The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1876-08-24
Turnips.

Chemists tell Us, that ninety per cent.
of the ,turnip is water. IF SO, thelremain-
ing ten per cent. must be in wonder
fully concentrated and nutritive condi-
ton, for both as q distender and nutri-
tious food, turnips are suited to the
paiates of both man and beast. And if
they were even more watery than they
are. we would advise farmers to grow
them largely as long as, they can be so
iproftably utilized. No one knows the
Ivstde Of "a good turnip patch as well as
he who has sheep or cattle on hand in the
fall and winter, with nothing else to rely
upon as ,provender. Fed raw, they will
keep sheep and cattle in good order all
the winter, and are not poor. food for
horses when they cncelearn to eat them.
I'VE have a three. year old that would eat
a peck at 9, feed last winter. -tIl.ial,
I We therefore say, SOW largely of tur-
:nips, and begin now to prepare the land.
If'you have q lot upon which cows have
been penned since spring, orisheep hur.
died, SOW turnips there, If you: have Nc
such lot, break up the best acre or two in
yydoGifr' stdbble field, and turn it over thor
toughly IN theoperation.' In ten days lay
fit off in thirty inch beds, and If practica-
BILE, subsoil every, furrow as the beds are
being made. In the water ofurrow be-
tween q these beds drill heavily all the
/ manure to be had on the farm, from the
tstables, horse lots, cow houses, iipig pens,
chicken ,coops. and ash, ,hoppers, ,and
make the size Of the. patch conform to
the quantity of manure on hand, allow
ing the application to bea heavy drill
|tlingsl q d - fli'Hfi s.aj .ps1.'@l
,Onthis manure throw two shovel fur
rows, Upon this list sprinkle two. hun
Tdred and fifty or three hundred pounds
Of ammoniated supefphosphate to the
acre, ,aand complete the beds by throwing
out the middles with twisters. sdi'sa
Between the goth July and LIST August
open these beds and drill in the ruta baga
seed at the rate of q pound and half or
two pounds to thea We have never
grown fine ruta bagas sown later than the
first week in August. Any: time lin
August any of the varieties. of: turnips
may be sown. We prefer them in the
order named: Yellow Aberdeen, White
Globe, Norfolk, Flat Dutch, Seven
Top. 5uays !,
put a quill in the mouth of bottle from
which the seed are drilled. We general
ly drill our own seed, and simply take
the seed from tin cup in the left hand,
by pinch from the thumb. and fore fin.
ger Of the right hand, and we can SOW as
fast;as plowman walks. Wecover very
lightly, with rake. 80 -
ii If the land is thoroughly prepared, we
prefer sowing Just before rain. A full
stand will then be secured; but. would
wait week for a rain rather than SOW in
land tolerably moist. Turnip seed are
easily sprouted, but if the sun is very hot,
the land is rapidly dried and the seed
easily killed. Hence the necessity of
fair season to secure stand.
4 When the plants are three or four days
old we chop out as we do cotton, to
punches the width of hoe. These
punches are thinned out daily, to be
eaten or fed to stock When about four
inches high, the crop should be we'll
plcughed, and the work is done.
Some farmers SOW small grain at this
ploughing. We do not like this system,
because we do not demand of the land to
grow more than one crop at a time.
=. An average crop Of turnips in the
South is perhaps three hundred bushels.
We have grown one thousand bushels on
an acre, and think fifteen hundred might
be grown. g ~.