274 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Sept. 
thus far, a perceptible improvement. But of these and 
some other things, I can give you a more complete re¬ 
port next fall. G. Clinton, July 26, 1853. 
The Common Long White Turnep. 
Experiments showing the Profits of Thorough Culture. 
Messrs. Editors —A late number of the Country 
Gentleman contains a notice of the premium root crops 
of this comity, with the request that the successful com¬ 
petitors would report their respective modes of culture. 
I have since looked in vain for those reports. I regret 
this, because I believe that root culture is destined to 
effect a change in our agriculture so great as to deserve 
the name of revolution. 
This may to some appear extravagant, but a little 
reflection will clear me from the charge of enthusiasm, 
since among the most advanced agriculturists such a 
revolution has already occurred. Throughout England, 
Scotland and Ireland, the root crop is the foundation of 
successful agriculture. It must become so here, when 
a rapidly increasing population shall make labor cheap, 
and create a far larger demand for food than our soil 
has ever yet produced. Allowing what has been proved 
by the most careful chemical analysis, that ten bushels 
of the poorest roots cultivated are fully equal to one of 
wheat or corn, and it follows that the same soil will 
produce two or three times as much animal sustenance 
in the form of roots as in grain. Our prospects may be 
influenced by future discoveries, but at present it ap¬ 
pears quite probable that root culture will hereafter 
become the measure of our country’s capacity for popu¬ 
lation. It is therefore important that successful expe¬ 
riments in this branch of agriculture should be reported, 
and through the press scattered broadcast over the com¬ 
munity. 
At the last exhibition of the Litchfield Agricultural 
Society, I had the honor of receiving, on root crops, 
three premiums, viz, on potatoes, ruta baga, and tur- 
neps. As the season during which the turnep crop is 
in this climate usually sown has arrived, it may perhaps 
prove useful to publish the mode and result of my ex¬ 
periment with this crop. 
The ground selected was an old meadow, neglected 
for years—its surface slightly declining to the east. 
The origin of the soil was from the primary rocks, and 
its chemical composition such as naturally produces the 
oak, maple and ash forest trees. 
The physical condition of the soil was such as is pro¬ 
duced by neglect and bad culture. Its organic portion 
had been exhausted, having a subsoil cold, hard, and 
yellow, well supplied with pebbles and covered with a 
surface soil not more than two or three inches thick. 
It was retentive of moisture but free from standing 
water. Its product an annual crop ,of vile moss, 
and about half a ton of good hay per acre. 
Its previous culture was a slight manuring, breaking 
up, and cultivating with potatoes the previous year. 
The result was the preparation of the soil for the turnep 
crop, and a small quantity of small potatoes. 
Early in the succeeding spring the preparation for the 
turnep crop began in earnest. First the rocks were, if 
necessary, broken, and all stones of whatever size re¬ 
moved from the field. Next the land was well manured 
and plowed not less than twelve inches deep, and tho¬ 
roughly harrowed. After twa weeks it was again ma¬ 
nured, and plowed half as deep as before, and harrowed. 
With intervals of a few days it was plowed and harrow¬ 
ed twice more, and a small quantity of manure har¬ 
rowed into the surface. At this stage of preparation 
the soil lay in a soft, uniform bed, at least twelve 
inches deep. The change effected in its appearance 
was surprising. The yellow, cold, shallow and hard 
soil of the preceding year, had become of a rich, dark 
color, warm, deep and light. Through this bed fur¬ 
rows were drawn fifteen inches apart, into which were 
drilled a composition of the richest manures from the 
farm, with ashes, lime and gypsum. The furrows were 
then turned back over these drills with the plow, leav¬ 
ing the land in ridges, which were slightly raked off 
and nicely finished with the garden rake. Through 
the tops of these ridges and directly over the manure, 
a channel was made for the seed, by drawing along 
them the corner of a hoe with slight pressure. Into 
this channel the seeds were dropped by hand, half a 
dozen in a place, with intervals of eight inches. They 
were then covered by drawing the back of the rake 
over them, and the planting was done, the seed depo¬ 
sited with regular spaces of fifteen inches one way and 
eight the other, on rounded and slightly elevated ridges, 
planted in earth made rich for their germination, and 
having a bed of rich manure only an inch or two be¬ 
low them, into which the young rootlets, as soon as 
formed, might plunge and revel. 
As soon as the plants were large enough, they were 
thinned out by the removal of all but the best plants 
from each place, and carefully hoed by hand, at inter¬ 
vals of a week, four times, when they became too large 
to work among longer without injury to the crop. There 
was scarcely a vacant space or small plant in the field. 
They were very uniform in size; the tops covered all 
the ground, and formed a crop unrivalled for beauty, 
except by the larger and darker green-leaved ruta 
baga. 
The variety of turnep was the common long white. 
To show the facility with which turneps so cultivated 
may be gathered, I will add the fact that they were all 
pulled and laid carefully in rows, with the tops all one 
way, by two persons, at the rate of more than five 
bushels a minute. 
They were planted about the middle of July, and 
harvested on the 13th of November, and measured by 
disinterested men, and the result announced in the ac¬ 
companying certificate. The report was verified in the 
usual manner before the Executive Committee of the 
Agricultural Society, and received the first premium. 
It is thought to be the largest crop of this variety of 
turnep ever reported. The following is an approxima¬ 
tion to the cost and value of the crop per acre:— 
Removing rocks and stones, ..... $2 50 
Manure 100 loads, $50—half charged to first crop... 25 00 
First plowing 1 ,.... 2 00 
