RURAL L1F£ 
iTERAXUREL 
XCELsmfi 
{WHOLE m 538, 
FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, HAY 
(ire the soundest, and consequently are capable 
of more extended preservation. When the plants 
appear and the leaves are partially expanded, the 
hoe or cultivator should bo freely used, keeping 
the ground well stirred that the roots may have 
all the room wanted, and for the purpose of ex¬ 
terminating the weeds as fast as they present 
themselves. 
As regards the quantity of seed per acre it is 
best- to use, there is a variety of opinions, the 
amount ranging from less than one to more than 
three pounds. Were there no trouble attending 
the culture of this crop from defective germina¬ 
tion or the attack of insects, one pound would 
doubtless be sufficient. 
The turnip is exposed to uumerous insect ene¬ 
mies, among which, the fly, or fly-beetle, is most 
to be dreaded. Remedies innumerable have been 
promulgated, but most of them, just when de¬ 
pended upon, have failed, observation has 
shown, however, that ft rough or gritty state of 
the leaf will put a quietus upon their operations, 
and any substance, such fts ashes, that will thus 
coat the plant, will act as a preventive to their 
destruction. A fter an application is made, should 
ruins occur, the process must ho repeated. 
fleets — White Sugar mid Mangel Wurzcl. 
The White Sugar Beet and the Mangel Wur- 
zel are the varieties most generally cultivated in 
The soil requires the same depth, 
ter, where cows receive a good ration of parsnips, 
is said to be of as fine a color and as excellent 
flavor as when the animals are feeding on the 
best of pastures. If this Is the ca*p, as we can 
prove on good authority, those who have been 
troubled with poor-flavored, lard-liko winter-made 
butter, will unite with us in urging la rut era to 
grow parsnips, for the use of their milch cows, 
at least. In Europe many thousands of hogs are 
fattened every year entirely on this vegetable, 
particularly on the islands of Jersey and Guurn- 
sey. The English think the parsuip makes 
Sweeter pork than any other feed, hut give 
ground peas or barley a few weeks before killing, 
to harden the meat. 
Lest our readers should be disposed to think 
that we speak too highly of this root) we quote 
the following statements from the best .English 
“As parsnips contain six per cent. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
an original weekly 
RURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSFAPER. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
With an Able Corps of Assistants and Contributors, 
Thk RirK.it, N’tov Yomuui is designed to lie unsurpassed 
in Value, Purity, Usefulness and Variety of Contents, and 
unique and bountiful in Appearance. Its Conductor devotes 
bis personal attention to the supervision of its various de¬ 
partments, a**1 earnestly labors to render ill* Rural an 
eminently Reliable Guide on all the important Practical, 
Scientific and other Subjects intimately connected with the 
business of those who-« interests it /.calously advocates. 
As a Family Journal it is eminently Instructive and Eli¬ 
te rtaininv—being so conducted that it can be safely taken 
to tho Hearts and Home* of people of intelligence, taste 
and discrimination. It embraces more Atfrienitural, Horti¬ 
cultural, Scientific, Educational, Literary and News Matter, 
interspersed with appropriate and beautiful Engravings, 
than any other Journal, —rendering it the most complete 
Agricultural, Litxrary and Family Nbwspai’KU in 
America. 
For Tkkmh and other particulars, see last page. 
authority 
more mucilage than carrots, the difference may 
he sufficient to account, for the superior fattening, 
as well as butter-making quality of the parsnip. 
In tho fattening of cattle the parsnip is found 
superior to the carrot, performing the business 
with as much expedition, and affording meat of 
exqniBitc flavor, and of a highly juicy quality; 
the animals eat it with much greediness, it is 
reckoned that thirty perches, where the crop is 
good, will fatten an ox three or four years old, 
in ordinary store condition, in the course of 
three months. The parsnips are given in the 
proportion of about thirty pounds weight, morn¬ 
ing, noon, and night; tho large ones being split 
into three or four pieces, and a little hay supplied 
in the intervals of these periods. The result of 
experiment has shown, that not only in neat cat¬ 
tle. but in Hu; rattening of hogs and poultry, the 
animals become fat much sooner, and are more 
healthy thun when fed with any other root or 
vegetable; and that, besides, the meat i3 more 
sweet and delicious. Tho parsnip leaves being 
more bulky than those of carrots, may be mown 
off before taking the roots, and given to oxen, 
cows, or horses, by which they will be greedily 
eaten.” 
Another advantage for this country is, that any 
portion of the crop not wanted for winter use 
may be allowed to remain in tho ground during 
the winter, as they are not in the least injured by 
the frost. When dug they should be stored in a 
cool jdace, and be covered with earth. The 
parsnip delights in a rather light, deep, rich soil, 
though we have often grown good crops on a 
heavy clay, when dry and well pulverized. If 
manure is used it should be well decomposed. 
The carrot and parsnip require similar cultiva¬ 
tion, but as parsnips make a stronger growth 
when young, they are not as apt to be clicked by 
weeds, or to suffer from a little neglect. The 
plants are much more easily seen, so that weed¬ 
ing is less difficult. Be particular in obtaining 
fresh seed, as very little of that two years old 
Get your seed early, and test it before 
A. MOX)BirtlSr AGLJiA 
We give our readers a view of a plain, substan¬ 
tial, yet tasteful elevation for a villa, and adapted 
for a firBt-class farm-house or village residence- 
For this plan we arc indebted to a subscriber in 
Townsend, Canada West, who says:—“Many in 
Canada have adopted this plan with such slight, 
alterations as necessary to suit individual wants 
or tastes, and with the best of satisfaction.” 
It will be seen by the plan of lower floor, that 
the library is considerably larger than the parlor, 
which is rather reversing tho natural older of 
things. But the large drawing-room in the second 
story, the largest room in the house, and the front 
parlor, are designed, no doubt,, to make up for tho 
smallness of the parlor below stairs. This parlor 
and drawing-room up stairs, although common in 
city houses, is something new for tho country. 
Tho family bed-room, on lower floor, is too nar¬ 
row, and should be made one or two feet wider. 
Tho kitchen is convenient to tho dining-room, 
pantry of good size, but the bed-room oil' tho 
kitchen is too small for any living thing to sleep 
in. If designed for the “ servant ” of our Cana¬ 
dian friends, or the “help” of us Yankees, we 
would urge the substitution of the bed-room over 
the kitchen for this use. 
Ml 
this country, 
richness, cleanliness, and thoroughness of culture, 
as for carrots. The usual mode of planting is in 
drills about two feet apart, or as near ftB horse 
culture will admit, and the plants ton to twelve 
inches distant in the row. By many cultivators 
the scuds are deposited nba-it four inches apart, 
and at tho first hoeing tin-, plant* are thinned out. 
Two Bceds are dropped In the dibbled hole, and 
In thinning, the thriftiest shoot is the one left. 
Where the ground is not damp, germination re¬ 
ceives essential assistance by souking tho seed in 
soft water, from twenty-four to forty-eight hours 
before planting. Much of the trouble that culti¬ 
vators have had in raisiug the beet, has doubtless 
arisen from the fact that, both soil and seeJ were 
dry. We would not plant a beet seed of any kind 
without being well soaked. The quantity of seed 
used varies with different cultivators, from four 
Much less would 
■aMSM 
ROOT CULTURE. 
Having received many inquiries in regard to 
root crops, during the past month, we propose to 
give a few hints in regard to their culture, which 
we hope will be useful to many, and at the same 
time answer all important questions. Of the im¬ 
portance of root crops in this country, we shall at 
present say nothing. This can best be ascertained 
by trial, and we urge our readers to test the ques¬ 
tion the present season. Experiments need not 
be large or expensive, but to be valuable they 
must he very carefully made. 
The Carrot- 
Tub carrot delights in a deep, rich, loamy 
soil, but wc have never seen a failure even in 
sandy soil, where sufficient nutriment was given 
in the form of woll rotted stable immure or guano, 
and land ol a clayey texture will give a large 
crop, if it is subsoilcd and kept well pulverized. 
Indeed, the effect of a carrot crop in ameliorating 
a stiff soil, after subsoiling, Is wonderful, as uuy 
one can ascertain by making the trial. 
The common mode of seeding has been in driilH, 
from twelve to sixteen inches apart, and the after 
culture generally depended upon tho hoe. In this 
manner a greater yield can be obtained per acre 
than where ridging is followed, but a large in¬ 
crease of labor is demanded. Ridging is per¬ 
formed by turning two furrows together, about 
two feet apart from top to top; the cultivator can 
then be freely nsed, and, compared with the 
former mode, the toil is light. The use of a drill 
expedites the work, but with soaked seed, it is a 
troublesome operation. Blaster, poudrette, ashes, 
orany dry, fertilizing material, will assist in over¬ 
coming this difficulty. Carrotsced should always 
be put in warm water before planting, and allowed 
to soak from one to two days. If this was gener¬ 
ally done, we should hear of less complaint about 
poor seed. If the weather proves unfavorable for 
planting when the seed is thus prepared, coat it 
with any of the materials before mentioned, set 
it in a cool place, and it will not receive injury 
for eight or ten days. Should i t become sprouted, 
no durnage will ensue. It will only prove that 
your seed is good. Carrot seed can be tested by 
sowing a few in a hot-bed, or in a box in a warm 
room in the house. Two pounds per acre is the 
quantity of seed used. 
We would not recommend the sowing of car 
rots until ihe ground gets warm, so that they can 
make a quick growth, and thus show themselves 
about as soon us the weeds, 
to six pounds being the range 
answer if all were sure to germinate and prodnoe 
good plants. Beet seed should not be planted 
deep; about an inch of covering is all that, is ne¬ 
cessary. Many plaut seed three or lour inches 
deep, and wonder why it does not conic up regu¬ 
larly. As soon as the plants appear, all weeds 
should he destroy ed and the ground well stirred. 
CATTLE DISEASE IN MASSACHUSETTS. 
In the issue of the Rural for March 31st, we 
made mention of the appearance in Massachu¬ 
setts of that dreaded disease, Plcuro-Fncumonia,— 
which has so frequently ravaged the herds of the 
and, at. the same time, spread before 
will grow, 
planting. 
The Tin-nip. 
There are many varieties of turnips cultiva¬ 
ted by our farmers, but general experience has 
given the preference to two kinds, with their sub¬ 
varieties;—for stock-feeding, the Ruta Baga or 
Swedish turnip; for table use, the Flat English. 
Of the former, I.aing’s Improved is deemed num¬ 
ber one by many-, — others choose Bkirving’s 
Purple Top. For table use, an early and a late 
variety ought to be sown; for the former purpose 
we would recommend the Early Stubble; for the 
latter, the Green Globe or Norfolk variety. In 
the choice of varieties, however, each cultivator 
must exercise liia own judgment as to which will 
give him tho greatest return,—the most nutri¬ 
ment per acre, and at the least cost,— in fact, 
which, for the purposes to which it is to be devo¬ 
ted, will pay the best. 
The true turnip soil is a deep sand or sandy 
loam. Clayey or Compuct soils are not suited to 
its profitable production; neither are damp, heavy 
lands. We have seen excellent crops of turnips 
on reclaimed muck land. For the culture oi‘ the 
Swede, the best is that from which wheat or corn 
has been taken. Be the land what it may, unless 
it is in good condition a profitable crop cannot be 
obtained. Sow in drills, about two feet apart, 
leaving the plants after thinning about eight, 
inches apart in the rows. The Swede may he 
sown any time from tho middle of May to the 
same period in June. Early planting has, how¬ 
ever, this one advantage,—should the first seed¬ 
ing fail, or the lly destroy the young plants, ample 
time is left for performing the labor again. 
The period for sowing the English turnip is 
about one mouth later than for ihe Swede. At 
any time from the middle of June to the first of 
August, this labor can be performed with success. 
The first sown give the largest returns, 
old world! 
our readers the various modes adopted, both by 
Veterinarians and Stock Breedej-s, for its remedy 
where apparent, and its prevention where it had 
not already effected an entry ucc. Since the period 
referred to, we have serutinmngly watched our 
Eastern exchanges, in order to ascertain wliat 
steps were being taken tosvard confining this 
malady among the herds where its fatality was 
first exhibited, and as the journals have given 
prominence to the subject under consideration, 
we have had all the information obtainable. Our 
purpose is to review this matter, condensing the 
same within such limits as our space admits. 
The Massachusetts Legislature appointed three 
Commissioners,— Messrs. Fay, of Boston; Wal¬ 
ker, of North Brookfield; und l.ATunor, of South 
Hadley,—“ta examine Into the nature and treat¬ 
ment of this disease, and to exterminate any 
herds in which it may lie found.” To meet the 
necessary expenses, $10,000 were appropriated. 
The first place visited was North Brookfield, in 
which neighborhood are some twelve or fifteen 
stock - owners whose herds number about one 
hundred and fifty head of choice cattle. The 
disease, in greater or less development, was be¬ 
lieved to lie among them all. The Commissioners 
were accompanied by several surgeons and cattle 
doctors from Worcester and Boston, and upon 
the farm receiving 
SECOND FLOOR. 
A, Parlor, 14 feet by 11 feet 6 inches; ft, Drawing-Room, 
14x10; CC, Bed-Rooms, 11x12; J)D, Closets, 5x6; K, 
Hall, 7x28; F, Porch, 4\13; (J, Bed-Room, 11 feet 6 
inches by 10 feet; //, Lumber-Room, 11x22. The front 
and also the back stairs, and the passage way connected 
therewith are shown, and need no explanation. 
GROUND FLOOR. 
, Porch, 13 Tect by 4; tt, Parlor, 14x12; C, Library, 
14x15; D, Dining-Room, 14x15; Kitchen, 14x10; Fj 
Bed-Room, 0 feet 6 inches by 8 feotsix inches; O, Pan¬ 
try, 6 feet fl inches hy 0 feet 0 inches; //, Family Bed 
Room, 9 by 15; /, Wood House, 14x22; J , llall, 7x20; 
KKK, Closets. 
On the day following, the stock belonging to 
C. P. Huntington, where there were some “bad 
cases,” had an examination. Mr. II. had pre. 
viously lost eleven cows by pneumonia, and the 
Committee killed three more, diminishing his 
stock to eleven bead, l)r. Bates immediately 
entered the stable anil began the laborious process 
of examination by percussion, while the appraisers 
estimated tin* value of the stock. Two cows wore 
found diseased, and the rest had been so much 
exposed to infection, that it was decided to kill 
them also. A hill-side back of the barn was 
selected as tlie place of execution, and eleven pita 
wore dug for the reception of the bodies. In tho 
first one examined, they found a strong adhesion 
of the lunga to the diaphragm, and acute disease 
of the right lung. The second case also exhibited 
adhesion, accompanied hy indurated lung tissue, 
and sloughing of the left lung. Cases were 
observed in the course of the day where the 
sloughing business had proceeded so far that 
there was very little healthy lung left. And yet, 
so insidious is the progress of the disease, that 
rotten cheese, of more than a pint in measure¬ 
ment. She might possibly have thrown off the 
disease and lived, had she not been killed. 
Another cow in tho same herd, and showing 
stronger signs of the di-ease, had similar, but a 
greater amount of pus in the lungs, and with it a 
large amount of watery fluid. An ox thut looked 
bright and well, and ate and chewed his cud as if 
in a healthy condition, was among the slain, and 
one of his lungs was a mass of corruption. 
Another singular case was -that of a cow that 
calved some ton days ago; one lung was healthy, 
but in tho other the disease was developing itself 
in scattered balls, or masses of pus, looking like 
liver on the outside, but on cutting, like rotten 
cheese; and her calf was found to have the disease 
in precisely a similar stage. A calf, nearly a year 
old, that was brought from Mr. Chenerv’s herd in 
Belmont at the same time with the calf to which 
the whole disease is traced back, was also among 
the animals killed by the Commissioners, and it 
was found to have the disease only in the very 
earliest stages. 
As regards varieties, 
tho Long Orange is most generally raised. It 
grows to a great length,— sometimes, in favorable 
soils, being two feet long. The White Belgian 
reaches an enormous size, from four to six inches 
of its upper portions being out of the ground. 
It is coarser than the Orange, and not considered 
as valuable for stock, though giving a larger crop. 
The Long Red, except in color, resembles the 
b Orange. 
% The i'nnuip, 
The Parsnip we have long thought is the 
most valuable of all the roots. No root is better, 
r and we think none as good, for fattening hogs or 
cattle, and for feeding milch cows. It gives no 
d unpleasant flavor to the milk, and many think 
the butter from cows fed with parsnips peculiarly 
rich and high flavored. Butter made in the win- 
their earliest visitation, caused 
fourteen animals to be killed that they might 
trace the progress and character of disease in all 
its stages. A cow that died the night before the 
Commissioners arrived was examined, und both 
her lungs were a mass of frothy, cheesy corrup¬ 
tion. One cow that was taken so long ago as the 
1st of January, and seemed to be recovering, 
appearing bright and healthy, was slaughtered. 
The left lobe of the lungs was sound, but from 
■the latter I the right was taken a mass of pus, looking like 
