October 25. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
47 
mancl for them in consequence. We offered observa¬ 
tions, in our last allotment paper, on the keeping of 
store roots, and we need not now go over that ground 
again; we would, however, impress on the cottager 
and others the propriety, not to say necessity, of get¬ 
ting all those things up and well secured by the se¬ 
cond week in November. Those who have them out 
later must bo content to ho regarded as either slug¬ 
gards in allotment work, or very ignorant of the cha¬ 
racter of those roots, or of what contributes to their 
long keeping properties. 
The carrot is, perhaps, the first to suffer ; the mere 
crown is very susceptible of injury from frost; and 
for this to be frosted, or to he cut away, are two very 
very different affairs: the first will bring a rot, the 
latter will heal itself sound. Next to the carrot the 
mangold-tcurtzel may be placed. These, too, are apt 
to receive much injury through the neck or collar, 
which spreads into a gangrene, or vegetable mortifi¬ 
cation, as in the carrot; especially if the plants were 
sown a little too early, and are in what is termed a 
“bolting” state. The Swede turnip is by far the 
hardiest, so that, if any of the roots must be ne¬ 
glected, let it be these by all means. 
We have known farmers keep Swedes very well 
during ordinary winters, by cutting off root and top, 
and placing them close together (root end down¬ 
wards,) in a fold, or about tbe stack yard on the 
grass sward—the rough grass proving a sufficient 
protection. This course, however, we by no means 
recommend; for how much easier is it to pile them 
up, and throw thatch and litter over them! 
Wo would, for all these roots, select an elevated 
and thoroughly dry spot—shady if possible, and pile 
them up in a pyramidal shape, about four feet wide 
at bottom, and tapering up to four feet high; and 
this done throw a slight thatching over them. The 
thatching may be fastened down in the most simple 
way; a pole or two and some pitchcord being the 
only requisites—or, indeed, brickbats or stones may 
do instead of the poles. In using the poles one must 
hang on each side the stack or pyramid near the bot¬ 
tom, and parallel with the ground; and from these, 
strings of pitchcord must be carried at about evory 
two feet. The weight of the poles, stones, or bricks, 
will keep the pitchcord at full stretch, and this will 
secure the thatching and permit the ready escape of 
water. Dryness is the grand secret in store root 
keeping; eveiy means should be taken to get them 
dry, and to keep them so. To accomplish this it is 
well to wait for a dry windy day; for the wind in 
November is a moro powerful agent than the sun; 
and to scrape or otherwise clear the roots of moist soil 
betimes in the morning, and through the afternoon, 
to secure them in the heat, thatching those stacked 
before leaving the work. 
Wo have been speaking now of those grown to an 
extent somewhat beyond the allotment holder, who 
in general will keep most of his roots in a shed, out¬ 
house, or even in a nook in a cool kitchen, if room 
should offer ; at least his carrots may be so kept. 
The parsnips, as before observed, may be left in 
the ground, and trenched out as wanted. We again 
repeat that it is excellent policy to spread the manure 
intended for the next crop over the crowns, and in 
trenching them out at intervals the ground will be 
ready prepared for a spring crop. 
Routine Work. —All these things being duly car¬ 
ried out, the next consideration is to get all the 
ground possible dug deep and ridged. Before doing 
this, however, any draining considered necessary 
should bo accomplished, and a scheme of cropping 
for the next year laid down. Wo liavo not room now 
to go into the subject of rotation of crops, but must 
waive it till our next paper; in the meantime our 
readers will do well, we think, to consult the diagram 
scheme at p. 184 of the current year. 
Cow and Pig. —Wo now wish to offer a few obser¬ 
vations on the cow and the pig, for during the sum¬ 
mer our papers were necessarily filled with matters 
connected with the culture of crops necessary for 
these useful animals, as well as for the household of 
the allotment holder. One of the first considerations 
connected with the well-being of the cow is thorough 
cleanliness: the cow is very nice in both her solid 
food and her drink. Who has not noticed the care 
with which she sucks, or rather filters, water between 
her compressed lips? This doubtless serves a double 
purpose: it not only precludes the admission ol‘ ex¬ 
traneous matters—the spawn of water-animals, &c. 
—but also serves to raise the temperature of the 
fluid before received on the stomach. The latter at 
certain periods is by no means an immaterial proce¬ 
dure ; for there can be no doubt that below a certain 
point in regard of temperature the starving fluid 
would have a prejudicial action on the coats of the 
stomach. But, above all, how necessary is cleanli¬ 
ness in the stall or “ boozy,” as the Cheshire folks 
term it; here a regular system of feeding and clean¬ 
sing out must be pursued, if continued success is to 
be looked for. One point we would insist on : never 
give the cow moro food at any time than is really 
requisite merely because there is plenty, and to spare. 
This is foolish economy. Cows thus treated are apt 
to become saucy and over particular, and they will 
frequently blow over the food with them breath, and 
turn it about with their horns, until the food becomes 
quite tainted and dirtied, and then it is in great part 
rejected. It is much better to give them a moderate 
quantity at once, and to attend them the oftener. 
Whatever refuse food is left in their feeding trough 
or manger should be carefully cleared out once a day 
at least, and given to the pigs. The best time for 
this proceeding is, we think, when the cow is turned 
out—if such bo practised—in the morning. The 
shippon or cow-house being then swept clean, and 
the doors, windows, or other apertures for ventilation, 
being set wide open, the place will become thoroughly 
sweetened by tbe evening. The cow’s hide, too, must 
be kept clean, any clotted dirt cleaned away, and 
about once a week a good currying all over the body. 
Nature teaches the cow that filth must be dislodged, 
for scarcely a day passes but she will rub herself, if 
in health, against a tree or a post: however, in many 
little enclosures it must bo remembered there is not 
a tree; wo would always then have a rough barked 
post in every cow pasture, and there is not a doubt 
of tbe cow making use of it. 
The proper mode of dieting a cow, also deserves 
much consideration. At this time of the year much 
refuse vegetable matter comes to hand, rather sud¬ 
denly; such as the tops of mangold, Swedes, &c. Now, 
such given in too great a quantity, is apt to scour; 
if added to this a second cut of clover, vetches, or, 
indeed, the aftermath, are material of a highly fer¬ 
mentative character, and all prejudicial when used 
in the extreme. We say, therefore, use them with 
moderation, it is better that some of the mangold or 
turnip tops waste, than throw the cow out of order. 
However, there is no c msion for waste; the pigs 
will make away with it. Care therefore should bo 
taken that the cow has a certain amount of dry food 
daily with the green moat. We should say that not 
much moro than a cwt. of green food can be given 
