Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1860-11-24
Aaritnltnral.

ttimn, and continue to enlarge in size until
very cold weather and severe frosts occur.
AS soon as the top leaves become wilted by
the frost, it is about time to harvest them.
The white varieties, such as the Globe, Nor
folk, &C., are more susceptible to the effects
of frost, and require to be taken up and
housed somewhat earlier. These latter are
the varieties usually grown in Great Britain,
where the frost being seldom severe enough
TO seriously injure them, they remainin the
ground through the winter the sheep being
penned in small lots on the turnip field, and
removed from one spot to another till all the
turnips are eaten off. | will give tue most
expeditions mode of taking up turnips as
practiced here.
Have a hoe made with long blade, not
more than four or FIVE inches wide and very
strong and sharp. The operator walks in the
furrow between two drills and cuts off the
turnip top at one blow, and then strikes the
hoe into the soil at the side of the drill just
below the bulb of the turnip, severing it off
the tap-Yoot, and with a slight pull on the
handle the tiirnip rolls into the furrow. By
taking two rows at time, left and right,
every two drills when drawn occupy one
furrow. In this way an expert man can take
up half an acre of turnips per day.
A slower but neater method is to pull up
the turnips by hand, cut off the top and tap
root with sharp knife, drop the turnips of
IN
leaves in the outside burrows. In cold, wet
weather, this method renders the workman
liable to suffer from chilblains in his fingers.
Let the turnips lie on the field in heaps
for a few days to dry and sweat little be-
fore storing them. 1t is important that tur-
nips should not become frozen after they are
taken out of the ground, and where hard
frosts are anticipated at night, they should
either be stored at once, or covered during
ha MI Wi w
haulm. Even the turnip-leSves on the
ground may be forked over them, provided
they are not too wet.
Where, from the want of a root house or
/, cellar, it becomes necessary to store the
turnips onthe ground, there are two methods
of procedure, either of which may be advau-
, tageously adopted. One is, to put them in
circular heaps of fifty bushels each, on the
highest and driest spots on the field where
they are grown, cover them with earth, with
out straw, to the depth ofone ot,-the earth
thrown on the heap being so dug out around
it, as to leave ditch to drain off the surface
water and prevent it from getting under
meath the turnips. The earth may be piled
a little thicker at the junction of the slope
with the level ground. This is a very con-
venient mode ofstoring turnips, as one heap
can be opened at a time, and the contents re-
moved to the barn or cattle stalls during the
coldest weather in winter, and little freez-
ing, then, does not hurt them if used before
they thaw out again. '''
pThe other plan, and one often adopted, is
to draw the turnips to a clean piece ofsward
ground near the farm yard, and pile them on
the surface in long narrow ridges-say six
feetwide at the bottom, and the sides carried
up to an apex like roof at the hight of
four feet from the ground. These are then
covered with earth the same as before de-
scribed, but to'prevent the turnip from decay
ing from the heat evolved by them, holes
four inches in diameter should be left at every
five feet along the apex of the ridge. These
holes can be stuffed with wisp Of straw in
very severe cold weather, or when a snow
or rain storm is anticipated, care being taken
to remove them again in a few days. The
length of these ridges is immaterial, or
several may be built alongside of each other.
The turnips are taken out as wanted from
one end of the ridge, and that eud kept
closed up when not in use, by bunch of
straw or some green pine boughs.-J N
Hamilton.
Proper AND HUMANE MODE OF DRIVING
OxEN.-The Massachusetts PIOoman OBJ
serves: F-- -.rt ... ..- VIII
Thoughtless men will whip, whip, whip.
They do it from habit--a very bad habit;
and we find it difficult to correct that habit.
We are trying to teach our hired men better
manners than to put on the whip before
giving an invitation TO the brute animals
,"to CO." We have oxen that will ''go" as
soon as they are invited, without the indorse-
ment of the whip. Yet we find it difficult
matter to control the whip.
II is surely savage practice to apply the
lash before inviting the animals to move by
the proper words. Yet we see that this is a
very common practice of those who are not
owners of the cattle. When the common
Whiplash is not thought to be hard enough
for the backs and noses of cattle, the walnut
handle, one inch in diameter, is used on the
noses Of oxen, to make them back load up
hill, before the cattle have even been taught
to back an empty cart down hill.
Cattle must be made to obey-and the
common lash, OF a switch stick, will be suf-
fcient for breaking in. But we ask for
mercy on all cattle that are willing to do
right as soon as the right is pointed out.
Many drivers of oxen put the lash on first,
before asking their patient teams to move,
This is a species of barbarism which ali
owners of cattle ought to prohibit. 1t is so
natural for people whom we hire from the
interior, TO use force in the first instance, and
gentleness afterward, if at all, that particular
care should be eXerted in regard TO the treat
ment of their cattle. Proper driving is an
important item in husbandry So many
farmers now depend upon their hired help
~ w eAS main WOIhj IL lb Important IOr
thSm to see that the work is properly done.
The merciful man is mereiful to his beast"
BEBTs AND MAKGELs.-These crops are
usually pulled by hand, and are best pre-
served in circular pits in the ground where
the soil is dry. They are very liable TO heat,
and as preventive, place a large sheaf of
dry straw in the center of each pit, and-pile
the roots around il leaving the top sticking
out of the pit to facilitate the escape of the
toul gases thrown off by the roofs. Beets are
best fed in early winter; mangels about Feb
ruary.
CARnoTs.-This crop requires to be taken
up before hard frost occurs, as the roots
easily freeze, and soon decay If once frozen.
Rum a ploW as deeply as possible on one
side Of row Of carrots this will clear away
the earth, and they can then be easily pulled
by hand, topped and throwG into heaps to
dry for a day or two, and then stored away
In the cellar or r0ot-house. -'
PARsNlPs.-T crop is best TO be left in
the ground all winter, if the land is not liza
bic to be saturated with too much moisture.
They are much improved in favor thereby,
end can be taken up in spring as soon as the