FARMERS' CLUB, CAMBRIDGE.

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1347, 17 February 1881, Page 3

FARMERS' CLUB , CAMBRIDGE.

Ths monthly meeting of the above Club, wm held on Monday evening. Proient, Meni* R. H. D. Fergusson, (Chairman), E. B. Walker, Geo. E. Clark, John Fisher, R. Reynolds, and Mr Tuoker. The minutes of the last previous meeting having been read and confirmed, the nomination and election of Messrs F. Pilling aad T. Grice took place. The Chairman who lamented the paucity of attendance then proceeded to ; read his paper j On the Culture of the Kohl RaM. * In writing an essay upon tho above subject, I am free to oonfess that it is dona from purely selfish motives. I hare no wish that any member of the Club should think that I am about to impart instruction to him, but on the other hand 1 wish to learn as much as I can about thin raluable root. lam under the impression that we do not in Waikato use Kohl Rabi sufficiently, and that probably if more were known of it it would be more generally grown. At our last showone of the judges in, I think, the dairy class told us, I may say urged upon us, that the mainstay of all farming was I butter. Ido not wish to say that I entirely agree with him, but if you want good butter and cream in winter me j Kohl Rabi. It has the advantage that it does not taste either the cream or the butter. Mr Pringle, in his book, " Live Stock of the Farm," says, speaking of Kohl Rabi :— " This is a valuable plant, considered an feeding material, especially for milk cows, as it not only increases the milk, but does not impart to it any particular flavour of a disagreeable kind, Bueha« that produced by turnips. The leaver of Kohl Rabi form an excellent food for sheep and cattle." Stephens, in his "Book of the Farm," says : — The advantages which Kohl Rabi is said to possess over turnips are these — Cattle, and especially horses, are fonder of it ; the leaves are better food ; it bears transplanting better than any other root; insects do not injure it ; drought does not prevent its growth ; it stores quite as well or better ; it stands the winter better, and it affords food later in the season." To compare Kohl Rabi analytically with turnips and mangolds we have the following by Professor! Voelcker and Anderson : —

These figures will prove, I think, that the three best roots are sugar-beet, swedes, and Kohl Kabi, and the latter has the advantage over sugar-beet as being easier worked and keeping better ; and over swedes, that of not imparting to the butter and cream a disagreeable flavour. Mr Stevens says that one of the objections to Kohl Kabi is the price of the seed, which he quotes at 2s 6d per lb., which is precisely the price of it in England at the present time. In the colony, however, it is much dearer, and this year I paid 10s 6d per lb., but it was marked in the account "scarce," so I suppose the seedsman I got it from had a monopoly. With regard to tha treatment of the land and growing and Btoring of roots, I can only tell you, gentlemen, what I have done myself, with good results in some cases, in others with only medium. We skin the land, supposing it to be ready in the month of May, as shallow as possible, and a month after 6 inches deep, and leave it then till the beginning of October, when cross plough and work the land well, setting it up in ridges about 26 inches apart Sow three cwt. of bouedust and one Peruvian guano per acre, with tne seed, if you have a machine, if, not, sow the manure in the drill and split the ridges on it. Then sow from $ to lib seed, green top preferred, and roll the ridges with a light rowler. I have one of Gower's (of Market Drayton) machines, a double wire drill which does its work most efficiently either for Kohl Rabi, carrot*, mangolds or turnips. It completes the work with one operation, sowing Beed and manure and rolling down the ridges. It is better to pass the drill over the ridges after thp, seed is sown, with the manure and seed coulters hooked up, fo as to roll the ridges a second time. If you have favourable weather your Kohl Rabi will be fit to set out ia about six weeks. Set the plants out about 15 to IS inches apart and do this if possible ia wet weather. You can then transplant into any places where the first towing has failed. Keep the horse hoe going between the drills as long as the plants will allow you to do so. When the root is ripe, it will lose all its leaves, with the exception of a small tuft at the top, and the bulb will be of a yellowish colour outside. I believe that if you do not happen to want the ground it is possible, and ia fact probable, that the cheapest as well as the moot profitable way of using the bulbs would be to allow them to remain in the ground and take them up as you want them, feeding off what are left over the winter as they stand. I do not think that the Kohl Rabi at all improves by keeping as the mangold and sugar beet do, probably fro» the almost total absence of pertin in its composition. We will suppose, however, that the land is wanted, and the Kohl Rabi must come up. I Bend a boy along the rows with an adze to out off the bulba as near the bottom as poesible. Then cart and stack them between ti-tri walls, 4 feet high, raising a good roof and thatching with either rushes or straw. I have tried pitting -them but am not in favour of the plan. One great advantage the Kohl Rabi has over the swede ifl that it can be used by being fed off on the ground without the least waste and without the expense of the shells being grubbed or otherwise taken up. One year I tried Kohl Rabi drilled on the flat, and found that although I had turnips in one part and rape in another part of the same paddock, that the stook hardly ever left the Kohl Rabi till it was finished. It must also be remembered that the Kohl' | Rabi is an excellent vegetable and quite equal, when youncr, to the innermost heart of cabbage. In Germany and Holland it is extensively used as an article of diet. In conclusion, I hope that some of those present will give the Kohl Rabi a trial if they have not already done so, and afterwards give us the'^benefit of their experience. By so doing, not only with the 1 jrreflcat eubjeci, bat with, all otier farm.

ing operations, they will confer a benefit on. the district in general, and upon the farming community in particular. Mr R. Reynolds thought that Kohl Rabi was not equal to as the latter could be grown without manure. He thought it too expensive, and asked the reader the beßt time for sowing, and whether Mr Fergusson thought it would pay to grow, Mr Clark : From the somewhat scanty knowledge he had of this root, he fuiliy endorsed Mr Fergusson's opiuion with regard to the manures required for its production. He thought it very exhau«i tive, an i remarked that it was very fashionable in England 21 years ago for a short time only, and that after a severe frost followed by snow the root completely rotted, the smell being detected for miles. He heard nothing more of it until two years ago. He thought it two exhaustive for general cropping. Mr Fisher remarked that Kohl Rabi would be found to give an additional milk, and butter, and also oontained much fattening properties for cdtfcla ; still the quantity of manure required would be a great drawback to it. He Rhould like to see it more generally tried, when it might lead to good results. Mr Tucker asked what quantity could be grown to the acre ? Mr Ferguason, in reply to Mr Tucker, said 30 to 40 owt to the aero could be grown. i In reply to Mr Reynolds, whether he thought it would pay, Mr Fergusson would advise the questioner to try for himself, and that October was the best time for sowing. In answer to Mr Clark, he said as to its exhaustive nature he had grown wheat, barley, and oats after it. He considered it much better for feeding, more especially for horses than carrots. Mr Walker proposed a vote of thanks to Mr Fergusson for his able essay, and Mr F. Fisher seconded. Carried unani- I mously. The Chairman regretted the non-attend- J ance of members, but hoped those present would use every effort to induce a more J general sympathy with the objeots of the ! Club. Mr E. B. Walker gave notice of motion that he would at next meeting nominate Mr Sheehan, M.H.R., as a member.

i*t4ffffr'H| BB g B § w 9? * S: s: CO (D (C » COCO-» CO •<i to i-f o oo> o> as to |i en >►•*•.' 00 O O 00 OOo° CO 00 2 Water. H 09 *i|k ' Ol U M O iKi^H U #• S (5 «MO -J to en Flesh Forming. tO *. OIWH 00 co #* a> £• <b ' S) U t3 CnWOO to IO C stO "*» ti >-> CO CO Fat Forming. h i: i« u totooi h t- 8 8 55 K» .to S m c »mi- h o Woody Fibre. 8 I S I ISs 2s I—l Ash. O 6* Sugar. to Gum.