208 FARM CROPS 



Rutabagas are partial to a deep, *noist loam soil, 

 with enough of sand in it to keep it friable. The 

 seed may be sown with a hand drill such as is used 

 in a garden when only a small quantity is to be 

 sown, but when a large area is to be sown, a drill 

 made for the purpose of sowing field seeds is com- 

 monly used. It is drawn with one horse, sows 

 two rows of seedr at a time, and a roller 

 attached firms the earth over the seed. But 

 when the weather is dry and the soil is not liable 

 to blow, it will be advantageous to use the heavy 

 field roller after the seed has been sown. From 2 

 to 4 pounds of seed are sown to the acre, accord- 

 ing to the more or less favorable conditions of the 

 soil and weather. 



When sown in drills, the horse cultivation should 

 begin as soon as the young plants can be distinctly 

 traced in the line of the row. The cultivation ought 

 to be deeper at first than later, and close to the 

 rows, but not so close as to disturb the young 

 plants. If, at the same time, the undisturbed por- 

 tion of the soil is disturbed with the hoe, but with- 

 out cutting out any of the plants, the weeds can 

 never again become so troublesome along the line 

 of the row. The cultivation given should be fre- 

 quent and it ought to be continued as long as it 

 can be done without breaking oflf any considerable 

 proportion of the leaves of the rutabagas. 



When the plants have produced four or five 

 leaves, or when they are 3 or 4 inches high, the 

 thinning should be done and with much dispatch. 

 The workman stands facing the row, and with a 

 forward and backward movement of the hoe strikes 

 out the plants that are to be removed. The dis- 

 tance between the plants may be varied from 6 to 



