28 
THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
germ ■ - ■stro 3 'ed, and consequently does not 
com^ 
I s; ■ uake about one hundred barrels this 
seas. . .ich I intend to use chiefly on corn the 
coni.. : ring, li'om which I anticipate the best 
resun.r 
W ; commenced I intended to say some- 
thing . 1 . 01 what I hare been doing in bone 
dust, ;J norses, pigs, dogs, cats, &c,, but I am 
remi ■ in jmur editorial what great severit}" 
your 1 . ipondents may expect at your hands, 
andr- .'piece is already much longer than 
rmj d- I shall close. Sincerely yours, 
George Woodfin. 
Sjutfiern Planter. 
ROOTS. 
From ttie very flattering manner in A^hich 
you . e introduced me to the readers of the 
“Sou 1 Planter,” I cannot resist the call to 
furni 0 uu with a statement of the treatment, 
cultu. .i f produce of my carrot patch and field 
of S ..'S. 
la., ijt so vain as to think I can furnish any 
thing I . on the .subject, to j'our readers; but a 
plain, .M.cucal, matter-oi-fact account may not 
be ui testing to them. 
Ah -.i ugh the root culture has been gaining 
favor .nis country for several years, still, in 
my o,:.i;iion, it has not received that attention it 
deserve;.. My soil is a loam, some parts inclin- 
ing tu - ad and some to clay, and what is tenn- 
ed h. .'.andy loam and cla)'' loam, and Avell 
adapte.. to the growth of roots, particularly car- 
rots and rata bagas. I have cultivated roots for 
my sto.k for the last ten y'ears, and I have foimd 
no cro; that pays better lor the expense of culti- 
vation; none that abstracts less from the soil, or 
that leaves it in a better condition lor a succeed- 
ing Ci 'p. I have never failed in procuring a 
good crop of barley, and after ruta bagas, grass 
seed always take well. I ha^m been less suc- 
ees.sful v.dth oats, as the richness of the soil cau- 
ses a too luxuriant growth of .straw, whereby 
they lodge and do pot fill so Avell. 
You may recollect that my caiTot patch was 
near my house; I call it my accommodation crop, 
from its being near by and cap be worked at odd 
times; besides it is the scene of my labor! Do 
not start, gentlemen, for I assure you I do not 
belong to the silk-stocking gentry. II you had 
made your visit in the summer, you might possi- 
bly have foimd me in my “frock-and-trousers” 
in the very midst of them, apd the perspiration 
profusely rolling off my face in drops as large 
a.s peas. 
To ensure a good crop of carrots, and it will 
apply equally well to all crops, it is necessary 
•to have the soil not only rich but well -worked 
and pulverized, As soop as the soil is suffi- 
cientl}^ dry in thfr spring, I plough as deep as 
possible, and after one or two weeks, I haul on 
at the rate of sixty cart loads, (equal to thirty 
wagop loads,) of compost manure, and spread 
evenly, and harrow it thoroughly, when the 
plough is again put on and a shallow fm’row 
turped, just sufficient to cover and mix the ma- 
nure with the soil. It is now suffered to rest 
until the seed is to be sown, which in this cli- 
mate will be from the 10th to the 20th of May. 
Previous to sowdng it is thoroughly harrowed, 
and then throivn into ridges, twenty seven inch- 
es apart, ivhich is done by turning two furroAvs 
together. A light roller js then passed over, 
flattening two ridges at every turn, the horse 
AA'alking between them. This leaves a flat sur- 
face of about four inches wide for the drill, 
Avhich folloAVs and deposites the seed in the cen- 
tre about half ap inch deep; a small roller at- 
tached to the drill follows, covering and conq- 
pre.ssing the earth to the seed, which completes 
ihe operation. 
As" soon as the plants are ’about an inch high, 
they are AA’eeded and thinned, AA’hich is consider- 
ed the most tedious operation, which is rendered 
ea.sv and e.vpeditious by what Ave term the’ “push 
and pull” system. In the first place Ave run the 
cultiA'ator, Avith the wings closed, between the 
roAA's. and tlien by .standing in the furroAiq with a 
small narroAv hoe, say three inches AAude, push 
one side of the plant and pull the other side into 
the furroAvs, Avhich AA'ill leave the jdants about 
lour or five inches apart, Avhich I conceive to be 
the proper distance. Alter the second Avorking, 
Avhich is merely running the cultivator betiveen 
them again and cutting up the Aceeds, the ridges 
vani.sh apd the soil becomes nearly leA'el. 
The advantages of cultiA'ating on ridges are, 
the soil is Aimnner and drier, the plants are more 
ea.sil 3 ' distinguished, the Aveeds do not groAV as 
vigorously and are much more speedily removed. 
The great secret in making good root crops is in 
thorough cultivation and a generous supply of 
manure, 
YouAAull recollect the carrot I cultivate is 
the white Belgian variety, Aiffiich 1 esteem tlie 
most profitable on account of the great produce 
and the ease AA'ith Ai'hich they are harvested. — 
Unlike any other A'ariet}', from three to four 
inches of the roots ri.ses aboA'e the .soil, Avhich 
affords greater facilities in draAving, Avhich can 
be done by grasping them Avith the hand, resem- 
bling in that re.spect the mangel Aiuirtzel. 
I gathered them on the 14th of October, which 
Avas accomjdi.shed in the folloAA'ing manner. — 
Each man took tAim rows, pulling and laying the 
tops all one AA'aj' in a roAv. After thev' AA'ere all 
pulled, the tops Avere struck off at one blow AA'ith 
a knife made of a piece of an old scythe, and the 
roots of four roivs Avere throAvn into one; the 
cart folloAxed and the roots Avere tossed into it 
with the hand. The crop obtained from the 
patch, which is about one-third of an acre, Avas 
305 bushels. 
It is impo.s.sible for me to estimate the expense 
of this crop, as the labor Aims done at odd times, 
in the morning before breakfast, Avhen the main 
work AA'as at a distance. In comparison Avitli 
the rutabaga, I judge they cost about one-third 
more, which Avould bring tliem at about nine 
cents per bushel. 
I agree Aidth Mr. Botts in estimating their 
A'alue, For horses and milch coaa's, I consider 
them superior to any other root. Horses be- 
come very fond of them, and fed once per day 
with them, their bOAvels are kept loose, and the 
hair becomes glo.ssy, giving them a lively and 
healthy appearance. Coaa's eat them greedily 
and their milk is of the richest color, and the 
butter of superior quality. They are in such 
high estimation in this section, that a gentleman 
in the city paid me twenty-fii'e cents per bushel 
for a load of them to feed his coav. 
From the amount taken from the small piece 
as aboA'e, I am aa'cII persuaded that 1000 bushels, 
every thing favorable, can be groAi'n on an acre. 
My method of cultivating the ruta baga is 
similar in several respects to that of the carrot. 
They require a lighter soil and delight in a sandy 
loam, and AA'ill bear as much manure as any 
other crop, not CA'en excepting com. I haA'e 
grown good crops on a sod, by turning under 
Ibrty loads of fresh }'ard manure. I prefer, hoAV- 
ever, to have them succeed potatoes, which AA'as 
the case Avith the field you saw in October last. 
Last spring a compost of yard manure and the 
reluse of a glue factory, consisting of lime, 
bones, aa’ooI, hair and bits of pelt, was applied, 
say tAventy loads to the acre, carefully .spread 
after the first ploughing, and turned under AA'ith a 
shalloAv furroAv and thoroughl}' harrowed and 
mixed with the soil — then thrsAV into ridges 27 
inches apart, the tops flattened with the roller, 
and the seed deposited with the drill, &c. The 
after culture, Avith the exception of leai'ing the 
plants from nine to ten inches apart in the di'ilis, 
Avas the same as that of the carrots. 
There is one fact in regard to this crop Avhich 
I ncA'er noticed until last .summer. It so hap- 
pened that a part of this field AA'as not AA'eeded 
and thinned for some days after the other, and 
the plants and weeds had attained considerable 
height before they AA'ere w'orked, and caused 
about double the labor to finish them. On pull- 
ing we found them on this part of the field less 
in size, necks long and tops large — termed 
“necky.” On reflection, the same has happened 
before, and 1 could not account for it. I have 
also heard others complain of the quality of 
their .seed, that the plants AA'ouldnot bottom, &c. 
I haA'e seen som.e of these patches and recollect 
that they were A'cn' close, and there AA'gs appa- 
rently a gi’eal strife betAvecn the plants and AA'eeds 
for the ascendenc}'. 
I finished pulling my crop on the first of this 
month, and they amounted to 2355 bushels, and 
as near as I can make it out, the expen.se of cul- 
tivation would not vary much from six cents per 
bu.shel. We think there AA'as not far from three 
and a half acres. I feed them to mj' cattle, 
sheep and .SAvine; and for feeding calv'es the first 
Avinter, they are in\'aluable, carrying them thro’ 
in fine condition, and prcmcting their groAvth 
AA'onderfully. 
In storing them I fear the heat more than the 
fro.st. I haA'e about IGOO bushels in a cool cel- 
lar and GOO in heaps covered Avith straw and 
earth, for feeding my eives in May. 
C. N. BsMpNT. 
Three Hills Faran, December 6, 1842. 
Southern Planter. 
RUTA BAGA. 
In my communication on the culture of the 
Avhite carrot, I promised to give you rny method 
of cultivating and the product of rny field of ruta 
bagas. 
'I’he piece 3 'ou saAv, AA'hen at rny farm, con- 
tained about three and a half acres, and had lain 
in pasture a number of years; it Avas carefully 
turned over in the fall of 1840; and in the spring 
folloAving, cross-ploughed and harroAved, and 
laid out in furroA'vs tAvo and a half feet apart, and 
planted with potatoes. The knolls, AA'hich in- 
cline more to sand, Avere manured Avith horn- 
shavings and hogs’ bristles, one handful to each 
set. TAvelve roAvs through the middle were ma- 
nured AA'ith salt mackerel, Avhich were spoiled, 
hall' a fish to every' set. It Avas an unfaA'orable 
season for potatoes, a seA'ere drought in the sum- 
mer having injured their groAvth. The rows 
manured Avith the salt fi.sh, I noticed, stood the 
drought much better than any other part of the 
field; vines large and of a dark healthy color, 
when the others Avere broAA'n and .shrivelled, and 
on digging aa'o found them of a large and even 
size, and of excelled quality, and the yield far 
better than an 3 ' other part of the field. 
Last AA'inter, I purchased tAventy'-six tAvo-horse 
loads of the refuse of a glue factory', consisting 
of lime, bones, avooI, hair and piecess ot pelt, 
some of AA'hich had lain for tAVO or three y'ears. 
To tAA'enty loads of this I added forty loads of 
yard manure, and had it well mixed. In the 
spring it w'as ploughed seven inches deep, and 
left until the middle of June, when the manure 
Avas hauled on and evenly spread, AA'hich coA'er- 
ed all except about three-quarters of an acre, on 
Avhich was put six loads of the factory' refuse, 
AA'ithout any' y'ard manure. The piece AA'as then 
ploughed and harroAved, thoroughly' mixing the 
soil and mamue. It Avas then throAvn into 
ridges tAventy-sei'en inches apart, the same as 
for the carrots; tops flattened Avith the roller, and 
seed deposited with the drill (Beimett’s) on the 
18th of June. 
On that part of the field where the yard ma- 
nure was applied, the plants made their appear- 
ance on the fourth day after sowing, while on 
that part Avhere the refuse of the glue factoiy 
Avas put, they showed very feAv plants until the 
tenth day, and then they' Avere sickly in appear- 
ance, and grew so tardily, that the flea devour- 
ed them about as fast as they made their ap- 
pearance. In fact, Ave Avere obliged to trans- 
plant to fill up vacancies, on the whole three- 
quarters of an acre — showing most conclusively' 
the ruta bagas require n quick and active ma- 
nure to giA'e them an early start to get them out 
of the way of their greate.st enemy, the turnip 
flea or beetle. 
On the I8th of July, the cultivator was run 
betAA'een the rows, and they AA'ere thinned AA'ith 
the hoe in the same manner as the carrots, leav- 
ing the plants from eight to ten inches apart ip 
the drills. In August, the cultivator Avas again 
run through them, and they were hoAved at in- 
