Turnips versus Parsnips. 
BY THOS. D. BAIRD. 
I notice some farmers are losing faith in 
the turnip as a profitable crop when com- 
paied with the parsnip; that the turnip is 
exhaustive to land and is inferior as stock 
feed. 
That the parsnip is a good vegetable for 
the table and a splendid food for stock we 
will agree; but when the profit and expense 
of each are considered we are inclined to 
favor the turnip as the most prfiotable. 
The parsnip requires the entire season to 
mature. To make a good crop the land 
must be naturally rich and in addition 
heavily manured; only one crop can be 
taken from the land in the season; consider¬ 
ing all these it costs twice as much to cul¬ 
tivate the parsnip as it does the turnip. 
There are but few crops that the farmer 
puts in the ground that pays him better 
th m the turnip for the time and expense it 
involves. As to turnips being exhaustive 
to land, I can not think they are, considering 
the time they occupy the land. Two of the 
most successful farmers I have known 
raised large crops of turnips by penning 
their cattle on the ground intended for 
turnips and in August sow their seed. The 
soil with the droppings were turned under 
once before sowing to keep down weeds 
and to keep the soil mellow. In sowing 
their turnips grass seed was sown. The 
next summer they would get a fine crop of 
hay off of the ground. I have known a 
heavy crop of corn to follow a large crop of 
turnips. 
wheat; the green mass thus turned 'under 
will make excellent food for the voung 
wheat and give it a vigorous fall growth 
which is quite essential to the production 
of a good crop. Again an early crop of 
potatoes, cucumbers, melons or cabbage 
may be grown on the land and then sown 
to turnips thus taking two crops off of a 
piece of land in one season and this double 
cropping is no small item when profit is 
considered. 
Ther-< is no better vegetable set on the 
table than well cooked turnips, and to my 
taste while sitting around the winter fire 
at night a basket of turnips are almost as 
inviting as a basket of apples. 
The turnip delights in cool moisture and 
there foie a rather heavy soil is to be prefer- 
ed to a light one. Soils entirely new are 
best, having abundance of ashes from the 
brush burned on the ground and vegetable 
mold. They produce the finest and sweet¬ 
est roots. 
Turnips are sown from July until the 
middle of August, The first gives a great- 
ei yield, the last generally a sounder root 
and capable of longer preservation. The 
ground should be plowed and harrowed im¬ 
mediately before sowing, as the moisture 
insures rapid germination of seed, which is 
of great importance to get it beyond thS 
reach of insects as soon as possible. As 
it is generally dry at this time of the year 
it is the common practice to sow just be¬ 
fore a rain, but from observation it is the 
worst time. The rain forms a crust on top 
of the giound and hinders the young plants 
I know it is claimed by some that there 
is no feeding virtue in turnips; but I have 
seen sheep kept on a turnip patch that 
made the best of mutton and were fed 
nothing else. For young growing cattle 
they are just the feed to furnish material 
for making bone and muscle, building up a 
sizable carcass on which fat can afterwards 
foe placed by more concentrated food. Tur¬ 
nips make a splendid pasture, I have seen 
sheep almost kept through the winter on 
the turnip patch. 
Turnips make a good green manure sowed 
last of July or first of August then after 
they have a fair top turn under and sow to 
70 
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