RUTA BAGA EXPERIMENTS.
1819, July 27—Sowed three fourths of an acre of Ruta Baga, in ground prepared as follows, viz.—Stubble turned in deep—harrowed fine—furrowed deep at four feet distance—filled the furrows with earth burnt ashes, (burnt according to the plan prescribed by Mr. Cobbett, in his "Year's Residence,") which I covered by turning a furrow over them on each side; this formed a ridge about eighteen inches broad at top, which being smoothed a little with a hoe, and a drill made along the middle of it with the same instrument; I then sowed the seed and covered it with a hoe, from one to two inches deep; it came up on the 7th of August. When the roots were nearly a fourth of an inch thick, I thinned them to about a foot distance in the rows, and kept them free from weeds by two good ploughings and hoeings, (they would have been the better for a third) notwithstanding the unexpected dry season;—the last of November, many of them would measure fifteen inches in circumference—I left them to stand in the ground all winter. I was off the state, from the middle of December to the middle of February; on my return at the latter period, the snow had just disappeared, when I found my turnips had grown at least one fifth larger, since I saw them in December; many of them measuring six to seven inches diameter. The latter part of February was unusually warm for the season. The tops began to grow rapidly, but the severe cold nights of the early part of March, first freezing, and the warmth of the middle of the day, as often thawing them; many rotted in the ground—had they been pulled when the warm weather commenced, this would have been prevented. They are the cheapest, and with the exception of corn, they are the best food for milch cows and hogs, I ever met with—I have been feeding mine upon them for the last 6 weeks. Within a week past, I had them all pulled, (except those left for seed,) and thrown in heaps. Should the weather prove too warm, I shall spread them, in which way they will keep good until midsummer. Having repeatedly heard it asserted, that horses would not eat them, I determined to ascertain the truth of the assertion; accordingly, a parcel of them were washed and cut in pieces, and each horse served with about 3 galls. of them, when two out of five eat them greedily, two others eat them, but with less appetite, and the fifth refused. They had no other food allowed them for the night, and the next morning not the smallest piece was to be found in their trough.
[Am. Far.