THE CULTIVATOR. 
43 
Fig. 19. 
“The above is a portrait of a Saxon merino ram, the property of 
Lord Western, and used by him extensively and beneficially in the 
improvement of his Spanish merinos. It will be seen that his frame 
differs materially from the Spanish merino; there is more round¬ 
ness of carcass and fineness of bone, and that general form and ap¬ 
pearance which indicate a disposition to fatten, and are tolerably 
certain pledges that the carcass will not be entirely sacrificed to 
the fleece. 
“In Saxony, as in Silesia, although the sheep are housed at the 
beginning of winter, yet they are turned out and compelled to seek, 
perhaps under the snow, a portion of their food whenever the wea¬ 
ther will permit; and the season must be unusually inclement in 
which they are not driven into the courts at least for two or three 
hours during the middle of the day. The doors and windows are 
also frequently opened, that the sheep houses may be sufficiently 
ventilated. Some sheep masters, whose convenience is promoted 
by such a system, keep their flock in a house or yard during the 
whole of the year, and it is not believed that the sheep suffer from 
this, either in their health, or in the fineness of their fleece. A 
great quantity of salt is usually given to the Saxon sheep, and prin¬ 
cipally during the summer, either in their drink or sprinkled among 
the fodder. 
Very great care is taken by the Saxon sheep-master in the 
selection of the lambs which are destined to be saved in order to 
keep up the flock: there is no part of the globe in which such unre¬ 
in tting attention is paid to the flock. Mr. Charles Howard, in a 
letter with which he favored the author, says, that “ when the 
lambs are weaned, each in his turn is placed upon a table that his 
wool and form may be minutely observed. The finest are selected 
for breeding and receive a first mark. When they are one year 
old, and prior to sheering them, another close examination of those 
previously marked, takes place; those in which no defect can be 
found, receive a second mark, and the rest are condemned. A few 
months afterwards, a third and last scrutiny is made, the prime rams 
and ewes receive a third and final mark, but the slightest blemish 
is sufficient to cause the rejection of the animal. Each breeder of 
note has a seal or mark secured to the neck of his sheep, to detach 
or forge which is considered a high crime, and punished severely.” 
MANGEL WURTZEL. 
The culture of this root is extending among us; and although 
different opinions are given of its value, when compared with the 
Swedish turnip, the preference for one does not necessarily pre¬ 
clude the other. They thrive best on different soils—the mangel 
wurtzel doing best in a deep, moist, clayey loam, and the Swede on 
a dry soil, inclining to sand. 
The mangel wurtzel is a species of beet, of which there are va¬ 
rieties, differing principally in color. The flesh colored is prefer¬ 
red, as affording the largest produce; though the whiter species, 
when of moderate size, has been found to contain the most saccha¬ 
rine matter. The soil for this crop should be rich and deep, and 
if trench ploughed the better, as roots cannot be expected to grow 
to a fair size below the stirred earth. Trench ploughing is mere¬ 
ly ploughing two furrows deep, by following, with a second plough, 
in the track of the first. The surface should be perfectly pulver¬ 
ized with the harrow. The seeds should be sown in drills, at 18 to 
24 inches apart, the latter being preferred, as it will permit the crop 
to be dressed with the cultivator. They may be sown with Rob¬ 
bins’, or the common drill barrow, or dropped by the hand, in shal¬ 
low furrows previously drawn, and then covered an inch, or an inch 
and a half deep. A seed will often produce two or more plants, 
all but one of which should be drawn out, and the plants thinned to 
8 or 12 inches whenever they are so far advanced as to warrant it. 
Some persons strip the side leaves to feed to cows, when these have 
become large, but it is believed that this is done at the expense of 
the future growth of the root. But the crop should be harvested 
when the plants have matured, which is indicated by the lower 
leaves changing their color, as after this period, as was ascertained 
by Chaptal, a portion of their saccharine matter is transformed into 
potash, and the roots become less nutritious and palatable. If 
sown the 20th to 25th May, the crop will have time to mature early 
in October. The product is generally equal, and sometimes larger, 
than that of ruta baga—often amounting to fifty tons the acre, but 
twenty tons, or 600 bushels, is a fair crop. This root may be pro¬ 
fitably grown in the middle and northern states, though the extreme 
north is not so well adapted to it as it is to the Swedish turnip. 
The whole process of culture consists in thinning the plants, keep¬ 
ing down the weeds, and the surface of the soil mellow. They do 
not require to be earthed or hilled. The seed may also be sown 
with a dibble, thus: take a strip of plank, two or three feet long, 
and three inches wide; bore a hole in the centre, and fix in it an up¬ 
right handle, three feet long, with a cross piece at top to hold 
by; then bore holes at li inches distance, and fit in pins, to project 
inches from the bottom, sharpened at the lower points. With 
this the planter makes holes upon the line of the row with great 
expedition; a boy follows, drops a seed in each hole, and covers it 
with his toes. If two feet long upon the base, every impression 
of the dibble will make a dozen holes. Seeds planted with 
the dibble are most apt to grow, as they can readily be planted at a 
required depth, and be covered with fine mould. 
The roots may be preserved in the winter in cellars or pits, like 
ruta baga, though they are less hardy. They are readily eaten by 
all farm stock, and are found highly nutritious; though all seem 
to agree in this, that they should not be fed without other food, as 
hay, straw, or other roots, and should at no time constitute more 
than two-thirds of the food of a beast. As we have remarked, dif¬ 
ferent opinions prevail as to the comparative merits of this root, 
with Swedes and potatoes, as food for farm stock. Experiments 
made under the authority of the Highland Society, in feeding with 
potatoes, mangel wurtzel, and ruta baga, for three months, produc¬ 
ed a like result as to increase in flesh, but the dealers thought the 
beef of the cattle fed upon ruta baga, some three or four dollars a 
beast better than the other. The Doncaster agricultural commit¬ 
tee, thus sum up the advantages of cultivating this crop: 
“It is more sure to plant; being very little liable to the fly or 
grub. It will produce more crop. It is off the land earlier. It is 
better spring food. It is useful as a change of fallow crop, when 
the land is tired of turnips; and can be grown on soils on which 
they cannot be raised.” 
On the other hand, in favor of Swedish turnips, it may be said: 
“ That the weeding and thinning are far less expensive. That 
there is rather more time allowed for fallowmg in the spring. 
That the succeeding crop is better than after mangel wurtzel; and 
