1871. 



NEW ENGLAOT) FARMER. 



567 



the pits being distributed around the field so 

 that they t-au be taken from the pits to th'e 

 drill in "which they are to be set, without the 

 aid of a team. This saves much labor, as it 

 takes about 100 bushels to the acre. Great 

 care is taken while the roots are being han- 

 dled to see that they are true. If a turnip 

 beet grows too long, or a long beet too short, 

 it is discarded. They are set in rov/s three 

 and a half feet one wa}', and from one and-a- 

 half to two feet the other, according to habit 

 of growth. All horse work must be done by 

 the 20th of June, as there is not room to get 

 through later than that without damage. If 

 weeds appear after this they are pulled out 

 \^'hen the seed is ripe enough the crop is cut 

 at the root, and laid in small bunches across 

 the ridges, where it remains two or three days 

 to dry. It is then drawn to the barn and 

 threshed with an ordinary threshing machine, 

 and cleaned with a fanning mill. From two 

 to three tons are threshed and cleaned in a 

 day. It is afterwards spread and dried, and 

 has an extra cleaning for market. A good 

 crop from the French stock is 1500 pounds an 

 acre. His crop of all seeds is always con- 

 tracted before plantmg, so that he knows just 

 how much to phmt, and where to put it when 

 harvested. There is no safety of doing other- 

 wise in seed growing. The contract price is 

 twenty cents a pound or $400 a ton. 



Onions. 

 The seed is sown in drills two feet apart, 

 and quite thick in the drill on rich ground, 

 top-dressed with fine manure after ploughing. 

 The onions should be ripe in August, when 

 they are pulled and thoroughly cured on the 

 ground. They are set out in rows three and 

 a-half feet apart, and nearly touching each 

 other in the row, from the 15th of October to 

 the 15th of November. After setting, a fur- 

 row is turned from each side on to the rows 

 with a small plough, leaving the onions in the 

 ridge. It takes about 100 bushels to set an 

 acre. The White Globe and Danvers being 

 more tender varieties than the others, are not 

 set till spring. They are kept under cover 

 until frozen hard, when they are put in barrels 

 and kept frozen during the winter. If al- 

 lowed to thaw out before spring, it damages 

 them very much. If the freezing and thaw- 

 ing is repeated, it spoils them entirely. The 

 yield is from 400 to GOO pounds, and the price 

 from 75 cents to $1.50 a pound. 



Lettuce. 

 Fifteen acres of lettuce in the blow, stand- 

 ing over two feet high, in rows two and a-half 

 feet apait, and as straight as a line across the 

 field, is not a common sight, but one that can 

 be seen every year on Mr. Hayward's farm. 

 The ground for this crop is prepared as early 

 as it will work well in the spring. The seed 

 is sown on ridges, and the plants thinned 

 when they have attained suitable size, from 

 three to twelve inches in the rows, according 



to habit of growth. The yield, if anything, 

 is from 300 to 400 pounds, which sells for 75 

 cents. But this is a ticklish crop, and one 

 which causes the grower a great deal of anx- 

 iety. It is one of those "doubtful things" 

 that "are mighty uncertain." It may pro- 

 mise a splendid crop until a few days before 

 cutting time, and then suddenly blight, an.d 

 not give a pound of seed. The indications- of 

 blight are first seen in the leaves next to the 

 ground, which turn black. When this comes, 

 hope goes. There is no remedy. The vari- 

 eties now growing are Early Curled Silesian, 

 Boston Curl, Frankfort, Ferry's Prize Head, 

 Victoria Cabbage, Royal Cabbage, and Drum- 

 head. 



Cabbage. 



The seed for plants is sown from the 1st to 

 the 20th of July, and set out in about four 

 weeks. These may be grown on ground from 

 which some of the more early maturing crops 

 have been taken. With cabbage, as with the 

 beets and onions, it is an object to get a small 

 but healthy growth ; large ones would be alto- 

 gether too bulky. They are taken up in the 

 fall and put in trenches across the field, in 

 which they are to be set in the spring. A 

 ligh'^ covering of dirt is given them. In the 

 spring they are set eighteen inches apart ii» 

 rows three and a-half feet from each other. 

 The whole cabbage is put out, being set in the 

 ground up to the head. It is cut as soon as 

 the seed turns black in the pods, which is 

 from the 5oth to the 25 of July. Th6 yield 

 is from 200 to 400 pounds per acre. The va- 

 rieties under culture are the Marblehead 

 Drumhead, Stone Mason Drumhead, Ameri- 

 can Drumhead, Premium Flat Dutch, Early 

 Winnigstadt and Early Wakefield. 

 Sweet Corn. 



The growing of sweet corn is made a spe- 

 cialty, and the crops, thirteen acres in all, on 

 the two farms, were looking very fine. Ail 

 the choice and new varieties, early and late, 

 are found in his list, and the seed is cured 

 with great care. 



Squashes. 



The plots devoted to squashes were weU 

 worth looking at, and we have seldom seen 

 anything handsomer than the White Scollops, 

 which had nearly attained their full size. 

 These, with the Summer Golden Crook Necks, 

 are planted four feet apart each way, and the 

 Hubbard six feet. Unwearied pains is taken 

 to keep the seed true and pure. When the 

 frost kills thfe vines, the squashes are split 

 open with a hatchet, and the insides dug out 

 and put in barrels, where they remain until 

 fermentation takes place, when they are taken 

 to the brook and washed. 



—The California Fanner of July 27, notices the 

 arrival in San Francisco of Commissioner Capron, 

 on his way to Japan, under his §^20,000 per year 

 commission to that country. 



