46 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
sions of the eighteenth chapter of the first part of the Revised Statutes, 
so far as the same are applicable, and have not been modified or re¬ 
pealed. 
§ 20. This act shall take effect immediately after the passage thereof. 
is required than when sown in drills; though we think a pound enough 
even when sown broadcast. 
•After Culture. —This consists in keeping the ground free from weeds, 
the surface loose, and in thinning the plants to the proper distance.—• 
The corn cultivator is principally employed. It should be passed through 
RUT 4 B4GA. |j as soon as the rows can be well distinguished. It mellows the ground, 
“The substitution of green crops [principally turnips] for fallow, on '! ? ( nd v des , t , r ° ys the in the ! nte , rvals > bef ° re they attain much size, 
all but stiff clay lands, has been the greatest of all improvements ever : l “ should be P ass l d both wa T s in tbe same interval, in order to perform 
made in agriculture; and has effected as great and beneficial a revolu- : i| he work ™e turnip hoe, described and figured in cur last vo- 
tion in it, as the introduction of the steam-engine and the spinning-then follow to clean the rows and thin the plants, which 
frame has done in manufactures.”— Edin. Qr. Review. :* hould not . be left , l ° gr u 0 ' v at le “ distance than eight or ten inches. 
The turnip culture began in Great Britain about sixty or seventy I Two cleanings with the hoe are all[that will be required at most. The 
years ago, and the ruta baga was of far more recent introduction. It ! i" op ma y be d r essed thrice with the cultivator with advantage, whether 
has led to the principal improvements in British husbandry. Since its tbere are weeds or no weeds, 
introduction, the weight of neat fat cattle and sheep, has been doubled 
an excellent improving rotation of crops has been introduced ; lands 
have increased in fertility, and, where the turnip culture has most pre¬ 
vailed, have quadrupled in products; and the farmer has been enabled 
to enjoy more largely of the profits of the soil and the comforts of life. 
The United States are capable of deriving as great advantages from 
the turnip culture as Great Britain has experienced; for although in | 
the north the roots must be drawn and secured for winter use, the ex-j 
tra labor is fully compensated by the greater advantage our stock de¬ 
rives from their succulent qualities during our long winters, confined, 
as they otherwise ordinarily are, to dry fodder. The Swedish turnip, I 
or ruta baga, possesses manifest advantages over all other species of 
the turnip. It gives a greater product; it is more nutritious; it improves 
by keeping, and by enlarged size—the heavier being richer in nutriment 
than the light; and it may be fed till June or July. We are now feeding 
our last crop, May 14, and have a supply, in good condition, for three 
or four weeks. We hazard little in saying, that the quantity raised in 
northern and western New-York last year, was four times as great as 
any former year, and that most of the farmers who raised them are 
preparing to extend their culture. But as the business is new with 
many, we shall venture to prescribe directions, though for the tenth 
time, for their culture, with the view of encouraging and aiding be¬ 
ginners. 
The Soil.-*- All turnips do best upon a light sandy, gravelly or loamy 
soil. They do not prosper in a stiff clay, and will not thrive where it 
is wet. The Swede, in addition to a light soil, requires one that is 
rich, and which should at least be made so by a good dressing of ma¬ 
nure, preparatory to sowing the seed. 
Preparation of the Soil. —If an old stiff sod, it may be ploughed the pre¬ 
ceding fall, or early in the spring, the manure spread, the ground cross- 
ploughed, and harrowed before planting. If a young clover lay, which 
we deem best, it may be mown in June, manured, ploughed, and well 
harrowed immediately preceding the sowing. If tilled ground, manure 
and plough deep, and harrow. Sow as soon as possible after the last 
dressing with the harrow. The soil then contains air and moisture, 
both essential to the germination of the seed. 
Mode of Sowing. —It is best to sow in drills, at 27 to 30 inches apart. 
This facilitates the after culture, and permits the surface of the soil 
to be kept loose, and pervious to heat, air and moisture, the prime 
agents of vegetable nutrition. A drill barrow greatly economises this 
labor. With it a man will put in four or five acres in a day. .Bement’s, 
Robins’, or any drill in common use, will answer. In Great Britain, 
it is a common practice to drill upon ridges, which is done thus; when] 
the ground has been properly prepared, furrows are first drawn at the 
distance designed for rows, in which the manure is placed ; two furrows 
are then gathered over the manure, the seed is drilled upon these ridges, 
and a light roller is passed over, either before or after the seed is de¬ 
posited. We have tried this mode, but think it preferable to spread 
the manure, and drill in the seed upon a level surface. In damp or 
cold grounds, or to economise manure, the ridge system may be pre¬ 
ferable. Bone manure is now extensively used in Britain with this crop. 
It is placed in the drill with the seed, at the rate of 20 to 25 bushels 
the acre, and tends powerfully to augment the product. 
Time of sowing.^ Cobbett recommended 25th June at Long Island. 
We prefer the first July at Albany. Much depends on the soil, the as¬ 
pect and fertility, the coldest and poorest land, and northern aspect, to 
be sown first. We recommend, that in the extreme north, and in ele¬ 
vated cold districts, the sowing be done from the 10 th to the 20 th June ; 
in our latitude, upon warm soils, from the 20th to the 30th June; and 
later as we proceed south; and that far to the south, they should not 
be sown till the summer heats have abated—say the last of August. 
The Swede is a hardy plant, native of a northern climate, and grows 
till the ground is absolutely frozen. Hot weather is unfriendly to a good 
crop of roots. 
Quantity of Seed. —We allow a pound to the acre, though less suffi¬ 
ces. It is better to have an excess of plants, to be thinned on cleaning 
the crop, than to have vacancies. The seed is of little relative value 
compared to the roots which it produces. If sown broadcast, more seed 
Time of Harvesting.—As we have remarked, the roots continue to 
grow till checked by frost; and as the late harvested keep best, and 
the tops longest, the ruta baga crop may stand late. The ground is 
often partially frozen, or covered with snow, before it is gathered; and 
it has stood in the ground all winter, particularly the last one, with but 
partial injury. 
Mode of Harvesting. —The roots may be mostly pulled by the hand; 
and they may be topped and tailed, with a bill-book or .heavy knife, 
separately as they are drawn, or laid upon the ground in rows, and then 
topped with a knife as they lay. They should be gathered in dry 
weather, and secured in cellars or pits as soon as the exterior is some¬ 
what dry, and not exposed to frost after they are pulled; though a 
smart frost does them no injury while in the ground. 
Presei-ving the Roots. —Small quantities may be stored in cellars ; but 
the main reliance of those who cultivate on a large scale, must be pit¬ 
ting in the field. For this purpose, select a sandy dry situation, not 
liable to be inundated by water, open a pit two to four feet deep, as the 
dryness of the situation will allow, two and a half or three feet wide, 
and as long as may be convenient. Fill it with the roots, and raise them 
18 or 24 inches above the surface of the ground in the form of a ridge ; 
cover slightly with straw, and then with dirt. Then with a crow-bar 
make holes at every two or three feet upon the crown of the ridge, and 
put into each a wisp of straw, that the impure, or rarified air may at 
all times freely pass off. 
Use of the Crop. —The tops, which are abundant, may be fed in the 
cattle yard, with great advantage to the stock and the dung heap. The 
roots constitute an excellent food for cattle, sheep, hogs and horses, 
from November to June, though the latter often at first reject them un¬ 
less they are first steamed or boiled. They increase the milk of cows, 
without imparting their flavor to the milk or butter where the animals 
have daily access to salt. They are peculiarly beneficial to sheep in 
the late winter and spring months, especially to ewes having lambs. 
Neat cattle and sheep are fattened upon them with facility—the former 
consuming from two to four bushels per diem, with straw or a little hay. 
Hogs thrive upon them. 
Product and Profits. —From many years’ experience, we estimate, as 
an average product, under good management, 600 bushels to the acres. 
We may assume the following as the average expense of cultivating 
and harvesting an acre: 
One ploughing and a thorough harrowing,. $2 50 
20 wagon loads manure, at 75 cents,... 15 00 
1 pound seed,. 1 00 
1 day spreading manure and drilling seed,.. 0 75 
3 dressings with cultivator, man and horse one day,. 1 25 
2 dressings with hoe, six days, 6s. 4 50 
5 days harvesting and pulling, 6s... 3 75 
$28 75 
which divided by 600, the number of bushels, would bring the cost of 
the roots below five cents the bushel. But if we abate half the cost of 
the manure for the after crops, and allow a fair consideration for the 
tops, say $5, it will reduce the cost of the roots to less than three cents 
a bushel. Now a cow or bullock will do well and thrive upon two 
bushels a day; hence an acre will afford 300 daily rations, or maintain 
five cows 60 days, at the actual cost of $16.25, or $3.25 for each the 
two months. Let us contrast this expense with that of feeding hay. 
We beiieve a ration of hay is 28 lbs. Let us suppose it to be 25 lbs. 
Then to keep the five cows 60 days would require 7,500 lbs., or 3 tons 15 
cwt. hay, which, at a fair medium price of $10 a ton, would amount 
to $37.50—making a difference in favor of the turnips of $21.25, or 
nearly three-fifths. Let us test the relative profits in another way. 
The average product of our grass lands is about two tons the acre— 
say the product of two acres would be 7,500 pounds, then the product 
of an acre in ruta baga would go about as far in feeding stock as the 
product of two acres in meadow; with the further advantage, where 
the turnips are sown upon a young clover lay, that one-half the hay 
may also be cut from the acre which produces the 600 bushels of tur¬ 
nips, the latter being raised as a second crop. But ruta baga is seldom 
