The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-06-22
OUR RURAL TOPICS
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers

4
Celery continues to grow in favor with each
succeeding year. aud 100 gardens will now
have row or more of it where there was one
| 10 years ago. After the taste for il is acquired
IL becomes standard vegetable, and the best
means Of securing supply Is 8 matter Of in
terest. The old way of planting il in trenches
and carefully banking mp the rows as the plants
grew is still followed by great many, but It is
not the best way. As has been amply proven
within the last two or three years
Inc new method consists in digging out .
space as large as the plot is to be, and setting
the plants quite closely in this depression, and
as the plants grow gradually filing up around
| them until the soil that has been thrown out il
| replaced. II the plot is where a'plentiful sup
| ply OF water can be supplied, so much che
better; for celery must have plenty Of moisture
to do we'll It must also be grown on very
rieh soil. and If it is not so naturally Il muss
be made so. The varieties are numerous and
any OF them are good; but the White Plume
and Golden Self Blanching are perhaps the
best two on the list. Both are very good as to
flavor, and tender and crisp. The White
too early for Winter use. The Golden Self
Blanching Is better in this respect, but IL nos
so good for Winter use as some of the green
sorts The pink varieties are much liked By
some people, but they have flavor that Is nos
relished at first. The plants should be sown
| in seed-bed, and transplsntsd before being
set where they are to grow. so that the plants
| may become stocky and thick at the crown.
Sage Is raised by the market gardeners near
New York as q second crop In the season, and
the entire crop is gathered at once and not .
little at time, as is usually practiced in prt-
vate gardens, where only few branches are
cultivated. IL is true that the plants are hardy
and will live for several years but for market
purposes they are best treated as ANIMALS. The
seed should be sown early in Spring, and NOS
later than the 1st OF May, and, II the soil il
rich and the plants given good care they will
De ready for traDsplanting in July to ground
from which crop Of early peas, cabbage, or
beets had been gathered. The sage-plants are
set in rows IS to 20 inches apart, and about I2
inches in the row. The crop is gathered late
in the Fall, tied up in punches, and sold when
fresh, or after being dried in the shade. The
supply and demand. If sent from distance,
sage should be packed in open crates Garden
ers say that from three to four hundred dollars
an acre is about the average for a crop Of saga.
Though until recently comparatively IN
known in this country, rape has been grown a.
fat.ening food for lambs in England for many
years. 1t is found in its wild state in California
and its cultivation may be regarded as entirely
practicable. The following suggestions Of
Canadian journal on the subject will be found
of value:
The practice Of ape-growing has been intro
duced in a number Of places in Ontario, and
especially in the County of Wellington. where
it has long played an important part in the fin
ishing of lambs for the Buffalo market. The
fattening of lambs on rape has lately been
brought prominently before the public by ex-
psriments conducted at the Ontario Expert
mental Station, Guelph. Still, the rape ID
practically an unknown plant to many farmers
and we would advise all to sow small area a.
experiment. In appearance the plant "a
senlbles the turnip, to which it is closely re-
lated. The main difference Is that rape has no
feshy. bulb-liks root, but the condition and
preparation of the soil are similar.
The soil should be plowed in the Fall, and
well worked in the Spring. This plant gives
good returns for ali manure applied, and, as ID
is considered one Of the best cleaning crops. it
will take the place of Summer-faIlow The
more work and cultivation given the land be-
fore sowing, the less will be- required to keep
the weeds down after the plants are up. Sow
from June II to the middle of July in drills
as for turnips, 81 or 80 inches apart, with about
one and half to two pounds of seed per aero.
Use common turnip drill. The most salts
factory results are obtained from slghtly-raised
drills; but one disadvantage in this system,
which will not be found in fat cultivation, is
that the lambs require careful watching or they
will be liable to get on their backs between the
rows Do not losye the plants too thick in the
row. as they require plenty of room. Start the
scuffler as soon as the plants appear, and keep
it going not only to kill the weeds but also to
keep the surface loose and prevent evaporation.
The rape should be ready for pasturing by Aug
/, if sown about the middle of June or before
the 25th. An acre should carry 10 to Is lambs
from that date to the end of the season. Rape is
by all to be the best fattening feed
for sheep and lambs. Cattle can also be profit
ably fed on it, but they require more attention.
Always feed stock well before turning on rape.
If turned on hungry. animals are liable to eat
too much, and loss may occur. When buying
lambs for feeding, always get the best obtain
able, wellbred ones if possible; poor, late culls
are dear at any price. If at all possible, plOw
land used for this crop in the Fall, for, after
the trampiBg of lambs in ali kinds Of weather,
it should be turned up to the melloWing in
auence of the Winters frosss. Great care ia
necessary when buying the seed obtain it from
some reliable scotsman, and have him guaran-
tee that it is the right kind. If this is DONE
and the seed does not turn out to be as repre-
sented, damages can be collected from the seeds
man. Last year the rape on the Experimental
Farm, Guelph, and also on the farms in thst
and other parts, was of an inferior variety,
to be by brid, much larger than bird
rape, bat, like it, ripens seed the first year,
and thus was practically worthless for pasture.
variety called the Dwarf Essex, which does
not seed the year it is sown, has given general
satisfaction. Much seed resembling rape has
been palmed OFF ON farmers-smong others
German rape, which is grown for bird food,
md. as il produces enormous quantities of seed,
t can be sold much cheaper than the true rape
'or feeding. The true rape is known when the
second leaf appears, it being smooth and glossy
l..Lx H.