The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1846-09-11
AGRICULTURAL.
Turnip Culture.

Turnip Culture.
The chief feature Of The Improved English sys-
ten Of agriculture may be sid 10 he the eultva
Il n Of ,urnips for the rearing aud farenins Il
c.tlle. The following description contains m
mute accoun, of the Norihuabrian system,
which manual labor is almost dispensed with
The land having been prepared by
many ploughings and borrowings as ma
he thought requisite to pu'verze it an
destroy lie weeds, and lald quite nai, al
experienced ploughman draws as s'raigh
furrow as possible, and returning lay
The next farrow slice upon Tie t'st, thus
compl, ting bout. The usual vi IN OF
the furrow being nine inches tie next
iurrow slice being laid over the first, III,
whole work takes width Of twenly-scvcn,
inches. lie then enters nglin at TIE 81
lance of twen,y-scven inches from the
land side of the first made lurrow, anrI
completes second bou, parallel to the
fist. When the whole piece, or field, vs.
thus laid into narrow ridges, The depres.
siops are about six inches below tie for
mer surface and the ridges as much above.
This al once doubles the depth OF The cuI
,ivaied soil in the ridges. The manure
is now brought on the land in small ore
horse carts, the carts, the wheels oil which
are ebout ffiy-four inches apart. so that
the horse walks in one furrow while the
wheels move in the two adjoining. The
manure, which is chiefly common farm
yard dung, not too much decomposed, es-
pocially if tho soil is inclined 10 clay, is
laid in small eqnidistanl heaps in the cen
ire larrow, drawn out Of the carl by a
dung drag, and afterwards evenly spread
in the middle furrow TO the right and lief.
of those. The quantity thus laid on must
depend on tie supply in the yard, but
Ought no, to be less than fifteen or twenty
single cart loads per acre. The plough
man now begins to cover this dung by
splitting the ridges in two, laying one
half TO HE left and the other 10 the right
and rover ing the bon,s, so that the ridges
arc now directly over the dung, which is
completely buried. A roller is now
drawn over the ridges to flltten them at
top, in order that they may better receive
the seed, which should be drilled in as
quickly as possible to take advantage of
The moisture of the fresh turned soil. II
would be desirable TO soak The seed in
a strong decoction Of tobacco for twelve
hours, and dry it previous TO sowing with
the drill harrow. In light soils, another
rolling is necessary to press in the seed,
bl, ordinarily the drill harrow will suffice.
II will be obvious that by this method The
seed h not only greater depth of mel
low soil 10 strike in, bu, the fermentation
Of the dung, Immediately under it acts as
hot-bed, and soon brings it up; by
which means i, is generally so rapid in
the rough leaf, that it is no! likely TO sui.
fer from the hy, more especially if the
prccaution of soaking the seed, with a
view to secure tina, object, has been al
tended to. As soon as the turnips has
fur leaves out of the ground The rows
may be ,hinned by the hoe and the plants
left from eight to ten inches apart. The
next process is stirring the ground be-
tween the rows with light one horse
plough. The plough takes small shall
low firrow to the left Of the row within
three or four inches Of the young plants,
and lays in the middle Of the interval be.
tween the ridges. When this has been
done on both sides all over The field. there
will be small ridges formed between the
principal ridges on which the turnips
grow. All weeds are thus buried except
between the plants in the rows, where
they are taken out by the hoe. Some
time afterwards q narrow culiivator with
croaked tines is drawn through the fur.
row to level the small ridges left FROM
ploushirg out and TO clear the ground
of all remaining weeds. Before the at
tumn rain sets in, or the turnips have too
wide spreading tops, q plough wife dou.
BILE mould board is drawn along the mid
Ole of the intervals, and lays half of the
soil on each side against the ridge on
which the turnips grow, TO supply fresh
mellow earth for the extending fibres to
strike into. When the turnips are Off,
one bou, Of the plough levels each Of the
ridges, heavy harrows levels the whole,
and il can be ploughed in the ordinary
way for spring crop.
TnN GrnSS.-Dr. Bailey. Of North