Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-03-02
HOrseradisb CuIture.

Mr.. w. d. Philbrick, OF Boston, dis
courses on horseradish as follows:
''HOrseradish demands deep, mellow
and rich soil, made fine by thorough til
lage in previous years. 1t does well on a
black muck, if the latter be well drained
and thoroughly worked so as to have no
Jumps of raw peat near the surface. AS
soon as the root in its downward growth
strikes lump it branches out and pro-
duces a mass of nearly worthless fibres
or small branches, instead OtOne or two
large tap roots, as it will yield in fine,
mellow soil. 1t also needs liberal manur-
ing to produce good crop. Eight or ten
cords per acre Of good, fine manure is.
none too much, and it is important that all
Jumps should be worked fine in spreading
the manure.
"Horseradish is planted as early in
spring as the land can be made ready,
and it pays well to take some pains in
blowing deep and fine. The land is usu.
ally plowed twice with a large pillow and
strong team, taking only narrow slice
and rolling the land after each blowing.
The land is then thrown into ridges, with
a large pillow, about 81 feet apart, which
ridges are raked off by hand, and the rad
ish sets planted by hand along the mid
die of each ridge, twelve or fifteen inches
apart and an inch or two deep. 1t is of
at even distances, and for this purpose l
run common wheel marker along the
ridge to mark the spots where the sets are
to be dropped. Any boy can then plant
them and be sure ofhaVing the row straight
and evenly planted.
SIN order to pay for the somewhat eX-
pensive preparation of the land it is usual
to cultivate some quick growing vegeta-
BILE, such as lettuce, heets, spinach or
m al nf rid
horseradish is slow to start and any crop
thus grown will not interfere with the
radish. The hOrseradish sets are SIM
ply bits Of last years root, about the size
of a pipe stem and half an inch long.
Care is needed to keep them moist while
planting, for if they are withered much
they will be slow to start and perhaps tail
entirely. After-culture consists simply
in thorough cultivation and wedding until
the crop covers the Land; and if in rich
ground the tops should be three or four
feet high and so dense that nothing else
can grow.
1.-THE crop is harvested after the frost
has killed the leaves. The gardener should
go over the land first and clear away the
tops by hand, throwing three or four rows
together so as to cart them OF easily /;
then take large plOw and strong team
and pillow a furrOw on each side of a row
| first, and then run the pillow directly under
the row. 1t takes good horses and a strong
! plowman to do this we'll, for the roots are
very tough and long. Two or three men
with forks can throw out the roots as fast
as the team can plOw them.
"Horseradish is a fairly profitable crop.
| 1t yields two to four tons per acre and
| sells at five to ten cents per pound. 1t is
| some trouble to wash and trim it for mar
! ket, and it willis so easily that it cannot
| be stored in a cellar, and even in pit
needs some care to keep it in good order.
| The worst drawback to its culture is the
| difficulty of eradicating it. 1t is about as
! hard to get out of the land as couch grass
| or Canada thistles; but upon market gar
! dens where cabbage and celery can be
made to alternate with hOrseradish, it
| can be worked out of the land in one or
/ two years. II is for this reason, probably,
| together with the high maturing and thor
| Ough tillage required to grow good crop,
/ that it's culture is mostly confined to the
market gardens near large cities, where
/ it is one of the staple products"