The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1870-08-12
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MARIETTA, GEORGIA.
Friday HORN. Aug. AZ, 1870.
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iron TUE MARIETTA JOURNAL.
THE CULTURE AND USE OF TURNIPs
The following excellent essay, on
Hthe culture and use of turnips,
writtenby Mr. Nj. ]. n RUSSELL, of this
county, received premium at the last
monthly fair:
The turnip crop is one Of the most
valuable of crops that can be planted,
on many accounts. In the first place
they can be made with loss work than
any other crop and at that season of the
year when labor is most abundant and
cheaper than any other In the second
place it is the very best crop that can
be planted to clean land Of all kind Of
wild growth and grasses by working the
land in the Fall In the third place they
will make a crop the same year on land
that has already made one crop; they
will do well on stubble land after Irish
Potatoes, Onions, or any crop that will
come off by the first of August: (But
Hand that is planted in two crops, the
same year, must be well manured or it
will soon fail) | planted an half acre
last year after corn. The corn was used
off as roasting ears, and the stalks cut
off and fed TO my stock, the land was
broken twice and planted in Turnips
and | made a very fine crop. ! have
corn on the same land again this year
and If is very good. | also raised a
very fine crop Of Ruta-Bagas after Irish
Potatoes last year and have Potatoes
on the same land again this year and
they are very fine, and | expectto plant
the same land in turnips again this year
(by the Goth of this month";.
| have made this statement to show
that the Turnip can be raised after any
crop that will come off by the goth OF
August
would rather have land that has not
been planted in any thing, the year !
plant tin Turnips, SO that it can be
broken mp three or four times during
the svtmmcr, and kept clean from weeds
and grasses. The turnip will do we'd in
any Kind Of soil from tie light-sandy
to the heavy clay. have seen them
do well on land that was too wet for any
other crop. There are thousands Of
acres of creek and branch bottoms in
Cobb county, that could be made to pro
duce from 400 to 600 bushels of turnips
to the acre. My plan is to commence
clearing and dtching the bottoms just
as soon as my corn and cotton crop is
Iaid-by, and if put in proper order they
will pay well the first year and then be
in finc order for corn the next year.
The best time to sow Turnip seed is
from the 10th to the 18th of August; The
Ruta Baga can be sowed as early as the
20th Of July. | have made just as fine
as I ever seen sowed on the 23d of Au-
gust. think the best variety Of Tur
pips for this climate is the Ruta-Baga,
Large Globe and Red Top. The best
soil is a rich sandy loan, or bottom land,
thoroughly ditched. The best fertilizer
without any doubt is No. | Peruvian
Guano-the quantity to be used from
100 to 400 lbs. to the acre according to
the quality of the land The mode of
culture the land should be broken and
ne broken thoroughly and sub-soilcd if
possible. All grass and weeds Should be
taken off of the land as they will be a
llarbor for the fies) rows should be laid
off , feet apart, with a long bull tongue
pillow, running twice in the same fur
row, Just as deep as it can be done, then
put the Guano Tor any other manure) in
the bottom of the furrow, then bed up
with shovel plow, just as for cotton
After the beds are made open, then with
small bull toung, pillow very shallow
and sow the seed, one ID. to the acre Gf
the land is dry SOW late in the afternoon)
and cover with rake, if the land is wet
cover very lightly, if dry cover one to
one and half inches deep. Just as soon
as the turnips are up, chop through with
narrow hoe as in cotton culture, leav-
ing from four to six in the place. About
two weeks after this working go over
again with the hoe and bring them to a
stand one or two in the place, they
should be plcwcd twice with a small
sweep.
The valueof the Turnip crop. They
will pay from one to two hundred dol
lars 10 the acre, according to the conven-
fence to market. My crop two years
paid me over 5000 to the acre and |
have sold as many as 100 bushels in At
lanta in one day. They are worth one
hundred dollars per acre to the farmer
to feed to his stock all kinds of stock
are very fond of them They will make
COWS give more milk than any thing |
have ever fed them on. Hogs will fat
ten on one half the amount of corn that
is given to them if they have turnips.-
Sheep will live and do well all winter
on them without any other feed
Horses are very fond of them. Our
chickens lived on turnips all of last win
ter and we have not lost any this year