208 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
tion, or the latter with parts of their tops left on, are very liable 
to ferment and spoil. We find it to be a necessary precaution in 
burying turnips, to make one or more holes in the crown of the 
pit, to let off the rarified air, and abate the heat which is almost 
invariably generated on their being buried. 
In preventing the total loss of potatoes that have been affected 
by frost, Thomas Dallas directs, that when they are slightly touch¬ 
ed by the frost, it is only necessary to sprinkle the roots with lime 
to absorb the water under the skin; that when the outer portion 
of their substance is frozen, the tubers may be pared, and thrown 
for some hours into water slightly salted ; and that when they are 
wholly frozen, they will yield, upon distillation, a spirituous li¬ 
quor resembling the best rum, and in greater quantity than roots 
which have not been frozen. 
The quotations we have made above are invaluable to the farm¬ 
er and house keeper ; and if the principles which they establish 
are understood and practised upon, we shall have no cause to re ¬ 
gret the length to which we have extended this article. 
FORTY YEARS AGO. 
Forty years ago, William Strickland made a report to the Bri¬ 
tish Board of Agriculture, on the condition of American Husband¬ 
ry, the result of travel and observation among us. We quote from 
this report the remarks upon the mode and products of New-York 
farming, with the view of showing with what fidelity the bad prac¬ 
tices of ’94-95, are still persisted in by a portion of our farmers, 
and of enabling the reader to note the marked difference between 
the good farming of that and the good farming of the present day. 
“ The course of crops in this state” [N. York] says Strickland, “ is as fol¬ 
lows : first year maize, second rye or wireat, succeeded immediately by buck¬ 
wheat, which stands for seed ; third flax or oats, or a mixed crop ; ?lien a re¬ 
petition of the same thing, as long as the land will bear any thing ; after which 
it is laid by, without seed, for old field ; or, burn the woods; 1 wheat, 2 
rye, then maize for four or five years, or as long as it will grow; then lay it 
by, and begin on fresh w'oodland ; or, burn the woods, then wheat four or five 
years ; then one or two maize, or as long as it iri/lgrow, then laid by for four 
or five years for old field, without seeds. A Dutchman's course on the Mo¬ 
hawk : first year wheat, 2 peas, 3 wheat, 4 oats or flax, 5 maize. In his fa¬ 
ther’s time, the produce of wheat used to be 20 bushels an acre ; but he com¬ 
plained much now, that his land only produced ten bushels. The best rota¬ 
tion I have met with was in Dutchess, where it much prevails : 1 wheat, 2 
and 3 pasture without seed, 4 maize, or flax, or oats, or a mixed crop. In a 
good season this produced about 15 bushels, more commonly twelve. Ma¬ 
nure is rarely made use of ; but what little is collected is given to the maize, 
which requires every support that can be bestowed upon it.” 
“ Clover is just beginning to be cultivated, in consequence of which; good 
pasture and plenty of hay take place of old-field, and by the use of gypsum 
astonishing crops are obtained.” 
“ The average produce of wheat in the state of New-York, has been stated 
to me by very intelligent persons, at t welve bushels to the acre; w hich agrees 
with the general opinion, and, I believe, is as high as ought to be stated. 
The average of Dutchess county, which under a proper cultivation would be 
a most productive, as it is a most beautiful, country, at 16 bushels : 20 bush¬ 
els are every where a great crop. The average of maize may be above tw en¬ 
ty-five bushels ; thirty is a great crop. With a mode of agriculture as before 
stated, it is not to be wondered at that the produce shouldlie so small, and it 
will be found that the average of this state is superior to that of any other in 
the union.” 
“ Should this deduction [interest on capital and expense of cultivation] be 
made, little profit can be found in the present mode of agriculture in this coun¬ 
try, and I apprehend it to be a fact, that it affords a bare subsistence.” 
“ The wheat of New-York is esteemed the best in the United States, and 
that grown on the banks and branches of the Mohawk the best in the stale.” 
Thus far our extracts. It will strike every observer, that the 
wretched system here described, which procured a “bare subsist¬ 
ence” to the cultivator, particularly so far as regards the repeti¬ 
tion of the farm crops, so long as a field will bear them, and the 
old field system, is yet very much in vogue in many districts. 
While on the other hand, what astonishing strides have been made 
in other districts, and on well managed farms, where a judicious 
rotation has been adopted, manures carefully husbanded, and ar¬ 
tificial grasses multiplied. The mean corn crop, where there is 
f ood farming, is at least 40, and the maximum is often 80 and 
00 bushels on the acre ; wheat 20, and reaching as high as 40 
and 50 ; and, instead of old fields, pastures clothed in perennial 
verdure ; Dutchess, we apprehend, has quadrupled her products, 
and is now, as she was then, the best cultivated county in the state, 
if not in the union. We wish we could say as much for the banks 
and branches of the Mohawk. These, we fear, are still retrograd¬ 
ing. Wheat is no longer the great staple of the Mohawk, nor does 
it now surpass in excellence. Whence this difference—but in the 
progressive improvement of the mind, the great lever to human 
industry—in the one more than in the other district. 
Ruta Baga. —John Cousin, of St. Simons, Georgia, publishes 
in the Farmers’ Register, that he raises corn and rutabaga, in al¬ 
ternate rows, and that the turnips prove a better crop than the 
corn. He plants his corn in rows five feet apart; in August and 
September, he tops his corn and strips the blades, and then sows 
his turnips, with a light dressing of manure, between the rows of 
corn. The next season, he plants corn in the turnip rows and tur¬ 
nips where the com grew. Mr. Cousin, by carrying the turnip 
growth into the cool weather of autumn, obviates the great diffi¬ 
culty of growing this northern product in a southern latitude. He 
does not sow till the heats of summer have past, while a mild au¬ 
tumn and winter brings the crop to maturity. These facts we hope 
will not be lost upon our southern readers. 
We find by another communication in the same paper, from J. 
H. Gibbon, of Philadelphia, that this crop is notv cultivated, and 
its value highly extolled, in the neighborhood of that city. Mr. 
G. commends it for all cattle ; thinks that cows thrive better upon 
the roots in their dirty state, and that it gives to their butter, (in 
winter) the flavor and appearance of grass butter; that in fatten¬ 
ing cattle, Swedish turnips, sprinkled with corn meal, give the 
meat a finer quality, juice and relish. Mr. G. has an ingenious 
substitute for the drill barrow, in sowing, viz. a porter bottle, with 
a quill fixed in the cork, having a hole of sufficient size in the 
small end of the quill. He does not earth the plants, but rather 
draws the earth from them ; his crop averages 300 bushels the acre. 
THE ROLLER, 
Is constructed of 
wood, stone or cast 
iron, according to 
convenience, or the 
purposes for which it 
is used. In Ameri¬ 
can husbandry, we 
desire, any but those 
made of wood, and such as any farmer, who has a moderate de¬ 
gree of mechanical skill, and the carpenter’s tools which every 
farmer ought to keep, may readily construct himself. A good 
sound oak log, with the frame and shafts appended, makes a good 
roller. They are made of different lengths, and sizes varying from 
15 to 30 inches in diameter. The lighter kinds are made in one 
piece, but the larger and heavier kinds are advantageously made 
in two pieces, with an iron rod passing through the centre of both, 
and upon which they revolve. English farmers construct the frame 
so as to rise above the roller, upon which a box is fixed, either to 
contain stones to add to the pressure of the roller, or to receive 
small stones and rubbish, collected on the field while at work, 
which are to be carried off. Their shafts, when at work, are ge¬ 
nerally horizontal. We think the roller is more easily drawn when 
the draft is on a right line from the collar or yoke of the team to 
the point of resistance. This may be done and the advantages of 
the box retained. 
The uses and advantages of the roller are many and important, 
and no farmer should be without one. They are particularly im¬ 
portant in the seeding process, to break down the clods, pulverize 
and smooth the surface, and to press the earth to the smaller seeds, 
which otherwise often fail to germinate for lack of moisture.— 
This is particularly the case with oats, barley and the grass seeds. 
In autumn the roller is sometimes passed over winter grain, with 
a view to counteract the effects of frost the following winter. In 
spring it is advantageously passed over winter grain, as soon as the 
ground is so solid and dry that the feet of the cattle will not poach 
the surface. It renders light ground more compact; presses the 
soil to the roots of the grain and thus promotes their growth ; and 
upon all soils closes the innumerable cracks and fissures which 
abound on the appearance of dry weather in spring, and, by par¬ 
tially burying the crown, causes grain to tiller better, that is, send 
up more seed stalks. Finally, the roller is of great advantage to 
grass grounds in the spring, by reducing inequalities of surface, 
and pressing down the plants or earth which have been thrown up 
by the frost. 
There are also rollers for other purposes, viz. the spiked roller, 
which is used for pulverizing stiff soils, preparatory for wheat. 
