THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
AUS. il 
=r 
36 
$iclir Crop, 
NOTES FROM A WESTERN N. Y. WHEAT 
FIELD. 
BY W. J. FOWLER. 
When we began wheat harvest, T was surprised 
to find Unit none of the men could cradle around 
the tield to make a path for the reaper. We had 
four men hired, two by the day and two monthly 
hands, hut none, excepting my father and my¬ 
self, could swing the cradle. It is strange how 
generally the art of harvesting, by old-time 
methods, lias been lost through the use of im¬ 
proved machinery. Men have lost the pride they 
once had in neat workmanship, and what they do 
is in a slip-shod, slovenly manner. The men all 
professed tu be good hinders ; but their bundles 
were long and looso, and such as the binders of 
forty years ago would have been ashamed to 
leave after the poorest cradling. The butts 
were not raked off and no pains were taken to 
gather into bundles the loose straws which are 
always left after binding. All was left for the 
Bteel-toothed rake which is to follow as soon as the 
field is cleared, and gather the gleanings. Per¬ 
haps this is just as well; but the habit Of care¬ 
lessness and slovenliness in farming is fearfully 
demoralizing. In riding through the country 
we see nearly half the fence-corners left uncut, 
a refuge for wee Is to seed and spread through 
the fields. But for the necessity of mowing 
fence-corners, cutting grass with a sytlie might 
become one of the lost arts. Fortunately I 
learned both to mow and cradle before mowers 
and reapers came into fashion, and aa my father 
is upwards of seventy years old, the task of cra¬ 
dling around the fields fell to me. Atter cradling 
a few rods, one of the young men thought ho 
could do it; but I soon found be was like the 
girl who “diln’t know but she could play the 
piano—she had never tried." After making one 
or two swings, I had to take the cradle again, 
lest he shou.d break out a linger. 
The wheat was very heavy, hut next the fence it 
was thinner, and not so ripe. The heavy snow¬ 
banks, last winter, killed some plants and re¬ 
tarded others. Iu cutting around the first field, 
I blistered the palm of my left hand, dose to 
the thumb. 1 wanted to open the blister, but 
one of tiio men showed tuo a much better way. 
He put a fine needle under the skin, a quarter of 
an iuen from the blister, and squeezed the mat¬ 
ter through the aperture. This relieved the 
pressure and left no sore. The place has now 
become callous and will give me no more 
trouble. 
Perhaps your readers wish to hear more about 
the wheat. It is iu three pieces, six, five and 
eight acres respectively. It is all good, aud one 
field—five acres iu a young orchard, is probably 
the heaviest wheat in the neighborhood. It is 
of the Clawson variety, a white, red-chuffed, 
bald wheat, which has grown into great favor 
with Western New York farmers on account of 
its hardiness and productiveness. It will grow 
on moist land almost as surely as the Mediterra¬ 
nean, and generally there yields much better. One 
of its faults is that it shells badly when over-ripe, 
almost as bad iu this respect as the Diehl. The 
head also is a very open one and the grain is 
likely to be injured by continued rains. In cut¬ 
ting, I found some heads of white chaffed wheat, 
the heads otherwise much like Clawson and the 
berry a trifle lighter. I shall save and sow a 
litt'e of this, tiiis fall, to see what it will be. 
Perhaps a valuable variety may be thus origina¬ 
ted. Three-fourths of the wheat in this section, 
this year, was Clawson. The increased yield 
over other varieties will be worth several hun¬ 
dred thousand dollars to Western Nuw York far¬ 
mers. 
Mo.-t wheat, this year, is extremely bright and 
plump. Oilly iu very few places is there any 
rust and this not serious, as it affects only the 
leaf. Waiting for these rusted spots to turn 
yellow, deceived ft good many farmers into let¬ 
ting the hulk of their crop get over ripe. When 
gram is rusted it will stay for days without rip¬ 
ening a particle. The sooner such grain is cut, 
the better it will be for the crop. Rust is a fun¬ 
gus which feeds on the juices of the straw. So 
soon as grain is cut the straw dries and the rust 
plant, dies fur want of moisture. The only rust 
I have found this year has been in the shade of 
trees. Iu t he young orchard there aro traces of 
rust i n the Northeast side of the trees. On 
the west side of the piece, a beautiful 
elm, one hundred feet high, with straight 
trunk, has rusted a place exactly corresponding 
to that which its top would shadow from two till 
five o’clock in the afternoon. Probably the rust 
struck this piec i one afternoon, while the rest of 
the field was protected by suu aud winds. Shade, 
however, does not always cause rust. Under a 
butternut tree wheat-straw Is always bright and 
the berry heavy. Pos-lbly the acrid juices from 
the butternut leaves may destroy rust germs. 
Do not suppose that the wheat crop hereabouts 
is much injured. Probably not one half acre in 
twenty is rusted, and that not badly. For all the 
rest, I never saw brighter straw or plumper 
grain. The new crop will be excellent seed, and, 
with a reasonably good fall for wheat, the plants 
will go into the winter in much stronger condi¬ 
tion than usual. The good quality of this year's 
wheat will do much toward securing a good har¬ 
vest next year. 
ROOT CROPS. 
Swedish turnips, which are called swedes in 
England and rutabagas in the United States, 
stand at the Dead of all the plants going under 
the mime of roots. At least, they do so in the 
Old Country, because they are less troublesome 
to attend to, and keep better than any other sort. 
Generally speaking, the swedes aud turnips for 
cattle food are planted too late in the United 
States. Formerly, they were grown chiefly aa a 
market crop; but the time allowed for them to 
become large enough for table Use, is insnflioiont 
for them to grow to the size at which they suit 
the cattle best. Swedes averaging eight pounds 
each, are sounder food than t hose weighing much 
less, and will not relax the bowels so much as 
younger ones, besides which, the yield per acre 
will be many tons more when they have had a 
good start. 
As beef and mutton are becoming of more im¬ 
portance, and will soon bo exported m immense 
quantities, it is probable there will be an increase 
of many thousands of acres set to fodder crops 
next year, and for all who contemplate growing 
roots for cattle or sheep or for young stock, it 
would bo well to commence preparations right- 
away, by plowing and destroying all weeds on 
the grain stubble, if it is intended to plant In the 
fields where wheat, barley or oats have grown 
this year. In any ease, wherever roots are to be 
grown, it would be wise to consider well the ways 
and moans of improving the chances of growing 
a fine crop. 
Supposing the roots were to come after a corn 
Crop, (although it would not be possible to culti¬ 
vate now,) if the corn has been well managed 
no on Hi vat,ion would be required till spring ; yet 
it might lie a great help to haul a quantity of 
muck or soil from road-sides or ditches, and com¬ 
post it ready to mix with other matter, so as to 
give an extra-good dressing. It would also be 
good policy to iuquiro of every grower of fine 
crops, where ho got his seed from, and of what 
variety it was; for a great deal depends upon 
having acclimated and proved sorts. 
1 grew some very fine swedes last year, which 
turned out well in every respect. They were 
drilled early in June on moderate soil, which had 
grown potatoes the year before. The largest 
bulbs weighed from 8 to 11 lbs., and all kept 
thoroughly sound till used in the course of the 
winter. This was in Canada East; aud I have, 
this summer, somo swedes and turnips, drilled 
on the 15th and 10th of Juno, which promise to 
be tnuoh finer than those c>r last season. A few, 
drilled the next week, also look very promising. 
They have been band-lioed twico, and singled 
out to about a foot apart in the rows the first 
time of hoeing, and us the field had been lying 
for two years in weeds, and was very wot in 
places, (having had to lay a number of drains in 
May to curry off the water rising from numerous 
springs.) I have kept two cultivators running 
between the rows, which are 27 inches apart. 
Thus, the weeds and wild grass have had no 
peace, as the soil has been rooted up once a week 
by horse-power, and as stated, received two lioe- 
iugs by hand ; but the labor is over, the loaves 
spread too wide to give passage-way any longer, 
and the bottoms are beginning to form. 
A Working Farmer. 
-- 
MANIFOLD ADVANTAGES OF ROOT AND 
RAPE CULTURE IN THE SOUTH. 
In conjunction with sheep-raising and wool- 
growing hi the south, turnips would help through 
the winters, so that the sheep would do better 
than iu the summer, aud as wool is likely to take 
the lead there instead of cotton, the winter feed 
for sheep will be a great consideration, aud es¬ 
pecially so for the first few years after starting. 
But as rapo would be fresh and uninjured by 
any weather iu that section it would be an ex¬ 
ceedingly convenient crop, as the cultivation is 
less expensive and the feeding of it would not be 
attended with su much attention as is required in 
foldiug and feeding turnips. As years pass by, 
after sheep have been principally used iu pas¬ 
turing. the grass, on all fields which are not 
plowed, will become of a better character, and 
the best native varieties, including white clover 
and blue grass thicken so that a beautiful sward 
of a lawn-like appearance will greet the eye, 
and these fine, dwarf graBBes stand hot weather, 
and do not wither up and look like old 
thatch, as timothy and other coarse tail-growing 
herbage do. 
As pastures improve in this way, the blue grass 
and some other varieties will be grown, in the 
Southern climate, all winter, and, as by that 
time, the growth of the latter part of the sum¬ 
mer and autumn can be saved for winter, turnips 
will be less in demand, and rape would be just 
the thing when the pastures began to get bare. 
Nevertheless, a good crop of turnips, every year, 
would enable a farmer to bring out a fine lot of 
mutton in the spring, and moreover, they would 
cause au extra growth of wool of two or three or 
more pounds to each fleece, iu proportion to the 
quantity of them given to the sheep. There are 
frequent complaints in newspapers, that capital¬ 
ists cannot place their money safely to obtain 
much interest. Why, then, don't they buy some 
of this Southern land and, instead of following 
Western management, wliloh is always liable to 
losses from storms and unusually severe seasons, 
proceed upon a modified English system. 
I have au English shepherd at the present 
time, who received a premium for raising 270 
lambs from 200 ewes, and not one ewe was over 
four pears old. it is a general practice there to 
have no unsalable mutton. For if the sheep are 
sold moderately young, they give good returns, 
and thus also the drawbacks of old, inferior,flabby 
mutton and light fleeces are avoided. Ear-marks 
on sheep showing them to be as much as ten 
years old, prove there is very little knowledge of 
a paying system of sheep-husbandry, aud as ex¬ 
portation Increases, the eyes of such managers as 
those who sell their lambs and keep old ewes in 
the flock, will be opened to Buch imbecility. In 
England, mutton brings a much higher price in 
proportion to beef, than in the United States, 
and if anyoue will take the trouble to note the 
market prices, as quoted in English papers, lie 
will see the difference. It must i e borne in mind, 
howevor, that there Is uo selling by ripo-weight 
in a general way, in England; the quotations 
being for dressed weight. 
The great advantage of roots and rape in the 
South, would consist in Die fact that the climate 
would permit the eating of them as they are 
eaten iu England on the land, thus saving the 
labor of harvesting aud hauling them home. The 
soil also would in this way bo better fertilized by 
the consumption of the crop where it was grown, 
and people would be ablo to keep more sheep and 
make them riper mutton and grow more wool 
and of better quality. o. g. 
- +++ - 
HANDLING HOPS. 
Now that the season for hop-picking is close 
at hand, a few condensed hints on that and the 
succeeding operations, may not bo unwelcomo to 
some of our readers. 
Both the quality and value of hops are im¬ 
paired if leaves and stems are mingled with them. 
Pick each hop singly and separate the clusters. 
Set apart or reject all discolored, poor, and rust- 
smitten hops, and wherever tills is impossible, 
thoroughly mix the whole pile before baling, to 
secure uniform quality. Never pack green aud 
brosvn hops together, unless you want to injure 
the value of your goods. Be very careful iu dry- 
iug your hops. Those too mnch dried or scorch¬ 
ed, loose their rich flavor and aroma, while those 
not sufficiently dried, will heat when baled and 
become worthless. Bale on a rainy day, aa the 
bops are then most pliable and pack better. Let 
each bale be neat and trim ; for in hops, as in 
butter, bad packages lower ttie price of the best 
of goods. Well proBscd bales samplo better, 
while in those compressed bo tightly as to ex¬ 
clude air, the hops are quite likely to heat, es¬ 
pecially if slack-dried. Mark your name in full 
plainly on the narrow side, near tho top of 
each bale, with a stencil plate and turpentiuo 
mixed with lamp-black, and be sure to put the 
date of growth on every bale. Just before ship¬ 
ping, especially to ft great distance, make certain 
that the goods are iu a proper condition to bear 
transportation, by examining the center of each 
bale with a “ trior." In prudence, as well as 
from honesty, resist the temptation to mix old 
hops with those of this year’s growth; buyers 
are neither rash nor inexperienced, and such an 
attempt at deception is pretty sure to recoil on 
the offenders. 
In answer to several inquiries, we would say 
that a very useful little work, entitled ** Hop 
Culture,” has been published In pamphlet form 
by Tho Ohanok Judd Co., this city. It is a series 
of prize essays on all matters connected with the 
cultivation and haudliug of hops, prepared by a 
number of experienced cultivators, residing in 
the best hop-growing sections in tho United 
States. 
$arm tfconomi). 
FEEDING VALUE OF ROOT CROPS. 
Mr. Conrad Wilson favors us with the fol¬ 
lowing answer to Anous McDonald's query, 
published in last week's Rural : 
There are no experiments on record that can 
be fully relied on to Hhow just how many pounds 
of beef can be made from a bushel of turnips, 
carrots, or beets. It is true enough that trials 
l 
have been made to teat the question, and results 
have been reported; but thus far, such results 
have been too mnoh at variance to be confidently 
accepted. The amount of beef that can be made 
from a bushel of corn, is quite another matter, 
and is much better understood ; though in either 
case tho result depends, of course, very mate¬ 
rially on the breed, and condition of the animal. 
From tho large percentage of water contained 
in the turnip and other roots, it is easy to see 
that tho feeding value must be relatively very 
inconsiderable. If we take GO lbs. as the weight 
of a bushel of these roots, it will be found that 
the quantity of water in ooch bushel is about 43 
lbs. for carrots, over 50 lbs. for beets, and nearly 
55 lbs. in a bushel of turnips. It is, therefore, 
very evident that the amount Of nutriment left 
in each bushel, after the water is eliminated, is 
but small in comparison with other kinds of feed. 
The statement has been made by an English 
Agricultural Society, that it requires 150 lbs. of 
either turnips, carrots, or beets, to prodnee a 
single pound of beef. But this is contrary to 
the general experience of farmers, and is palpa¬ 
bly incorrect. According to another statement 
widely published, it requires 60 lbs. of carrot*, 
or 100 lbs. of turnips for a pound of beef. In 
both these oases, tho figures are evidently the 
result of some little experience, added to a con¬ 
siderable amount of guess-work. 
It is a matter of surprise t hat this problem has 
not yet, been more accurately solved. But iu the 
absence of more exact experiments, and reliable 
results, the farmer may bo very sure of one 
thing. Though neither beets, carrots, nor tur¬ 
nips, if used alone iu feeding, will be found 
to pay, yet each of them, when properly com¬ 
bined with other elements, is at once increased 
in value, and gives a new value also to the whole 
mixture. This fact illustrates the principle so 
often overlooked, that variety in feeding, is the 
secret of success. When roots are fed exclusive¬ 
ly, tho result is poor beef and small pay; but 
when they are given in connection with grain 
and good hay, if the proportions are right , the 
nutritive value of each element is improved, tho 
health of tho animal is preserved, and tho profit 
of the business is largely increased. Tho man 
who depends solely on roots in feeding, will never 
find them a profitable crop. But when they aro 
skillfully blended with other feed of various kinds, 
their real value is developed, and the farmer dis¬ 
covers that ho cannot affoid to be without 
them. 
--- 
INQUIRY ABOUT ROOT CELLAR AND 
MANURE SHED. 
Our barn, which is more than a hundred feet 
long, and is being completed with a basement for 
horses, cattle aud sheep, is on a level with the 
front, faces the west, and tho bank at the back 
is about eight feet, leaving four feet for win¬ 
dows. It was at fi rst contemplated to have a root 
cellar on this, tho east and back side. It would 
have a door-way from the basement, so that tho 
roots could be conveniently brought out in win- 
tor for the various animals iu the basemont. It 
would also have trap doors above the cellar, 
through which to dump tho roots, outside tho 
barn, from above into the oe'lar below. Now, I 
proposed ventilation from north to south through 
the length of tho cellar. This could bo used 
when convenient, and there would bo no com¬ 
munication with tho basement excepting while 
the door was opened to got the roots into the lat¬ 
ter. It is decided, however, by the architeot, 
that a cellar thus constructed, would be too 
warm, and that the roots would rot; consequent¬ 
ly, lie proposes to erect a room at the end of a 
wagon-shed, which will be about 50 feet long by 
12 feet wide and 0 feet high, running lengthwise 
from east to west, and opening into the end of 
the wagon-shed, or into an inclosed room in tho 
shed, at the north cud of it. Thus, the back of 
the room for roots will be to the north, the cold 
from which, be says, he can prevent from enter¬ 
ing by having a hollow wall—the outside stone 
and the inside brick, the space between the 
two to be six inches. This plaeo will be at the 
northwest corner of the yard, iu front of the 
barn, ftud will thus necessitate the wheeling or 
carrying of the roots across the open yard into 
the cattle department. The inquiry, therefore, 
is, whether tbis hollow-wall plan is certain to 
prevent frost from entering the room. At the 
same time, it would bo satisfactory to learn the 
experience of those who have had cellars situated 
in a way similar to those described. 
We are abont to sink ft manure pit under a 
roof or shed, in the middle of the yard ; in this 
the horso and cow dung, etc., can bo kept, and 
on these the liquid manure, which will first run 
into a tank, can be pumped. On this subject 
also, any suggestion wifi be useful. I have pro¬ 
posed that tho receptacle should be about 20 l’eet 
square. Our stock, at present, is about 20 horses, 
40 cows and heifers, and there may be from 100 
to 200 sheep. This to start with, and perhaps, 
reckoning young aud extra stock, there will be 
50 per cent. more. George Gardner. 
ad 
