4480 lbs., 28 percent, being 

 of no value, leaving 72 per cent, of valuable material, and this multi- 

 plied by the number of lbs. per acre, 4480,=3225 at 1 j=$56.43 ; 

 now we suppose that an acre of land that will produce 80 bushels of 

 corn will yield at least 2 tons of stover, which if well cared for is worth 



