THE CULTIVATOR. 
49 
clover to wilt in the swath, and when partially dried, either to turn 
the swaths, or to make grass cocks the same day, so as to secure 
the dried portions from the dew. That which is not put into cocks 
the first day, is thus secured the second day, or as soon as it has be¬ 
come parLiaily dried. These grass cocks are permitted to stand one, 
two or three days according as the weather is, and as the curing 
process has progressed, when they are opened at nine or ten o’¬ 
clock on a fair ury, the hay turned over between eleven and three, 
and soon after turning gathered again for the cart. Thus cured the 
hay is perieclly bright and sweet, and hardly a blossom or leal wast¬ 
ed. Some care is required in making the cocks. The grass is col¬ 
lected with iorks and placed on dry ground, between the swaths, m 
as small a compass as convenient at lire base, say two or three leet 
in diameter, and rising in a cone to the heighth ol lour or live leet. 
The advantage of tms mode of curing clover are. 
1. The labor of spreading from the swath is saved. 
2. The labor ol the hand rake is abridged, or may be wholly dis¬ 
pensed with, if the horse rake is used to glean the field when the 
hay is taken off—the lorks sufficing to collect it tolerably clean m the 
cocking process. 
3. it prevents, in a great measure, injury from dew and rain—lor 
these cocks, il rightly constructed, (not by rolling) will sustain a 
rain of some days—that is, ihey nave done tins with me,—wiLhout 
heating or becoming more than superficially wei. 
4. (Hover hay made in tins way may almost invariably be housed 
in good condition ; and if rain lads alter the grass is mown, the qua¬ 
lity of the hay is infinitely superior to what it would be under the old 
process of curing. 
The rationale is this: The outside of the clover parts with much 
of its moisture while in swath ; and what is called sweating, in 
cock, is merely the passage of moisture remaining in file succulent 
stocks, to their exterior, and to their leaves and blossoms—it is a 
diffusion—an equalization of the remaining moisture in the cock.— 
When tins has Laaeii place, evaporation is greatly facilitated, and 
the whole mass acquires a uniform dryness, on opening the cocks to 
the influence of the sun and winds, if too long an exposure is guard¬ 
ed against. Evaporation progresses in the cocks, alter the hay is 
gathered lor the cart, and during the operation of loading and un¬ 
loading. 15. 
RUTA BAGA—OR SWEDISH TURNIP. 
The turnip culture is beginning to arrest the attention of our hus¬ 
bandmen, and it will acquire new interest as its advantages come to 
be better appreciated, and its practice better understood. Its intro¬ 
duction into Bri am forms one of the most important eras in the im¬ 
provement of British husbandry ; and its introduction into our coun¬ 
try win ultimately prove highly beneficial. Ol the various species 
of the turnip, the ruta baga is decidedly superior for the nutritious 
properties which it possesses, and for its hardy late keeping quali¬ 
ties. Having had some years experience in its culture, we submit 
the following considerations as the result of our practice. 
The soil best adapted to the Swedish turnip is one of loose tex¬ 
ture and dry, inclining to sand, gravel or loam. It should be rich, 
well pulverized and clean. A clover ley, covered with yard manure 
previous to its being ploughed under, is to be preferred. 
The preparation for the crop consists in one perfect ploughing, if 
a ley, a faithful harrowing, and the roller may be applied between 
the ploughing and harrowing, with benefit. 
The season for sowing is from the 25th June to the 5th July. A 
cutting of early clover may be first taken off the ground. 
The best method of sowing is with the drill barrow, an implement 
which costs ten to twelve dollars, and which comes in use for other 
purposes, in drills two and a half feet apart. With this a man will 
put in four or five acres a day. The crop may also be sown broad¬ 
cast, or drilled in with a line and hoe, though the operation is more 
tedious, and when sown broadcast, the expense of cleaning and thin¬ 
ning materially increased. 
The quantity of seed requisite for the acre is one pound—cost six 
to eight shillings—though if well drilled, half this quantity will suf¬ 
fice. 
The after culture consists in thinning the plants and keeping the 
crop free from weeds. The plants should be thinned to eight or ten 
inches, as soon as they show their second or third pair of leaves, 
and it is important to have the first weeding performed early, as this 
not only benefits the crop, but saves subsequent labor. 
The implements best adapted to the turnip culture are the culti- 
Vol. I. G 
vator, or horse hoe, and turnip hand hoe. The first is passed between 
the drills as soon as the plants show their second pair of leaves, and 
may be repeated at intervals with little expense and manifest advan¬ 
tage. It destroys the weeds, if applied in time, except on a strip of two 
or three inches where the plants grow, pulverizes the surface, and ren¬ 
ders the soil permeable to atmospheric and solar influence. The ope¬ 
ration ol cleaning is finished with the hand hoe, the cutting part of 
which may be likened to the blade of a thin case knife, tin two ex¬ 
tremities of which are diawu out, turned up, united, and lonn the 
shank to attach the hoe to the handle. The advantages of this hoe 
are, that it does not gather the dirt and weeds, and may be drawn 
along the drills as far as the arms extend without being raised, and 
across the dull, between the plants to be retained, and almost whol¬ 
ly supersedes hand weeding. Two cleanings with the hoe general¬ 
ly suffice. 
Gathering the crop is performed with the greatest economy of la- 
bor, by drawing the turnips by hand, and laying them separately 
across the drills, the roots of two adjoining rows towards each oth¬ 
er, and then with a heavy knife, bih-hook, or iike implement, strike 
off the tops with a blow as they Jay, which is managed with great 
expedition. The roo s are first gathered, and taken to the pit or 
cellar, and the tops, winch are abundant, are then raked into small 
heaps, and taken to the yard for the farm stock as they are wanted. 
To secure for winter , pits are made in the field, upon dry ground, 
two and a half feet broad, and as long as may be convenient, and of 
two to four feet in depth. These are filled, and the roots piled 
above the surface, in a roof-like form, till they terminate in a ridge. 
A slight covering of straw is then given, and the whole covered 
with earth, two feet or more in depth. A salutary precaution is 
then to make holes, with a bar, at intervals of three or four feet, 
upon the ridge, through the covering, that the rarified air which 
will be generated may escape. This may be partially closed with 
a wisp of straw. Another precaution is to cover the mound with a 
coat of yard manure early in December, the better to exclude the 
frost. 
The product, under good mangement and on a suitable soil, is 
seldom less than six hundred bushels per acre, and often much more, 
of roots, besides a heavy burthen of tops, of which neat cattle are 
very fond. 
Use .—This turnip is far more nutritious than the common turnip, 
keeps much longer, and is greedily devoured, cooked or raw, by 
horses, cows, sheep and hogs; and is withal a very excellent vege¬ 
table for the table, particularly from January to June. We are still 
feeding to cows and oxen (May 23) of the crop of last year. Our 
cows nave ait; item daily for nine weeks, and yet the turnip taste 
has not been perceptible either in their milk or butter —the cows hav¬ 
ing daily access to salt. To the sheep husbandman this root will be 
found peculiary serviceable, if fed to his flock in winter and spring, 
particularly ewes with lamb. 
Of all root crops, if we except the common turnip, this is the least 
exhausting, occupies the ground the shortest time, is cultivated with 
the least expense, is saved with the least care, and we think makes 
the greatest return in food for animals. 
THRASHING MACHINES. 
Within a few years these instruments have come into use in this 
section of the country, and they have in a great measure supersed¬ 
ed the old mode of thrashing by the flail or with horses. They have 
their advantages and disadvantages, but are upon the whole, useful 
instruments. I have seen tried a variety of different kinds, but the 
farmers here have settled down to the use of two kinds—one in¬ 
vented here, and called “the Vosburgh machine,” for which a pa¬ 
tent has never been obtained, but is nevertheless a good machine—■ 
and the other is “Allen’s patent thrashing machine.” Vosburgh’s 
is a cylinder, working horizontally over a concave, and in both are 
teeth ; the horse power is fixed and permanent. Allen’s is likewise 
a cylinder and concave, and both are likewise armed with teeth.— 
The teeih are so set that in the turning of the cylinder, they pass 
between those in the concave, and the straw, with the grain in, is 
shoved in between them and carried through by the motion of the 
cylinder ; the grain is thus separated from the straw. The cylinder 
is much smaller than Vosburgh’s—the horse power is differently 
constructed, and portable, so that the machine, when in use, is only 
slightly fastened to the barn floor. It may, together with the horse 
power, be carried from oarn to barn. The cost of a machine, re¬ 
quiring the power of two horses to use it, is from $70 to $80, 
