332 
CULTIVATION OF TURNIPS.—NO. 5. 
extend the knot or mark till the whole line be¬ 
comes stretched in two equal lengths, and the knot 
or mark will indicate the place for a tree in the next 
row, where there should be driven another stake. 
Repeat the same operation with a second pair of 
stakes in the outer row. and another point will be 
determined in the next row, where there must also 
be inserted a stake. In like manner, continue with 
all the other stakes, checking, in the meantime, 
each of the stations by oblique, cross, and longitu¬ 
dinal sights, till the whole be completed. Every 
tree in such an orchard will be fifty feet from each 
of its neighbors ; but the rows will be only forty- 
three and three-tenths feet apart; and this distance 
is to fifty feet nearly as seven is to eight. Con¬ 
sequently, one-eighth of the ground will be saved, 
as intimated above. 
CULTIVATION OF TURNIPS.-No. 5. 
Consumption of the Crop. —It is generally admit¬ 
ted, that the nutritive properties of most kinds of 
vegetables are due to the quantity and quality of 
the dry matter contained in them, and that their 
water, although it may serve a useful purpose in 
filling the stomach, cannot fatten animals, by itself, 
or contribute directly to make flesh. Hence it 
would follow, that, from the large proportion of 
water it contains (about 90 percent.), the fattening 
qualities of the turnip must be small. Indeed, ex¬ 
perience has shown in the western counties of 
Scotland, and it is the opinion of the majority of 
farmers in this country, that cattle cannot be fat¬ 
tened on turnips alone, and that laboring animals 
fed on roots of any kind, as their chief food, cannot 
perform their work with ease to themselves or with 
economy to their owners. It is also well known, 
that all animals thrive better on a mixed diet, than 
when kept on the same kind of food, let it be ever 
so nutritious and rich. 
Store-cattle, in Great Britain, are now generally 
allowed turnips ; the old system of just keeping 
them alive, being almost entirely exploded. In 
those districts, even, where they are fed on straw 
and occasionally on coarse hay, with an allowance 
of turnips, they are ready thrivers when afterwards 
put to grass, and also prove more true to the 
butcher. This system of feeding from hirth, has 
greatly gained ground, and cattle of the Short-Horn 
and other improved breeds, are now brought to the 
butcher before they have quite completed their second 
year. This could not be done if they had not been 
well stored and kept upon healthful food from the 
beginning. 
It is recommended that the food of store-cattle 
should be supplied at regular periods and by the 
same man. The first thing in the morning the cribs 
_ or racks to be cleared of the unconsumed straw, 
3 which should be thrown into the yard. Fresh 
straw should then be given them, and their troughs 
thoroughly cleaned, and replenished with a supply 
of turnips finely cut, as young cattle are often inca¬ 
pable of eating a whole turnip on account of the 
tender state of their mouths. They should always 
have in their yard a constant supply of clear, fresh 
water. After they have been furnished with their 
breakfast, they ought to be kept as quiet as possi¬ 
ble, in order that they may chew their cud in peace. 
The second supply ol food should be furnished be¬ 
fore they become uneasy and call for it, or betake 
themselves to the dirty straw of the yard to allay 
their hunger. 
The consumption of the turnip-crop b y fattening 
cattle , is now regarded as of the first importance; 
and, on some farms, in England, by far the greatest 
proportion, in that manner, is disposed of. The 
cattle, for convenience, are generally tied up in 
stalls ; but sometimes they are turned into one apart¬ 
ment, in lots of four or five together, each having a 
separate trough, fixed against the wall and guarded 
by a kind of stake, so that only one can approach it 
at a time. No animal of a restless or quarrelsome 
disposition is allowed, on any account, to be put 
with the others. Many cattle, however, are 
brought to a high state of fatness, which are fed in 
yards well protected from cold winds, with a shed 
partly closed and facing the south. 
As in the case of the store-cattle, those under the 
operation of fattening should be fed regularly and 
at stated times—cleaned out at the same hour every 
day, and when fed and cleaned, no person should 
be allowed to enter and disturb them. There is a 
saying in some parts of Scotland, that, “ every time 
a byre of cattle is disturbed, a shilling is lost to the 
owner.” The greatest care should be observed to 
clean out the troughs every day ; as the food left to 
decay in them, must be particularly annoying and 
disgusting to a poor beast kept tied with his nose 
directly over them. When fed on a full supply of 
turnips, they will require little or no water to drink. 
It seldom happens that cattle are entirely fattened 
on turnips alone, as they would be by far too re¬ 
laxing. Some other kinds of food should be given 
them, such as sweet, clean straw or hay, oil-cake, 
shorts, ship-stuffs, crushed corn, Indian meal, &c. 
When any one of these articles is used in conjunc¬ 
tion with turnips, it should be given at a particular 
time of day, and the hour by no means changed—- 
there cannot be too much regularity in their rnaii- 
agement. A lump of rock-salt, sufficiently large 
not to be taken into their mouths whole, should be 
constantly kept within reach of the cattle, as they 
are extremely fond of licking it; besides, it is 
thought to whet their appetites, promote the secre¬ 
tion of bile, and, in general, is favorable to their ac¬ 
tivity and health. It is now well understood that 
turnips, when sliced, afford great facilities to cattle 
in devouring their food with the least trouble, and 
render them less liable to become choked; for, 
when a beast gets a whole bulb into his mouth, he 
throws back his head, so that the turnip may drop 
between the molar teeth, and it often happens that 
it rolls into his throat. 
Another very important operation, and one which 
is too often neglected, is the cleaning of the turnips 
before feeding them out to cattle. This can readily 
be done by putting them into a basket and immers¬ 
ing it in a tub, or a pond or stream of water, roll¬ 
ing the turnips about with a stick. On lifting the 
basket out of the water, it will be found that the 
turnips will be sufficiently clean. 
The feeding of the turnip-crop, or rather a por¬ 
tion of it, by sheep, where it can be practised, is a 
very desirable method of consuming it. All sheep 
fed on turnips should also be supplied with hay or 
straw; but those under the process of fattening 
should be supplied with some of the richer kinds 
