362 [Assembly 



grasses while we are converting them into hay. Almost all plants 

 at maturity contain woody matter, and we should make hay before 

 that woody process is finished, or even made much progress, or we 

 have much of our labor lost. The farmer must walch, — he must 

 never let the grass seeds become hard, as is the rule wi;h some. He 

 should cut timothy when in blossom, and his clover too before the 

 flower fades. And to preserve it when cut, it must be much stirred 

 and not left long in a hot sun, and kept as much as possible from 

 the rain and dews, and cocked every night, and then you preserve 

 its nutriment, and green color. In Europe it is common to pack 

 hay with layers of straw and to salt it ,it is done with us too, a good 

 practice especially when green or moist. I prefer putting hay into 

 ihe barn, instead of stacking it which causes it tn be loo close and 

 compact. 



As to our subject. Turnip Crop, I do not think that we shall, at 

 least, for a long time to come, use the turnip so freely here as is 

 done in Great Britain, and elsewhere. Our Indian corn has such 

 properties of superior value, — is raised in such vast quantities, with 

 little labor and risk, that we are not dependent at all upon turnip. 

 Chemical analysis shows that turnips contain ninety-two and a half 

 per cent, of water, — It does not fatten cattle fast, with this quantity 

 of water, it can't contain as much nutriment as many other sub- 

 stances. 



Charles Henry Hall. — The gentleman speaks of England with its 

 small spaces for culture. It is true, our wide spread Savannas^, our 

 almost boundless prairies, the immense vallies of our rivers, with the 

 blessed climate for our Indian corn, present a very widely different 

 aspect. England's moist climate is favorable to the turnip, and she 

 uses it freely, she has no Indian corn. Her sheep feed and fatten 

 upon tuinip. Who has not heard of her mutton? Chemical analy- 

 sis of a turnip will hardly show how that mutton becomes so fat. 

 It is done by an Almighty Providence- Apples contain a very 

 large percentage of water, but our apples, the sweet ones especially, 

 fatten horses and restore them to health when sick; hogs fatten on 

 them. The Swedish turnip, Ruta Baga, was carried to England 

 and we got it from them. Immense crops of it are used for the 

 winter, and with some forage they fatten their cattle, The Swedes 

 first took our American grasses. France afterwards adopted them. 

 Our lands can give us five hundred bushels of turnips per acre, at 

 little expense in cultivation. Cattle can be fattened in winter in 

 the barn by proper feed of roots and forage. Lucerne was cultiva- 



