364 
CULTIVATION OF TURNIPS.-NO. 6. 
ton line than we are accustomed to see generally in 
our city markets. We may, however, readily get 
into them, and it only requires that the farmers 
adopt the best breeds of foreign cattle and sheep 
now plentifully scattered throughout our country, 
to produce as fine and desirable meats as the Eng¬ 
lish themselves can do. 
In cattle, the Short-Horns, the Herefords, and the 
Devons possess all the fine qualities for fatting pur¬ 
poses, being the best seen in the English markets; 
while in sheep, the Southdowns yield the most de¬ 
sirable mutton. They are comparatively plenty in 
the United States, and of excellent quality, and al¬ 
together cheaper here than in England. Indeed we 
do n-ot know of better investments for our farmers in 
the extensive grazing districts bordering on rail¬ 
roads and canals, than to obtain animals of these 
valuable breeds, and go at once into breeding and 
preparing them for the English markets. As lean 
stock, if of the right kind, they may be transported to 
the graziers in the neighborhood of our cities during 
the fall of the year, and then fed off for a winter 
market; or, if equally convenient, better fed and 
fattened at home, and in winter slaughtered and 
sent by railroad to the cities for exportation. 
The experiment of exportation has been tried and 
found successful; and there will be plenty of buy¬ 
ers who will embark the necessary capital and go 
permanently into the business. But it will be use¬ 
less to send poor and half fed meats to England. 
The carcases must be fat , and to be profitably fed, 
they must be of such kind as will take on flesh 
kindly, fatten rapidly, and show well in market. 
Such animals will always sell at a round profit; 
but such too, we are sorry to say, do not exist either in 
our common American cattle or sheep. We must re¬ 
sort to the best foreign blood, and their crosses on 
our native stock, to a high degree for that purpose. 
We hope to see this branch of husbandry become 
extensively pursued. 
CULTIVATION OF*TURNIPS.—No. 6. 
Feeding Milch Cows. —In comparing the chemi¬ 
cal analogy that exists between the inorganic con¬ 
stituents of the turnip and 'those of the milk of the 
cow, it will be seen that this kind of green food is 
particularly adapted for cows giving milk. By re¬ 
ferring to the analyses of the ash, on pp. 299 and 
300 of the current volume, it will be observed that 
turnips are rich in phosphoric acid, which chiefly 
occurs in combination with lime, thus forming 
bone-earth, or phosphate of lime. Now milk is 
also very rich in phosphates, as will be seen by 
the following tables, from Professor Johnston, and 
instances are on record where some descriptions of 
cheese contained more than 60 per cent, of phos¬ 
phates—the phosphoric acid being nearly all in 
combination with lime. 
According to Professor Johnston, 1,000 parts by 
weight of cow’s milk was composed of 
Butter,. 27 to 35 
Cheesy matter (casein),... 45 “ 90 
Milk-sugar, ...36 “ 50 
Chloride of Potassium, and a little of sodium- 14 } 
Phosphates—chiefly lime, .2 4 > 10 
Other salts,.... 6 ) 
Water,....8824 815 
999| M00 
From the above table, it is obvious that the com¬ 
position of milk varies, so that it is reasonable to 
suppose that it will be greatly influenced by the 
food received by the cow; therefore,, the farmer, 
whose only manufacture from milk is butter, would 
do well to feed his cows on substances that are 
fatty and rich. 
In another table of the analysis of the inorganic 
constituents of milk given by Professor Johnston, 
from Haidlen, 1,000 lbs. of milk of two different 
cows, yielded in pounds of 
Phosphate of lime,.2.31- • -3.44 
Phosphate of magnesia,.0.42* • -0.64 
Phosphate of peroxide of iron,.0.97* • -0.07 
Chloride of potassium,.1.44 • • • 1.83 
Chloride of sodium..0.24- • -0.34 
Free Soda,.•.0.42-. -0.45 
580 6.77 
It will be noticed by this table that the quantity 
of salts left by the milk of different animals some¬ 
what varies. By comparing this table, also, with 
the tables of the inorganic parts of the turnip, pp. 
299 and 300 of the present volume, it will be seen 
that the turnip contains all the substances that are 
contained in the salts of the milk. 
Different varieties of turnips affect the quantity 
of milk. For instance, the white kinds cause the 
cows to produce a far larger supply, but of an in¬ 
ferior quality, as far as butter is concerned, than the 
yellow varieties. In so great a degree is the quan¬ 
tity of milk larger from the cows on the white, that 
the supply of butter in the end is larger from the 
same cows than when they receive the yellows. 
On farms where the quality rather than the quan¬ 
tity of milk is regarded, the turnips may be con¬ 
sumed in the fall, when the cows are taken up and 
housed, on the failure of grass or green feed, and be 
fed with the softer, more watery, but sweeter sorts, 
such as the various kinds of whites, tankards, 
globes, &c. On these, the cows are said to give a 
larger quantity of milk than on the harder and more 
solid varieties. Consequently, they are kept on 
these so long as they will last. The various kinds 
of yellows may next be given, and in some instan¬ 
ces they may be continued until the grass is avail¬ 
able again in the spring, and no Swedes (ruta-bagas) 
need be used; not that there is any objection to 
them, but that they require a more fertile soil. 
An objection has been raised by some to Swedes, 
from a notion that they “ taste” the milk more than 
other kinds of turnips ; but such is not the case. A 
slight disagreeable flavor, it is true, is sometimes 
given to milk and butter when the cows are fed on 
turnips; but this can entirely be removed, by put¬ 
ting in each pan, before pouring in the milk, a 
pinch or two of saltpetre (nitrate of potash). 
The turnip, in the day-time, is usually given to 
the cows raw, well washed, and sliced; but at night, 
a good mess of cooked food is preferable, given 
with as much hay as they will eat, care being taken 
that it be sweet. Many give sweet straw, which, 
although not so good as sweet hay, is to be prefer¬ 
red to nay that is in any way inferior or damaged. 
Of the descriptions of cooked food, of which tur¬ 
nips form a chief ingredient, there are many kinds 
In Ayrshire, in Scotland, they take a bushel of 
chaff (cut hay and straw, with the chaff of grain). 
