164 



KEW ENGLAXD FARMER. 



April 



For tlie New England Farmer. 

 COST OF ROOTS. 



Mr. Editor: — I noticed through your paper 

 that at the discussion at the State House, the ques- 

 tion was asked as to the cost of roots, and as no 

 one seemed to know, I will give you the detaUs 

 for their benefit. 



On the 24th of jNIay I sowed a piece of land with 

 mangel wurtzel ; last year the crop was Hungarian 

 grass and weeds — full as much of the latter as of 

 grass. I turned the stubble in early, and spread 

 at the rate of 40 loads of good manure to the acre. 

 Last spring it was plowed and cultivated, drilled, 

 and four horse-cart loads of compost manure to an 

 eighth of an acre was put in the drills. The drills 

 were three feet apart and plants nine inches. One- 

 eighth of an acre was kept separate, and weighed. 

 Now for the cost : 



5 loads of manure, at §1,25 per loacT, }< spent $3,12 



JI an anil Inrse plowing ami cultivating 30 



2 loads put in drills, $2,00, )i spent. T 1,00 



DriUinc' 25 



Plantiujr 25 



Cultivating 3 times 15 



Following with hoe, 1}^ hours each time 67 



Gathering and housing.. 1,50 



Total $7,24 



Total weight of roots S035 pounds, equal to 4 tons, or 



42 tons to the acre, worth $S per ton $32,00 



Balance in favor of roots $25,76 



Or to the ton §6,44 



About the first of August we began to gather 

 the lower leaves, and before the fifth of September 

 one ton v.'as gathered, and one ton more when 

 harvested. Full a ton was allowed to go to waste. 

 I think, with ]}roper care, the top can be made to 

 pay for cultivating and manure spent. The ground 

 is left in much better condition than found. One- 

 eighth of an acre of carrots cost four times more 

 to cultivate, and produced only about tAventy-two 

 tons. I have raised both kinds for several years, 

 with result similar to the above. The mangels 

 can be cultivated at less expense than corn, they 

 shade the ground so soon. L. W. Curtis. 



Globe Village, Feb. 5, 1862. 



NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



The History op Haverhill, Massachusetts, from its First 

 Settlement in 1640, to the year ISGO. By Geouge Wixgate 

 Chase. Haverhill: Published by the Author. 



This is an exceedingly interesting book. Be- 

 side the minute details of the settlement of the 

 town itself, the author has introduced many pages 

 of the most interesting historical facts, though all 

 tending to illustrate his principal topic. The true 

 character of the Aborigines of New England is lit- 

 tle understood by our people. They have general 

 credit for a heroic daring and purity of purpose, 

 which, in our mind, is not justified by the record 

 of their deeds which has come down to us. Mr. 

 Chase says, — ''The aboriginal inhabitants of New 

 England held a low place in the scale of humanity. 

 They had no civil government, no religion, no let- 

 ters, no history, no music, no poetry. The French 

 rightly named them, Les Hommes des Bois, — 

 "Men Brutes of the Forest." He gives a search- 



ing analysis of their character, which certainly robs 

 it — and justly, too — of that stern purity which has 

 so long been accorded to them, and declares that 

 "in constitution of body and mind, they were far 

 below the negro race." The book is handsomely 

 printed, and illustrated with upwards of twenty 

 maps, views, plans and portraits of distinguished 

 persons. A copy of this liistory should be in 

 every town library of the State. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



MANURING — SEEDING — BEST TURNIP — PRUNING 

 GRAPE VINES — OYSTER SHELL LIME, ETC. 



1 . In the spring, I think of turning over a piece 

 of greensward for planting corn and potatoes. Is 

 it the best way to spread manure on the grass and 

 then turn over the sward, or turn the sward and 

 then spread manure on top and harrow or cultiva- 

 tor it in, or is some other way better than either ? 



2. In seeding ordinary planting land to grass, 

 how many bushels of oats is enough per acre, or 

 would it be better not to sow any ? 



3. Would Rhode Island Bent seed be any bet- 

 ter to seed land with that is heavy, than any oth- 

 er kind, and how many bushels is 'enough jier 

 acre ? 



4. I wish to know the best, sweetest and most 

 profitable Idnd of turnip to raise for the table. I 

 do not mean flat turnip. 



5. When is the best time to prune grape vines ? 



6. Can oyster shell lime be bought now in Bos- 

 ton or vicinity, and if so, at what price per bbl.? 



7. I have a mare that has been lame by spells, 

 for about two months and a half, sometimes quite 

 lame for a while, and at other times not so much 

 so ; I have tried quite a number of remedies that 

 others have recommended without much real good ; 

 at last, I thought I would try Arabian Balsam. I 

 should have said before that the trouble appears 

 some like the "scratches." It is in the pastern 

 joint of the fore leg. The flesh cracks, and the 

 edges of the cracks are hard and sore ; there has 

 ])een fever in the foot and joint, I think. I pour 

 the balsam into the cracks once or twice a day ; af- 

 ter a few days it will heal, then I stop using bal- 

 sam, and use the mare, and then the flesh cracks 

 again. Can you tell me a remedy ? 



Wrcntham, Feb. 10, 1862. A Subscriber. 



Remarks. — 1. Opinions and practices are divid- 

 ed on tliis point. Some of the best farmers in New 

 England always practice the former mode, while 

 others, equally as good, pursue the latter course, 

 and each has reasons in flivor of his OM'n peculiar 

 mode. We have tried both ways, and prefer to 

 plow first, then make the manure as fine as we can 

 — and should be glad to have it as fine as corn 

 meal if we could, profitably — work it under one or 

 two inches, strike out the field into squares, and 

 add some quickener to the hill, such as hen com- 

 post, superphosphate of lime, American guano, 

 night-soil compost, or some warming and quick- 

 ening stimulant that will push the crop along in 

 the early part of the season. Whatever this stim- 

 ulant is, it should be scattered over a space 8 or 



