^'o. 4. 



A N D G A R D R N E R S J O U R N A L . 



59 



That constitutes no objection to my sending this to 



ihe "Farmer." Such papers, like the treasure of the 



, householder mentioned in scripture, ought to contain 



■ "things new and old." Old things are new to them 



who have not learned them. t 



For the New Genesee Fanner. 

 The Root Culture. 



There are many, and urgent reasons why farmers 

 generally should engage more extensively than they 

 have yet done in the business of Root Cultivation. — 

 That it is both practical and profitable, no longer ad- 

 mils of a doubt. My own experience, and the testi- 

 mony of hundreds of others, has fully satisfied me on 

 this point. In order to induce farmers to engage in 

 this business, it is necessary to convince them that it 

 will be for their interests. Let ua loali therefore nt a 

 few of the. advantages which will arise from aii e.xten- 

 Bion of the Root Culture. 



First, then, let it be remembered that our staple 

 commodity in Western New York, is icheat. To in- 

 crease his funds, the farmer is constantly studying to 

 bring the greatest possible number of acres into the 

 production of wheat— consequently he cuts but little 

 hoy, and, of course, he keeps only a few cattle; and 

 these he is often compelled to winter principally on 

 straw; or, to keep them from viisery and starvation, 

 he is compelled to purchase bran and shorts of the 

 miller. When business first took this turn, bran could 

 be purchased for 3 cena per bushel; and then the cat- 

 tle and sheep could be wintered without running down 

 in flesh, and the cows would yield geiierous messes of 

 milk. Every farmer, therefore, pressed forward to 

 the miller to lay in his winter store of shorts and bran; 

 consequently the demand for these articles increased 

 beyond the supply; the prices increased, till shorts 

 were from sixteen to twenty-five cents per bushel. — 

 What then was to be done 1 Every one, in the city, 

 the village, and the country, the farmer, the merchant, 

 and the mechanic — every one who kept a horse, cow, 

 pig, or sheep, must have something to feed it on. 

 So many acres were in wheat, that hay was scarcer 

 and now there were so many farmers feeding their 

 cattle, horses, sheep, and hogs, on shorts, that they al- 

 so are scarce and dear. What then is to be done ? — 

 Either give up the raising of stock, or keep them poor 

 'and miserable, which no good farmer wiil conset to do; 

 or produce your own food for them. But what can 

 they produce, and yet not diminish the production of 

 wheat ! 



To answer this question, and to remove all these 

 difficulties, the root-cultnre comes directly to our aid. 

 This system will keep all our stock well, and yet ena 

 ble us to lelttin our coveted acjes for wheat. It comes 

 to the farmer's aid when he wants relief from the high 

 prices of mill feed;, when he wants to continue keep- 

 ing his stock, and especially when he wants the means 

 to increase the fertility of his land. 



In reference, therefore, to the root-cuhure, it arose 

 from the necessity of the case, and herein is verified 

 the old maxmi, that "necessity is the mother of inven- 

 tion." The advantages arising fiom this system are 

 numerous. 



lot. It affords a large amount of food for stock, 

 from a comparatively small extent of land. This has 

 often been fully verified by experiments and estimates. 



2d. It relieves the farmer from the difficulty of rai- 

 sing monsy to purchase mill feed, and enables him, 

 by his own labor, to turn his produce into money. It 

 increases the amount of his beef, his butter, his pork, 

 and his mutton. One of the first and most important 

 principles of domestic economy is, to feed the farm 

 stock on the produce of the farm. 



3d. The root-culture improves the condition of the 

 land by its deep tdth, and in its tendency to keep the 



land clean. Every field, suitable for a hoed crop, 

 ought to receive one as often as four years. Where 

 the June and Blue grasses prevail, they arc very per 

 nicious to all other plants, by monopolizing their food. 

 Unless these grasses are exterminated, no crops can 

 flourish; and certainly the most effectual instruments 

 of extermination are the plough, thecultivatoi',andthe 

 hoe. 



4th. The root-culture also enriches the land. Land 

 may be dry and clean, but if it is not also rich, it does 

 return a heavy crop to the laborer. The application 

 of manure to land intended for roots, is, on all bonds, 

 admitted to be absolutely necessary. Without its ap- 

 plication, the business is slim and unprofitable. 



5th. This system renders the application of manure 

 practicaile to a far greater extent. Its quality is im- 

 proved and its quantity much increased. Every far- 

 mer knows that the manure of cattle fed only on dry 

 straw or bay, is dcy, and very much destitute of thoee 

 enriching and nutritious properties contained in the 

 manure of cattle that are fed on roots. 



I will now give some account of my own experi- 

 ments in the root culture. In the first place, I have 

 become fully convinced of the necessity of having the 

 laud free from grags and weeds. In ^f^^ I sowed 

 about an acre of rutn baga, on good sandy loam soil, 

 somewhat infected with June grass. The land was 

 well prepared, but the weather being moist, the grass 

 was not killed, and it soon sprang up very thickly. — 

 This rendered the after culture very difficult and vex- 

 atious; and, with all my patient and persevering ef- 

 forts, I found it impossible wholly to subdue the June 

 grass, and I fully coincide with friend Garbutt in the 

 belief that it wouUl be well for Western New- York it 

 this grass could be entirely exterminated. From my 

 sad experience with this grassy patch, I became fully 

 determined never to be caught in this same way again. 



1 last year selected a clean piece of land for my ru- 

 ta baga crop; ploughed in a dressing of good manure; 

 ploughed it shallow the second time and harrowed it 

 smooth. I then took a light plough and made ridges, 

 afjout two feet apart. I had no drill-barrow, but took 

 a common wheel barrow and rolled it along on the top 

 of the ridges, so as to make a small furrow or drill, 

 into which the seeds were sown by hand. A third 

 person followed with a rake, so as to cover the seed, 

 and leave the top of the ridges smooth. 



I prepared my seed by putting it into a basin and 

 mixing with it about halfa pound of sulphur; because 

 I had read, either in the Farmer or in the Cultivator, 

 a recommendation of sulphur to be used in this way, 

 for the purpose of fi.xing its flavor in the seed to keep 

 oft' the fly. 



The seed soon sprang up. The turnips were not in- 

 jured by the fly; and whether it was the sulphur 

 which prevented the depredations of the fly, I know 

 not. The season was not dry, and therefore unfavor- 

 able to the propogation of the turnip fly. I thinned 

 the plants to ten or twelve inches apart. They grew 

 rapidly and flourished through the whole season. — 

 They were hoed thoroughly, twice. They were 

 harvested towards the last of October, and deposited 

 in trenches three feet deep and four wide, and the tur- 

 nips were raised about a foot above the surfsce of the 

 earth. However, before putting the turnips iirto the 

 trench, I put crotches into the middle of the trench, 

 about eight feet apart, mid rising above the surface 

 eighteen inches. I laid a lidge pole on the top of 

 these crotches for the purpose of t'orming a roof, of 

 small sticks, brush and straw, and lastly earth. The 

 roots being stored in this manner, a boy can enter the 

 trench with his basket at any time in the depth of win- 

 ter, and is never exposed to the inconvenience of a fal- 

 ling roof. Precautionary steps against their heating 

 are always to be taken, by leaving small apertures for 

 the escape of heat and admioeion of air. 



After having produced and stored your crop of Ru- 

 ta Baga, what use do you make of them ? Hogs that 

 are three or four months old and upwards, will live 

 well on them; but if they are younger, they ought 

 not to be confined exclusively to them. Cooking them 

 renders them much more nutritious for hogs and pigs. 

 They are excellent for cattle and sheep of every age. 

 When sheep are confined for a few weeks in the yard 

 for winter, they pine to be grazing in the field unless 

 they are fed on roots; but when permitted to enjoy 

 this food, they have not half so much hankering for 

 the field. 



Iwill take the liberty of mentioning one thing, 

 among many others, which may be of considerable we 

 to the inexperienced; and that is, it is of no use to cut 

 up the turnips small and fine for the sheep. Scatter 

 them over the ground or hard snow, and then follow 

 with the shovel and slice them a few times each, for 

 sheep delight much in gnawing the turnip. For two 

 winters I was in the habit of cutting my turnips into 

 small pieces, not larger than a hickory nut for my 

 sheep. I have since found this to be entirely un- 

 necessary. 



I will furthermore add, for the benefit of the inex- 

 perienced, not to dig trenches for the reception of roots 

 where they will be exposed to be filled in with water, 

 when the snow melts, and the earth is filled with 

 water. 



One corner of my ground was considerably inclined 

 to clay, and here the turnips were quite small. That 

 kind of soil is wholly unfit for them. P. 



Chili, March \5th, 1840. 



For the New Genesee Fanner. 

 The best time for Cutting Timber. 



This is a subject in which every farmer is deeply in- 

 terested. If limber cut at one season will last years 

 longer than that cut at another — if onetime is prefera- 

 ble to another, as regards its durability — then certainly 

 it is a subject well worth the notice and consideration 

 of every fanu«r. There seems to be a diversity of 

 opinion as to the right lime. All agree, however, that 

 here is a right seaton, but disrigree veiy materially 

 as to that partii:iilar time. It is stated in the Gen. Far., 

 vol. 5., p. 41, that February is the best lime. Also, 

 in vol. 4., p. 97., "In a hook printed at Philadelphia, 

 soon after the revolutionary war, the author says, 

 *Long experience, I tliink, hath sufficiently ascertain- 

 ed, thai limber cut down in the spring of the year, 

 when fuU of sap, and the leaves fully expanded, is 

 much more durable than when cut atany other time.' " 

 Dr. Deane, in his New England Farmer, says, "An 

 abundant ma«s of evidence has been produced to show, 

 that timber should be cut or fel'ed in mid-Eummer, 

 with a view to its durability;" but, abundant as it ie, 

 we irfiist lake the liberty to add to the "mass." In 

 the same article, the Ed. says, "One of our neighbors, 

 a practical farmer and close observer, lately informed 

 us, thot twenty-two years ago he had a fence made 

 chiefly of basswood (linden) rails, cut just about mid- 

 summer, and at this time they are sound and good. — 

 In conversation, not long since, with another excellent 

 farmer, he said the best time for cutting timber was in 

 autumn, about the fall of the leaf, or coon after, and 

 that it was not only more durable, but more compccl 

 than after it had been loosened by freezing." 



I was conversing, a few days since, with an intelli 

 gent farmer, who said the best time to cut rail timbe; 

 was in January and February. Also, with another wh>. 

 was of the same opinion; the latter said this was the 

 time that all cut their timber "down country." An- 

 other farmer very lecently informed me, that mid- 

 summer was, beyond all doubt, ihe right time. He 

 said that his practice was to pull ofl'the baik, and keep 

 the rails oft" from the ground; thai they would si. on 

 season, and la£t many years longer than if cut at any 

 other season. 



