218 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
June. 
2. It is said “ Mr. Colling never ascertained the great 
value” of Hubback u till after he had parted with him.” 
It appears that Chas. Colling bought this animal of his 
brother Robert and Mr. Waistell, they having become 
joint owners of him not long before. Mr. John Hutchin¬ 
son, in a letter to the Farmer's Journal , says Mr. Robt. 
Colling had 11 declared his opinion” that Hubback was 
not a good bull and that, consequently, he was sold to 
Mr. Chas. Colling for eight guineas— two guineas less 
than Messrs. R. C. and Waistell gave for him. As soon, 
however, as he came into the possession of Mr. Chas. 
Colling he was not allowed to serve cows—not even those 
of his former owner, Mr. Waistell—for less than five 
guineas each. 
Mr. Youatt, speaking of the transfer of Hubback to 
Chas. Colling,—who, he says, “ with the quick eye of an 
experienced breeder, saw the value of the little beast," 
—states that Mr. Waistell expressed to him, in 1832, 
(forty-nine years after the sale,) his “ regret” at having 
been induced to part with the bull, and his “ extreme 
disappointment” at Mr Coding’s restrictions in regard to 
his services. 
From this evidence, is it not obvious to every unpreju¬ 
diced mind, that Chas. Colling appreciated, more highly 
than did any other person, the value of this bull, and 
that he designed the exclusive use of him to his own 
herd, till he had secured, to the degree he wished, cer¬ 
tain peculiar properties which he saw the animal posses¬ 
sed? 
3. The reviewer says — u as to originating the ‘improved’ 
Short-horns, Chas. Colling had nothing more to do with 
it than the man in the moon.” 
What is claimed for Mr. Colling is, that he originated 
improvement in the Short-horns, and this I understand 
it is intended to deny, in the above quotation. It is ob¬ 
vious that this is a fair construction, because it is said in 
the same connection, that Mr. Colling bought as good 
cows as he ever bred, and that his “ chief merit” was 
u making the Short-horns famous.” 
Rev. Henry Berry, in a pamphlet entitled History and 
Pretensions of Improved Short-horns, published in 1824, 
states that in 1810, a piece of plate was presented to Mr. 
Colling, with this inscription: 11 To Charles Colling, 
the Great Improver of the Short-Horned Breed of Cat¬ 
tle'' See. This inscription, Mr. Berry says, was <c sign¬ 
ed by fifty of the most eminent breeders in the North." 
These ‘ 1 most eminent breeders” were, it will be re¬ 
membered, eye-witnesses of Mr. Colling’s efforts, and 
their testimony will be received by reasonable people, as 
entitled to credit,—notwithstanding it may be asserted 
by some who are, perhaps, specially under lunar influ¬ 
ence , that the “ man in the moon” did as much in im¬ 
proving the Short-horns as Charles Colling! 
4. The reviewer says Col. Jaques’ 11 Cream-pot” cows 
were nothing more than “ every breeder” of grade 
Short-horns 11 has produced by the score,” and that they 
are only an example of “ what boasting and assurance can 
do, in palming off a very common thing upon such as 
know no better.” 
Whatever was the motive in making these statements, 
they will have no effect to injure Col. Jaques’ stock, 
with persons who know by experience (and there are 
many such) its high value. To some, the question may 
suggest itself, whether it was necessary for the reviewer 
to go so far to find an example of “ what boasting and 
assurance can do, in palming off a very common thing?” 
Sanford Howard. Boston , April , 1852. 
Cultivation of the Ruta Baga and Belgian Carrot. 
The argument is frequently urged on the part of far¬ 
mers, that the labor and attention required for root crops 
are quite too great, for the prices that are obtained for 
beef and mutton. Now, this is a very easy mode of dis¬ 
posing of a question, that requires something more than 
mere assertion to convince a man who has repeatedly 
found by practical experiments, that no branch of farm¬ 
ing will afford a better profit than either ruta baga or field 
carrots, when grown upon suitable soil, and subjected to 
a careful system of culture adapted to those crops. What 
these peculiar conditions are, it might not be improper 
to somewhat carefully examine. It is useless to plant 
ruta bagas on any other than a rich soil, which has been 
brought into the finest tilth by frequent plowings and 
harrowings; -and to secure a speedy growth of plants, 
well fermented barn-yard and stable manure should be 
applied at the rate of twenty-five two horse wagon loads 
per acre. The manure should be plowed under, the 
ground then should be harrowed, and the next thing to 
be done is the forming of the drills with a plow, which 
should be two feet apart from center to center. The 
seed should be sown with a drilling machine, to be con¬ 
structed peculiarly for the crop, and at least one and a 
half pounds per acre of seed should be sown, in all loca¬ 
tions where the turnep fly is abundant, and is liable to 
be very destructive on the plants, and where these, or 
other equally baneful insects do not prevail, one half of 
the above quantity of seed will be sufficient. As soon 
as the plants put forth four leaves, an expanding and con¬ 
tracting steel tooth cultivator should be passed through 
the rows levelling down the drills, and so set that the 
teeth will work close to the plants without destroying 
any of them. The hand hoe then must be used to cut 
out the w r eeds and partially thin the plants. A shovel 
plow must then be used, and by passing it down between 
each row, the drills will be brought back to their original 
shape, and fine fresh soil thrown up close to the young 
turneps. In the course of three weeks, weeds will again 
make their appearance, and to destroy them, the steel 
tooth expanding cultivator must be used as before, fol¬ 
lowed by another hand hoeing and thinning, and the 
shovel plow may be used the second time to form the 
drills. This may be repeated the third time, with ad¬ 
vantage in some cases, but ordinarily twice will secure, 
on moderately suitable soil, from 600 to 800 bushels of 
ruta bagas per acre. The period for sowing very natural¬ 
ly differs, depending much on the latitude, but as a gen¬ 
eral thing the month of June is the most suitable, com¬ 
mencing the first of the month in high northern latit udes, 
and ending the last, in latitude forty, which is as low as 
the plant can be profitable grown, in consequence of .its 
liability to form a great top and small roots much south 
of this parallel. We have repeatedly given out our ruta 
baga crop to be hand and horse hoed by the season at 
five dollars per acre, including three dressings and thin- 
