The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1870-05-03
agricultural department.
CONDUCTED BY ALBERT CHAPMAN.
Dairy Farming-ROOt Culture.

Il
Vermont, Massachusetts, and New
York dairymen held conventions about
the middle of last January, Notices of
these meetings, held respectively at St
Adams, VT, Hardwick, Mass, and
Utica, n. V, so completely occupied
our columns at that time, as to prevent
us from calling attention to several
points of special interest In them.
In the Vermont meeting, the address
of Hon. f. d. Mason was appropriate
and highly attractive. His remarks
upon the benefits which spring from
associated effort were very encouraging,
being full of practical suggestions in re-
gard to the subject before them He
said, in closing, " Let usstrive to place
our dairy products as high in the mar
kets as Merino sheep and Morgan hor-
ses. Then will plenty and comfort
reign throughout our borders; then
will be that time we have so often read
about, The good time is coming
SELECTION OF COWS.
The Hon Henry Lane, of Cornwall,
read an essay on the Dairy, in which
he said the first and most important
question for dairymen to consider is
the selection of his cows. The great Sc
cret Of success, after obtaining proper
animals, is to keep them we'll fed
Cows will give more milk on fresh
grass than any other kind of feed. But
grass in our pastures begins to fail ear
ly, and something must he substituted
in its stead. Corn will supply this
want for one or two months in autumn.
ROOT CROPS.
Dairymen should turn their attention
to the cultivation of root crops. Cows
require q change in food in order to as
sist the digestive process and thereby
will keep in better health and eat coarse
fodder cleaner.
But what is the best root crop: The
market value of the potato is too great
to make its use for feeding stock profit
able. The turnip and carrot are per-
haps the best for young stock. but they
cannot be raised at the present time
with profit, The sugar beet has taken
the place of the carrot in Addison coun-
ty. No root, Mr.. Lane thought, will
produce so much and so rich milk as
the sugar beet. The best crop he had
ever seen was grown on clay soil. con
tanning twenty per cent. of sand. The
land for the sugar beet should be rich
and il may be grown on such land fol
thirty years in succession. The Gamer
lean Improved Sugar Beet" is far SUI
perior to any other sort Early sowing
IL the best, as \ difference of ten days in
sowing may make difference of ten
tons in the product. He said twenty
eight to thirty-two tons per acre is 6
common crop in Vermont, but by higl
culture could be made to yield fifty t.
seventy tons per acre. Its feeding value
is in the ratio of 100 pounds to one hun
bred and fifty pounds of hay. Its grea
value as food for swine as well as cattle
makes the subject one which may wei
engage the attention of all dairymen.
Mr.. Lane stated that the cost of rails
ing the sugar beef is about eight cents
per bushel; that the product of an ACRE
will feed twenty-five cows eight weeks
Four pound OF seed to the acre is re
quired. Sow in rows two and hal
feet apart, and the plants eighteen inch
es apart in the rows. The labor hai
been the greatest bugbear to root cul
ture. II rightly sown, the principa
labor is in the thinning. The hors,
cultivator will do the rest and SHOULD
be used often. The seed should b.
sown just as early as the soil can b.
well prepared In May. Store hog
winter we'll oh sugar beets.
Having visited Mr.. Lanes farm. AM
noticed the evidences of skilful and In
telligent cultivation in all that we saw
we find pleasure in commencing hi
opinions and practices TO the readers 4
these columns.
The President, Mr.. Mason, though
beets were excellent for hogs and bel
ter still for COWS. A bushel day an
one ton of hay for the winter are bel
ter for q COW than two tons of hay witt
out the roots. They are as easily cult
waited as corn, fproper care be taken
the outset They are more prohtabl
for a milch cow than any other croI
unless IL be green corn In August.