58 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
between the months of March and December, either in the practical agricultu¬ 
ral business of the farm, or in the laboratories or meehanics shops connected 
with said school. 
§ 17. The said corporation slial : in no case, out of the profits arising from its 
business, declare and make a dividend of more than five per cent per annum, 
upon its actual incorporated capital paid in and possessed; and if at any time 
after the payment of such dividend, there shall remain any surplus of such pro¬ 
fits, it shall be expended in additions or improvements to the farm, buildings, 
library, apparatus, or other necessary establishments connected with the said 
institution, or in reducing the price of tuition at the same. 
§ 18. The governor shall appoint annually a committee of three presons, 
whose duty it shall be to visit the said institution, and to report the condition 
thereof to the legislature at the commencement of its next session. The mem¬ 
bers of the said committee shall receive no compensation for their services un¬ 
der this act, but their reasonable expenses shall be paid by the said corpora¬ 
tion. > 
§ 19. The corporation hereby created, shall be subject to the provisions 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same are applicable, and have not been modified or repealed. 
§ 20. This act shall take cffeet immediately after the passage thereof. 
RUTA BAGA. 
“ The substitution of green crops [principally turnips] for fallow, 
on all but stiff clay lands, has been the greatest of all improvements 
ever made in agriculture; and has effected as great and beneficial 
a revolution in it, as the introduction of the steam-engine and the 
spinning-frame has done in manufactures.”— Edin Qr. Review. 
The turnip culture began in Great Britain about sixty or seventy 
years ago, and the ruta baga was of far more recent introduction.— 
It has led to the principal improvements in British husbandry. Since 
its introduction, the weight of neat fat cattle and sheep, has been 
doubled ; an excellent improving rotation of crops has been introduc¬ 
ed ; lands have increased in fertility, and, where the turnip culture 
has most prevailed, 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 extra labor is fully compensated by the greater ad¬ 
vantage our stock derives from their succulent qualities during our 
long winters, confined, as they otherwise ordinarily are, to dry fod¬ 
der. The Swedish turnip, or ruta baga, possesses manifest advan¬ 
tages over all other species of the turnip. It gives a greater pro¬ 
duct ; it is more nutritious ; it improves by keeping, and by enlarg¬ 
ed 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-Yorklast year, was four times as in 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 beginners. 
The Soil. —All turnips do best upon a light sandy, gravelly or loa¬ 
my 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 manure, preparatory to sowing the seed. 
Preparation of the Soil. —If an old stiff sod, it may be ploughed the 
preceding 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, plough¬ 
ed, and well harrowed immediately preceding the sowing. If tilled 
ground, manure and plough deep, and harrow. Sow as soon as pos¬ 
sible 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 ma¬ 
nure, the seed is drilled upon these ridges, and a light roller is pass¬ 
ed over, either before or after the seed is deposited. 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 eco¬ 
nomise manure, the ridge system may be preferable. Bone manure 
is' now extensively used in Britain with this crop. It is placed in tho 
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 Is¬ 
land. We prefer the first July at Albany. Much depends on the 
soil, the aspect and fertility, the coldest and poorest land, and north¬ 
ern aspect, to be sown first. We recommend, that in the extreme 
north, and in elevated cold districts, the sowing be done from the 10th 
to the 20th 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 suf¬ 
fices. It is better to have an excess of plants, to be thinned on clean¬ 
ing 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 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 dis¬ 
tance. The corn cultivator is principally employed. It should be 
passed through as soon as the rows can be well distinguished. It 
mellows the ground, and destroys the weeds in the intervals, before 
they attain much size. It should be passed both ways in the same 
interval, in order to perform the work well. The turnip hoe, de¬ 
scribed and figured in our last volume, may then follow to clean the 
rows and thin the plants, which should not be left to grow at less 
distance than eight or ten inches. Two cleanings with the hoe are 
all that will be required at most. T he crop may be dressed thrice 
with the cultivator with advantage, whether there are weeds or no 
weeds. 
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-hook 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 somewhat dry, and not exposed to frost after they are pulled; 
though a smart frost does them no injury while in the ground. 
Preserving the Roots. —Small quantities may be stored in cellars ; 
but the main reliance of those who cultivate on a large scale, must 
be pitting in the field. For this purpose, select a sandy dry situa¬ 
tion, 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 unless 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 
acre. We may assume the following as the average expense of cul¬ 
tivating 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 
