1869.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
255 
it down until caught by the revolving sod. 
A heavy chain, attached to the beam near the 
standard, and to the end of the evener on the 
mould-board side, the bight dragging back as 
far as possible, and yet escaping being caught 
by the furrow slice as it turns over, answers a 
similar purpose, but is not so easily managed. 
Another implement, which may give a sea¬ 
sonable hint of value to some of our readers, is 
the Hay Sweep , figs. 10 and 11. This consists 
of an upright frame, fixed upon a double-head¬ 
ed rake, like that of a common revolving 
horse-rake. On eacli side of the frame is a 
Fig. 10. —HAY SWEEP. 
gate-like appendage, to which a horse is at¬ 
tached, one on each side. The horses are rid¬ 
den by sensible lads, and the hay, unrakcd, or 
thrown into windrows, is gathered into the 
“ sweep.” The affair will hold four hundred or 
five hundred pounds of hay, and being able to 
slide easily over the ground, the horses quickly 
haul it to the barn or stack, if the distance be 
not, too great, in which case it would not pay to 
Fig. 11. —IIAY SWEEP LOADED. 
use it. There are many places where raking 
may be done by horse power, and where hay is 
stacked upon the ground, as on many of the 
salt marshes along the coast, and where hay 
wagons can not be used. Here we think these 
haj* sweeps might be usefully employed. 
The book is full of useful suggestions and 
practical hints, besides being the only work we 
know of in which the principles of natural phi¬ 
losophy are exhibited as applied upon the farm. 
Turnips and Ruta-bagas. 
There is hardly any soil upon which, with 
proper management, turnips may not be raised, 
and there is no more paying crop—considering 
the little labor required, the very short time it 
occupies the land, and its importance as an ar¬ 
ticle of forage for all sorts of stock. We cul¬ 
tivate two different plants under the name of 
turnip, and each has an indefinite, we might al¬ 
most say infinite, number of varieties. We 
distinguish them as common or English, or soft 
turnips, and as Swedes, Ruta-bagas, Russian, 
French, etc. Those of one kind, Brassica 
rapa, are distinguished by roughish, light green 
leaves, while the varieties of the other, Brassica 
napus, have smooth, glossy leaves, usually of a 
greenish blue color. The culture required by 
the two kinds varies considerably, as the 
Swedes are longer in maturing, and to attain 
the full growth require a month or six weeks 
more time than common turnips. It is custom¬ 
ary, therefore, to sow them about the middle of 
June, though they would probably do equally 
well sown earlier; while were we to sow com¬ 
mon turnips too early, they would grow hollow 
and pithy, crack, fill with water, and, in all prob¬ 
ability, rot before harvest. It usually does very 
well to sow Ruta-bagas quite early in July; 
in fact, to obtain the tenderest and best-flavored 
roots for the table, they are best sown some time 
in July, on most soils. Common turnips should 
be sown in this mouth, and there need not be 
any especial hurry about getting the seed in be¬ 
fore the last of the month. It is well, therefore 
to take time to get the laud in good order, per¬ 
haps to plow it twice, and at any rate, to go 
over it well with cultivators, clod-crushers, or 
harrows, to kill weeds and mellow it well before 
the seed is sown. Common turnips are usually 
sown broadcast, but we are satisfied it pays 
abundantly to drill them, placing the rows fully 
18 to 20 inches apart. If there is much organic 
or animal manure in the soil, the plants will 
make leaf at the expense of the roots; hence, ex¬ 
cept on very poor soils, barn-yard manure 
should seldom be employed. A single barrel 
of fine bone-dust or of a good superphosphate, 
applied with the seed in the drill, is by far the 
best application. Swedisli turnips are sown 
in the same way, but they will bear a much 
stronger soil and more manure. In fret, excel¬ 
lent, well-flavored Ruta-bagas may be grown 
upon land which is so rich that common tur¬ 
nips would be woody, strong, and unfit for ta¬ 
ble use, or for profitable feeding. 
In regard to varieties: The Yellow Purple- 
top Swede is, perhaps, best for general culture. 
Skirving’s Purple-top having also yellow flesh, 
is superior for rather light soils. The Sweet 
German and White French are highly esteemed 
for the table. Among the almost endless varie¬ 
ties of the common turnip, after trying many 
kinds, we fall back upon the Cow-horn and 
Purple-top Strap-leaf, for general crop. The 
White Globe, Golden-ball, and several of the 
fancy varieties, are very good, but we prefer the 
old stand-bys, if pure seed can be obtained. 
Sowing Corn for Green Fodder. 
Corn for green fodder should be sown, not 
broadcast, but thickly, in rows three feet apart, 
so that it may be readily “ tended ” by horse 
power. At this width the cultivator will pass 
through the rows without danger, and if the 
seed is thick in the drills, (not less than twenty- 
five kernels to the foot,) it will, on rich laud, 
form so bushy a growth as to nearly occupy 
the whole space. The sowings may be con¬ 
tinued, at intervals, until nearly or quite the 
first of August. The rows being marked out, 
by chaining, or with the plow, the corn may be 
sown quite rapidly by hand, and covered with 
the feet, as recommended by Peter Henderson 
in his “ Gardening for Profit,” and then well 
rolled down. Or, which is much better, it may 
be put in with a wheat-drill by taking out all 
but the middle and the two end teeth, and stop¬ 
ping the discharge from the hopper except over 
these. Tiiis will bring the rows at about the 
proper distance apart, and the quantity of seed 
may be easily regulated so as to give the requi¬ 
site thickness in the drill. Corn sown in this 
way needs no additional covering beyond what 
a roller will give it. Should it not be needed 
for feeding in its green state, it may be bound 
in small bundles, and cured in long shocks, 
made around a rail supported by crotches or 
stakes. When cured, it forms a nutritious fodder. 
The Treatment of Sick Animals. 
The crying evil of the agriculture of this 
country is, that we have no good system of 
veterinary instruction. Except in the large 
cities, and, indeed, in most of those, it is im¬ 
possible to find a well-educated veterinary sur¬ 
geon. Throughout the whole length and 
breadth of the land, our poor dumb brutes, 
condemned to suffer from diseases generally 
brought about by our own carelessness or neg¬ 
lect, are obliged to bear the still greater suffer¬ 
ing of the barbarous treatment of common far¬ 
riers and quacks, who know almost nothing of 
the organization of their bodies. As a natural 
consequence, violent purgings, frightful blood¬ 
letting, blisters and firings, are applied without 
thought and without reason, entailing untold 
agony to the animal, and generally much loss 
to its owner. Of course, when an animal is 
sick, any farmer who is ignorant of rvhat should 
be done ought to secure the best advice within 
his reach. But he should always retain so 
much control over the treatment as to avoid a 
resort to barbarous remedies, unless the un¬ 
skilled practitioner can convince him that there 
is good reason for it; for, as a general rule, an 
animal left to the unguided curative processes 
of nature would come better out of its troubles 
than if subjected to the operation of brutal 
means for the restoration of its health. With 
animals, as with men, there is far too much 
medicine-giving, blistering, and bleeding; and 
probably more are killed or permanently injured 
by these practices than are cured by them. Of 
course, in some desperate cases, they are neces¬ 
sary, but they should always be resorted to 
with caution, and with much hesitation. In all 
minor diseases, which result almost invariably 
from bad air, bad food, filth, and neglect, the 
wisest treatment is the removal of the cause, 
and the restoration of those simple, natural con¬ 
ditions upon which the return, no less than the 
maintenance, of health is based. The purging 
ball may often, be with advantage supplanted 
by a loosening diet, bleeding, almost invariably 
by such a diet and by pure air. Warm clothing 
and thorough grooming will usually do the 
work of the blister, and do it much better. In 
all cases of strains, bruises, and wounds, water 
is an almost sovereign remedy; and in nine- 
tentlis of the cases in which it is thought neces¬ 
sary to send for the local cow doctor or horse 
doctor, the simple treatment above indicated 
will be found not only cheaper, but far better 
in its application and in its effects. 
Management of Agricultural Societies. 
Mr. J. H. Fade’s address, delivered on the 
occasion of his retiring from the Presidency of 
the N. Y. State Agricultural Society, has been 
published by the Society. His views are plain¬ 
ly spoken, and no one can doubt their being 
earnest convictions. He strenuously opposes 
horse-racing, and all sorts of shows, as means 
