The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-06-23
Culture Of Ruta Bagas.

A Canada correspondent writes TO the
Country Gentleman e
This field root, generally knoGn as
Swedish turnip, is now very extensively
grown in Canada for the winter feeding
of stock, especially fatting beasts. 1t is
found better adapted to the climate
than the common turnip, being less liza
BILE to suffer from dry weather, and less
susceptible to injury from frost. To in
sure, success in growing this crop, the
land must either be in very good order
and condition, or must be made so by
extra culture and heavy application OF
barn-yard manure, which ought to be
at least partially decomposed before APP
plying it to the soil. The land having
been we'll prepared by thorough culti-
walton with the p. low and harrow, either
the previous fall or early in spring, the
next thing is to apply tn manure. The
plan generally followed here is to ridge
and furrow the soil, running the fur
rows in the direction of the natural
slope of the land, so that surface water
will readily find an outlet. The dis
lance apart of the ridges, from center
to center, should not exceed twenty-six
inches. Into these burrows the manure
spread from the yard or compost heap,
and, as fast as filled, the burrows are
covered by splitting the ridges with a
plow, leaving a ridge over the manure.
If the land is fine filth, and the manure
fine and well composed it is preferable
to spread the manure over the soil and
lightly pillow it in. In this case the rows
may be closer together, say. twenty-five
inches, and the seed drilled in on the
flat surface; but as the object of the
farmer is to do as much of the work of
after culture as possible by means of
scarifers and horse hoes, it is not advi-
sable to have the rows of turnips closer
together than will readily admit of the
use of such implements. The work of
making the drills or ridges is done be-
tween the middle of June and the first
week Of July; and as soon as they are
made, the seed is sown by means of a
turnip- drill, which performs the opera
ton of drilling in, covering and rolling
the ridges at once. Superphosphate, or
fine bone-dust, is usually applied at the
same time, either drilled in with the
seed, or sown on the ridges Immediately
after. Guano, if it can be had, may be
used instead of barn.yard manure,
either sown broadcast and narrowed in,
or sown on the ridges and covered a
week or two before the seed is sown.
A liberal supply of seed is absolutely
necessary, for though all may come up,
that great enemy of the turnip, known
as the turnip fly, Alica memor,tm, often
destroys very large proportion of the
plants. Should the weather prove dry
after the seed has vegetated, the fly
may destroy so much of the crop as to
necessitate re-drilling of the ridges; but
if damp the young plants come forward
rapidly, and as soon as they are in their
second or rough leaf all danger from
the fly is past. busting fine, air-slaked
lime, or even plaster of Paris, over the
plants as soon as they appear, often
keeps off the fly long enough to give
the crop fair chance of escape. The
after culture consists mainly in keeping
the soil stirred and free from weeds till
the bulbs form and the leaves begin to
shade the ground, when the crop is left
to itself. One hand hoeing, in order to
thin out the plants to six inches apart
in the rows and clear the weeds from
the tops of the ridges, is given when the
plants have become strong and well es-
tablished, which is usually in a month
or six weeks after sowing the seed. The
plants seldom make much Roadway du.
ring the summer heats but with the
first rains of autumn the bulbs begin to
swell, and as frost does not hurt the
roots till it becomes hard enough to
freeze the soil, they are usually safe to
continue growing till the end of au-
tumn-often far into November. Heavy
rains followed by sharp frost will in
.ure the roots, but so long as the weather
continues dry the same amount of frost
does no harm.