RAPE

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XXII, Issue 307, 26 January 1894, Page 3

RAPE

Professos JTbptatM . Shaw of the Ontario AgTienltnral College TT rites of It. It bears a close resemblance to tbe Swede tnrnip in the early stages of its growth, bat it usually attains a greater height than the turnip and produces more stems and leaves. It has a fusiform and stringy root, while that of the turnip is bulbous. On average soils, when , grown ill drills* it usually reaches the height' o? from V\h 2 &et; Dut on soils very rich in vegetable matter it sometimes attains the height of at least 3 feet. There are several varieties of rape, i : bnt the, onjy.. kin^ gr^wn as ,a pasture in this country is known as the Dwarf Essex. i like the turnip, rape is adapted to temerate climates. In all probability it will be found to grow in temperatures that are. inclined to be cool rather than warm. ' It seems to grow more vigorously in our climate in the late rather than the early I summer, and it continues to grow^ until tW^ka^of severe frosts when hoi ma- ] tured .at an earlier period. It is scarcely j probable that rape .will live through the winter in this latitude and yet retain sufficient vigor to produce a crop of seed the following summer as in Great Britain. When the rough leaf has mads a good start in the tape, tbs colfcivmtor may be introduced. It ebfculd ran as close to the line of the rows as. is consistent, with the safety of the plants, and the cultivation SBoaldb^fr^qnfetitTintil the tops of the rape have made a near approach between the rows. When the land is fairly clean, xio^nd hoeing is required, but when it is foul it wiU be necessary to go along the iine of the drill with the hand hoe once or twice to remove weeds, which need not of necessity cost more than $1 per acre. No attention is given ordinarily to thinning rape. Rape is an excellent pasture for sheep and lambs and foucattte that are being fattened, and so. far as we can judge from our limited experience it will also furnish good pasture for swine. The nutritive ratio of green rape as given by Wblf is 1:2.9, whilo that of red clover in bloesom is only 1:5.8. • tfhe extent to which rape may be grown w a catch crop is- only limited by the deiirst of the farmer and the nature of the •eason aj to the presence or absence of moisfoie, tt may follow any grain crop that has been reaped early and that >w been sown with grasses or clovers. In 1801 we gfcm.rapein drills orf 2.18 acres ■of land whi<Jh had already produced an extraordinary crop of wheat. Sixty lambs were pastured , on the rape grown upon it for 25 days without any additional food. The aggregate increase in live weight was at the fate of 179 pounds per . acre, which at 5 cents per pound gives . |8.95 as the fp&& rvaltfe of the rape Tfritht out considering the increase in value of the.priginal weight of carcass. ■■■.'■ As a cleaning crop we have found none ; that will compare with rape in all round • effective^esf^ijQp^spilsHi^njt^ih^e to its. growth almost any of ihe more noxious i forms of weed life can be eradicated in a single season ,with ' wise management, except in ' rfo ; far as the seeds remain in the ground.— Dakota Farmer.