AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
Turnips— Their Place on the Farm. 
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' The amount of turnips -which may be raised 
upon an acre of good land is very great, yet 
other crops may produce more nutriment, for 
a very large proportion of the root is water. 
Nevertheless, were the question to be, How 
may the greatest quantity of food be produced 
upon an acre after the first of July? we should 
hardly hesitate in saying, by sowing common 
turnips in drills, 14 to 20 inches apart, accord- 
ing to the soil. Turnips are always good to 
have, but their quick growth and our ability to 
sow them as a second crop — after taking off 
potatoes, grain, onions, or corn, (being sowed 
at the last hoeing,) etc., — make them an inval- 
uable aid to the farmer in supplying deficiencies 
in either grain, hay, roots, or any kind of forage. 
Superphosphate of lime is required as a specific 
for turnips, and on any tolerably good soil, 500 
pounds will almost insure a fine crop. Lime, 
ashes, plaster, guano, bone dust, are each excel- 
lent in moderate quantities, harrowed in before 
sowing, or scattered broadcast, when the crop 
is hoed. On sward land it is best to turn under 
some fresh manure to insure fermentation and 
quicker rotting of the sod. Turnips may be 
sown at any time in July, and should be thinned 
to, at least, 6 inches apart. There are no better 
varieties than the Cow-horn, ^nd Purple-top 
Strap-Leaf — the former long, the latter flat. 
Broadcast sowing gives poor results compared 
with drilling in the seed with a machine. 
Walks and Talks on the Farm— No. 43. 
Fanners in this section are waking up on the 
subject of underdraining. The Rochester Brick 
and Tile Co. have sold eveiy tile they had — 
culls and all. I wanted a load the other day, 
but not a tile was to be had. The fact is an 
encouraging one. Underdraining is the first 
step in improved farming, and the farmer who 
makes one drain is pretty sure to keep on till 
the whole farm is drained. And this is not all. 
Other improvements are sure to follow. He can, 
and will, plow earlier. The crops will be sown 
in good season. He will feel encouraged, and 
this in itself is a great point gained. The pros- 
pect of a good crop leads to renewed efforts. 
Weeds will be killed before they, obtain full 
possession of the ground. The cultivator will 
be kept moving. The effect is soon seen on the 
crops, and their luxuriant growth cheers the 
farmer, and he will put forth an energy that 
will surprise none more than himself. 
Some years ago we used to have what was 
then called "a lightning express" train from 
Albany to Buffalo. It made few stops and ran 
at great speed. Everything gave way to it. 
The engineer and conductor had a pride in 
making good time, and generally succeeded. 
But one day, when Henry Ward Beecher hap- 
pened to be on board, something gave way 
about the engine, which delayed, them half an 
hour. They lost the right of way, and he des- 
cribes the changed aspect of passengers and 
officials in his own inimitable style: The engine 
was the same embodiment of energy and power. 
But instead of the proud and noble steed that 
commauded the admiration of all its fellows, 
whose coming was looked for with interest, and 
to whom all other trains respectfully stood 
aside, it moved on in an uncertain, sneaking 
sort of way, waiting at this station for a dirty 
cattle train, and at the next for a slow string of 
dingy coal cars. It was capable of great things, 
but had lost, the right of way, and fell behind 
later and later. The few minutes lost became 
hours. It was no use grumbling. The other 
trains were not to blame ; they were on time. The 
trouble arose from the lost half hour. No effort 
could make up for this. It is just so in farming. 
This spring I proposed sowing forty acres of 
barley and oats. The first half of April was de- 
lightful weather, and we got about a dozen acres 
of land in good order, and drilled in the barley 
on the 18th of April. I had eight acres more that 
were plowed last fall, that I thought of getting in 
without again plowing. But there were some 
potato heaps on the land which had been cov- 
ered with manure. This we spread on the land, 
and we found that neither the gang-plow nor 
the cultivator would make a good job of it, and 
we were obliged to plow. This was on the 20th 
of April. But for this, we could have got in the 
barley, as the weather was splendid. On the 
22d of April it snowed. The next day it rained, 
and the next. We managed to plow on sod for 
potatoes, but could not work the barley land. 
On the 28th of April we had ice half an inch 
thick. May came in with a severe rain storm, 
and it was only by watching our opportunities 
that we were able to get in the barley this week. 
After that it was rain, rain, rain ! We were off. 
the track. Had the laud been all drained, and 
had we plowed more last fall, the barley and oats 
could have been put in during the fine weather 
in April. But we missed the opportunity, and 
no after efforts were of any avail. We had lost 
the right of way. The rains were not so bad. 
Had the barley been in, and the land drained, 
they would have done more good than harm. 
As it was, we had to give up all idea of sowing- 
barley and finally of sowing oats. There was 
nothing for it but to plant the land with 
corn. Part of the field was sown and seeded 
down, and it is a serious inconvenience to plant 
corn on the other part, and not to be able to 
seed it down. It gives me more work than I 
had calculated for this year, and next year part 
of the land will be in grass aad the other part 
in crops. And all this for want of a little un- 
derdraining. It is no use to "complain about 
the weather. Better anticipate such seasons and 
be prepared for them. 
But farmers are improving. There can be no 
doubt about it. They are underdraining more, 
and working their land better. At present 
prices, farm products will pay for good culture, 
and the prospects are favorable. I feel quite 
encouraged, and expect to see agriculture com- 
mand the intelligence and capital which its im- 
portance demands. 
The Doctor says he was talking, the other 
day, with one of the oldest and most experienced 
millers in Western New York, and he remarked 
that it was " surprising how the quality of our 
wheat was affected for the worse by the practice 
of manuring the land instead of plowing in 
clover." There may be some truth in this obser- 
vation, simply fromrthe fact that the manure we 
use is not worthy of the name. It is composed 
principally of straw and corn stalks, and what 
little plant food it originally contained is half 
washed away before it gets back to the land. 
But the idea that rich, carefully preserved ma- 
nure wiU not produce wheat of as good quality 
as green clover plowed under, is contrary to 
sound theory and practical experience. The 
truth is, that too many farmers neither manure 
their land nor plow in clover, and of course 
there is a great falling off in the quantity and 
quality of the wheat. To make clover into hay 
and sell it, is one of the surest methods of im- 
poverishing the farm. It is a good deal worse 
even than selling timothy hay or straw. It is 
almost as bad as raising turnips and selling 
them. Whether it is better to plow under clo- 
ver or to make it into hay and return the ma- 
nure, depends on circumstances. Plowing it 
under is the quickest method of enriching the 
land. But consuming it on the land by sheep, 
or making it into hay and returning the manure, 
accomplishes the same object in the end, and you 
get the value of the food in addition. There is a 
little loss, but not enough to affect the question. 
I got a letter to-day from a subscriber of the 
Agriculturist, asking whether I still used True's 
Potato Planter, and whether I would advise him 
to get one to plaut three acres. The Planter 
does the work as well as can reasonably be ex- 
pected. Last year I planted three acres with it, 
and the remainder of the field by hand, and, if 
anything, that planted by the machine was the 
better crop, owing to the sets being larger. The 
machine cuts the potatoes, drops them and cov- 
ers them, all at one operation, and it will plant 
five or six acres in a day. The objection to it 
is that you require round potatoes, and they 
should be all of the same size. When you have 
a good many potatoes to plant, and it is difficult 
to get extra hands, the Planter will prove very 
useful. I have just finished planting twenty 
acres of potatoes, but did not use the machine, 
not because it does not work well, but because 
I wanted to use smaller potatoes than it is safe 
to cut with-the machiue. Larger sized potatoes 
are doubtless better for seed, but I had a quan- 
tity of potatoes that were rather too small to sell 
well, and concluded to plant them. I think it 
better to plant good sized potatoes, but I was 
offered a dollar a bushel for all the marketable 
potatoes, and concluded to risk small seed. For 
a year or two at least, the yield of potatoes de- 
pends a good deal more on the richness of the 
soil, and on good culture, than on the size of 
the seed. Another reason why I did not use the 
Planter, was that it drops the seed in drills, and 
you can only cultivate one way. I think this 
not a serious objection, but it is easier to dig the 
potatoes when in hills than when in drills. And 
the great labor of the potato crop is in digging. 
A really good potato digger is much needed. I 
dug several acres with one last fall, but it did 
not work at all satisfactorily, and I have seen 
none that do. As a general rule, where you 
have only a few acres to plaut, either of corn or 
potatoes, it is hardly worth while attempting 
to do it by machinery. 
The best thing I have tried for sore shoulders 
in horses is crude petroleum. It seems to have 
.great healing properties. I had been using it 
for paint, merely rubbing it on the wood with a 
rag, and was astonished how soon a sore, that 
happened to be on my hand, got well. Since 
then I have used it for sores of all kinds on ani- 
mals, and am satisfied that it is excellent. I rub 
it, not merely on the sore itself, but for some 
distance rouud it. It has a slight exciting action 
on the skin for a few minutes, and, when rubbed 
on the parts near the sore, probably has a ten- 
dency to scatter the inflammation. 
Petroleum, just now, is one of my hobbies. 
Dr. Eddy took out a patent for its use as a 
paint for preserving wood, and gave me a " farm 
right." If he would be equally generous with 
other farmers, I would advise every one of them 
to buy a barrel of petroleum at once, and use it 
freely. That it will preserve wood. I. have no 
doubt, although, of course, I have not used it 
long enough to ascerfein the fijct. It is just the 
