Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1872-10-11
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From the American Stock Journal.
: ROOTS FOR STOCK.

1t is strange that farmers, as rule, do
not pay more attention to having a good
supply of roots on hand for the use of
their stock during the winter, when ami
mails require food of slightly relaxing
nature to mix with their other food, for
stock feeding exclusively on hay and grain
do not thrive as well as those which are
allowed moderate quantity of roots of
some kind daily. If roots were very diff
ficult or expensive to raise the case would
be different, but I see no just excuse for
this slack management on the part of
those who own or keep stock. either on
large or small scale. The advantages to
be derived from properly attending to this
matter are plainly apparent to those who
have tried the experiment. By raising
large quantity of roots for your stocks,
sufficient for their use, you increase the
quantity of food by doing SO you better
the condition of your animals, which in
crease the quantity of manure which gives
you an opportunity of increasing the fer
tility of your farm, thus the whole system
virtually aims at improvement. Aside
from this animals fed on roots always keep
in good health. and are thereby enabled
to assimilate the other food, the roots
keeping the digestive organs in suitable
tune.
1t cannot be the expense of production
which deter farmers from raising these
valuable aids in feeding, for from five to
six or ten cents per bushel as the cost of
producing cannot be considered very ex-
pensive | am sure, when compared with
the far greater price of other cattle foods,
especially the different kinds of grain.
The particular kind of root to raise for
stock kepends very much upon the soil,
animals to feed, and last but not least,
upon the fancy of the farmer, for almost
all kinds have their special advocates.
A we'll known breeder of thorough bred
stock, mostly cows, plants yearly many
pounds of Mangel wortzel seed, root of
the beet family; another one recommends
and plants several acres of carrots, while
still another thinks the white Siesian su-
gar beet as far preferable to either of the
other two.
To cultivate roots properly, you must
have your ground put in tip-top order,
made SO by blowing deeply and harrow
ing thoroughly until the soil is fine and
in garden-like order, when burrows are
drawn the entire length of the piece from
three to three and a half feet apart doing
it with one horse pillow, after which some
fine, well decomposed stable manure SIS
spread along in the burrows just drawn
When the manure has all been put in,
cover the manure up with one horse
pillow, making ridge over it, and going
twice around each one to make it in better
order for the reception Of the seed. Be-
fore sowing the seed we rake off the tops
of the, ridges with on ordinary garden
rake held nearly Upright, which removes
all clods, stones and rubbish, leaving the
soil mellow and loose, which is just what
is required for the seed of the different
roots Having completed this, with the
back of rake make shallow drills, one
on each ridge, and SOW the seed thiuly
and evenly in these, covering with the
rake, as above directed for removing the
elods, &c., or with hoe, having a care
fal hand to do it. Your seeds are now
done with until they begin to show them
selves nicely along the rows, about an
inch in height when you must weed tho
roughly and thin out from four to six in
ches apart to allow plenty of room for the
roots to grow large and fine. Keep a
cultivator running between the rows often
enough to keep the soil free from weeds
and grass and nice and mellow, not for
getting to use the hoe when necessary
By doing as above directed, the season
being favorable, you can depend on large
crop of roots ard fine ones too. A seed
drill is very useful. for with it you can
SOW or plant your seed more evenly and
more exreditiously than when you SOW by
hand. if you must resort to hand sowing,
careful persons soon acquiring practice to
enable them to sow with enough precision
TO insure good crop without unnecessary
waste of seed. After the plants have
grown two or three inches they grow very
rapidly, before which time they require
great care and attention, for they gener-
ally grow but feeble, or the grass and
weeds will outgrow and choke them out