44 



and dry as that of Pennsylvania, and, in that part of the 

 United States, perhaps the nature of the soil should decide 

 the question, if dry, level planting, or if moist, ridge planting 

 should be adopted." 



We have heard complaints from American farmers, that 

 the seed of this root is slow and uncertain in coming up. 

 i^erhaps the seed or soil, or both, may sometimes be too 

 dry at the time of sowing. A writer in the English Far- 

 fner^s Journal says, " I have of late years steeped my seed 

 ibi at least forty-eight hours. I made an experiment with 

 tsventy sound seeds not steeped, twenty steeped twenty-four 

 hojjrs, and the same number steeped forty-eight hours; 

 ev't^ry seed of the latter produced plants, which came up 

 two or three days sooner than either of the others, and 

 some of those not steeped did not come up at all." Mr. Cob- 

 belt, in treating of the culture of the common garden beets, 

 (American Gardener^ par. 198,) directs to soak the seed 

 foQi days and nights in rain water before it is sowed ; and 

 o])S(Tves, that the mangel wurtzel should be cultivated in 

 the same manner as the other kinds of beets. American 

 writers, so far as vre have observed, give no directions for 

 soaking the seeds of this vegetable before planting; and it 

 is possible that the omission of this part of the process may 

 cause the slovv'ness and uncertainty of vegetation complained 

 of. The capsule, or husk, which contains the seeds, is dry, 

 and it requires a long time for the moisture, which it may 

 derive from the earth, to penetrate this integument, so as 

 to cause the seed to sprout. But if the soil be very moist 

 at the. time of sowing, soaking the seed had better be omit- 

 ted. 



Much has been written and said on the subject of strip- 

 ping these plants of their leaves for feeding cows and other 

 econc^mical purposes. An English writer observes, that 

 six or seven crops of leaves and stocks may be taken oflf 

 during the growth of the root ; women and children can 

 take <)ff the leaves, which is done as follows : — They should 

 place their hands on each side of the root, at the foot stalks 

 of the leaves, leaving about six of the smallest central leaves 

 betweim the fore-finger and thumb of each hand, (the small 

 leaves are to be left on the root to grow, to make a fresh 

 top;) then, spreading the hand flat with their face down- 

 wards, push them both at the same time towards the ground. 



