254 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
fJuLT, 
ful devices whicli may be useil. He describes 
also tlie inanuei' in which he made liis gnomon 
of iron, and talking a piece of marble for the 
dial plate, and a short iron column, which was 
the body of a stove, for the standard, constructed 
a sun dial whieli, with a little paint, was made 
quite ornamental. For a simple noon mark, 
one of the best gnomons is a flag pole, not ver}' 
high, set so that the sliadow will full at noon 
exactly in the middle of a walk, upon a row of 
small white stones, perhaps. Any such pole or 
tall staff offers anotlier means of telling when 
it is noon, namely, by the shortncsnof: the shad- 
ow, for it is sliortest when the sun is higliest, 
and he is higliest when he passes the meridian — 
which is noon. 
— » ' — <^ • ' 
Turnips— Kinds and Culture. 
Like peas, turnips can not endure the heat of 
our summers. They survive, but do not do well, 
the crops being corky and light, they are there- 
fore sown late in the season, so that the roots 
shall fill out and mature in the cool weather of 
the autumn. Those sown early for the table, 
so that they may mature sufficiently for use be- 
fore July, do well also. The usual time for 
sowing turnips for the main crop is after the 
last of July, and before the middle of August. 
Those sown very late, that is, after the first 
week in August, should not be risked on any 
but warm, liglit, and rich ground, not over 
moist. In some of the elevated counties of 
Central New York, where the land is heavy and 
hard, turnips must be sown as early as the 
middle of June or first of July, to make a crop, 
but sucii locations are the exception. 
The soil for turnips should be mellow and 
well enriched, but not with rank manure. It is 
best if the soil is deep, but deep plowing for the 
crop, without previous deep culture, is not the 
thing. However, any good 4-inch soil, not 
choked with weeds, will give fair returns. The 
best flavored turuips for the table are produced 
on light, sandy loams in good heart, but in 
which the manure has disappeared from sight. 
For field culture, when the crop is to be 
marketed for table use, the Golden-ball, Snow- 
ball, and Purple-top Strap-leaved, are among 
the very best, yielding well and being excel- 
lent for the table, and good keepers, the seeds 
ma}- be had of most seedsmen, as they are old 
standard varieties. One pound of seed to the 
acre is the rule, but much less will do if the 
drill be properly set, or if it be mixed with 
sand or earth, so that the whole field may be 
evenly sown broadcast. It is best to sow in 
drills, 20 inches apart, and to thin with the hoe 
to the breadth of the hoe blade apart. Thus 
the ground maybe kept clean, and while a much 
better crop is gained, the soil has most of the 
benefits of a summer fallow. 
Jiuta-bagas, or Swedish turnips may be sown 
as late as the first week in Julj-, and upon land 
in good tilth, give good crops. If the soil is 
shallow, turn tlie furrows together in pairs, and 
sow on the top of the ridges, covering the seed 
a little deeper tlian if sown on the flat. "Wet 
land may be treated in the same way. The ru- 
ta-baga needs a richer soil than is necessary for 
the English turnips, and has a much lieavier, 
firmer, and more nutritious flesh. Late sown 
crops are smaller, for the roots do not get so 
large, as they must be harvested before they get 
their growth, nevertheless, they are better for 
the table, and find a readier market than if very 
large. The chief value of bath these crops, 
however, is for affording succulent fodder for 
stock during the winter. The turnips being 
consumed in the autumn and earl}' winter, and 
the ruta-bagas toward spring. Tlie best kinds 
of ruta-bagas to sow are, perhaps, Skirving's 
Purple-top, a yellow fleshed variety, and the 
Purple-top White, which has white flesh. Sow 
in drills like turnips, 20 to 24 inches apart, and 
tliiu to 10 inches apart early in the season, but 
later let them stand a little closer. 
For our own use, we prefer ruta-bagas to tur- 
nips for every purpose, and would sow them 
upon all land that we can get in order in time, 
but they require so long a season that it is rare- 
ly possible to use them as a second crop, even 
in the garden. Tlie turnips, therefore, have to 
be used generally after or among other crops, 
to follow and take possession of the soil. Ru- 
ta-bagas may be drilled in between the rows of 
onions and take possession, when they are har- 
vested in August or September, but even for 
this, turnips are better. Turnips may be sown 
among corn, and the seed hoed in at the last 
hoeing, they follow early potatoes well, and do 
well after winter grain. They ought seldom to 
be allowed to occupy laud upon which late 
cabbages would grow profitably, unless the la- 
bor which cabbages would require prevent their 
cultivation, for we know no crop which, on 
soil adapted to it, will produce more food. 
-•-. »■■ — •-» 
Eaise Your Own Clover Seed. 
" Raise your own clover seed and sow it with 
an unsparing hand," like nearly all agricultural 
precepts, needs qualification. Ou a wheat farm 
it is not easy to grow too much clover, provided 
it is all consumed on the farm, or plowed in as 
a greeu manure ; but it is quite easy to raise too 
much clover seed. Clover is, peiiiaps, all things 
considered, the best renovating crop that can be 
grown on a wheat fiirm. Like peas and beans, 
clover is a leguminous plant, and draws a con- 
siderable quantity of ammonia from the at- 
mosphere, while its deep roots penetrate the 
subsoil and bring up potash and other ingredi- 
ents of plant-food. It is admirably adapted to 
our climate, and as yet " clover sickness," which 
is so troublesome ou the light soils of England, 
is known in but few localities in this country. 
Whether it is best for farmers to raise their own 
seed is a question which deserves consideration. 
We have urged them to do so because we 
think they will be more likely to sow more if 
they have plenty of seed of their own, than if 
they have to purchase. But it should be borne 
in mind that the main object of sowing so much 
clover is to enrich the land, and it is undoubt- 
edly true that letting clover go to seed changes 
it from a renovating to an exhausting crop. 
John Johnston, in a letter now before us, says 
he has frequently sold from $700 to $1000 worth 
and over of clover seed, in a year. He thinks 
it one of the most profitable crops a farmer can 
grow, but he adds, " I have known a crop of 
clover seed exhaust the land more than a crop 
of wheat." The conclusion is this: Clover is 
a great renovating croji when grown for hay, 
for pasture, or for plowing under, and should 
consequently be sown liberally. On the other 
hand, raising seed is highly profitable, but some- 
what exhausting to the land. Raise clover seed, 
but use the money obtained from it» sale to enrich 
the land. A bushel of clover seed will usuallv 
buy si.K or eight bushels of peas or beans, and 
these fed to stock on the farm will restore to the 
soil, in the form of manure, six or eight times 
as much plant-food as the crop of clover seed 
removed. Do not try to cheat the soil. Do 
not induce it to give you a good crop of clover 
seed, and then refuse it a share in the profits. 
In raising clover seed, cut the first crop early — 
say in this latitude, the first or second week of 
June. It is also important that the first crop 
should be mown as ei'cnly as possible that the 
plants may start equallv, and the future crop of 
seed ripen all at the same time. It is desirable 
to get the seed early, say the first or second 
week in September. Occasionally a large crop 
will ripen in October ; but at that season the 
weather is usually unpropitiou5,and a large num- 
ter of the heads wlien ripe are aptto drop offin 
wet weather, both bef<ne and after they are cut. 
A large growth of foliage is sometimes obtained 
by sowing gypsum on the clover after the hay 
crop is removed, but in a cool, growing sea- 
son, the seed in this case is apt to ripen poorly. 
The largest crops are obtained, other things 
being equal, from land seeded with nothing but 
clover — and in this case the seed should be sown 
pretty thickly, say six or eight quarts per acre. 
This thick seeding has a double advantage : 
You get a finer quality of clover hay, and the 
plants being tliick on the ground the crop is not 
so apt to lodge, and can be mown more evenly. 
Six bushels per acre is sometimes grown on 
good land when clover alone is sown, but three 
or four bushels is a full average. The expense 
of growing, harvesting, and hulling is very lit- 
tle, and tlie seed is practically nearly all profit. 
Let not the farmer who neglects and starves 
liis land think that he can get rich by growing 
clover seed. The profits are not for him. There 
is no better indication of good land and good 
treatment than luxuriant crops of clover. The 
land that will produce good clover will produce 
good wheat or other grain — and the negligent 
firmer deserves neither one nor the other. Let 
him give tlie soil good tillage and liberal treat- 
ment, and it will prove grateful, but if lie starves 
the soil the soil will starve him. 
Cows Long in Stripping. 
To the Editors of the American Agriculturist. 
Doubtless the fault is more with the milker 
than with the cows— they will learn bad hab- 
its, but usually need to be taught them. If 
they are properly milked — so as not to give 
them discomfort — they seem to enjoy the oper- 
ation, and usually part witli their milk freely. 
I keep ten cows, and always do the milking ; 
raised them all, besides some that have been sold 
—have bought but one in ten years, and got 
cheated in the operation — and have never had 
a kicking cow, a "stripping" cow, or a cow 
with sore teats. Now let me prescribe for 3Ir. 
B. Always milk with clean hands ; and if your 
hands are hard and rough, keep a cup of grease 
— goose or hen's oil, lard or fresh butter is 
good — at the stable, and once a day, before 
milking, rubalittle on the inside of your hands — 
just enough to make them feel smooth. Some of 
this will adhere to tlie teats and prevent sores 
and cracks, and all togetlier will make smooth 
work. Rough hands are a "nuisance" to a 
cow's teat, and will prove a. nuisance to the 
milker, in " long stripping." At the time of 
milking, take a small pail, which is the most con- 
venient, with a little water in it, and a sponge 
about two-thirds as large as your fist, or a woolen 
rag will answer, and the first thing to be done 
after sitting down to the cow, is to wash the bag 
after this manner, squeeze the sponge a little 
so that the water will not drip from it, and rub 
the bag all over, teats and all — keeping the milk 
pail out of the way, of course ; this will insure 
