Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-07-10
Correspondence.
for tho VERMONT FARnER.
ROOT CROPS.

How discouraging IL is to many Of us that
are laboring for the advancement of agricu!-
ture to read the article from &C. s. P.,"
Plainfeld, in your issue Of June IL, on root
crops. Had the majority Of the farmers Of
Vermont been proficient or much experi-
enced in root culture, l should not have tax.
On the trouble to refute it, but knowing that
there are many who are beginning to exper-
iment in root culture, to those l would say,
keep rightalOng and do not be discouraged, but
prove the facts for yourselves. &c. 5. p"
says of all the hard and tiresome jobs a
farmer can have the raising of n root crop
is the most so there is no end to it, &C.,
&c. Again he says, and ii you should have
an acre, or even half that, it would take as
long to hoe, them rs it would ten acres of
corn or potatoes.
Those very assertions show him to be as
ignorant in the art and science Of root cul-
turo as it is possible for a man to be. l do
not wish TO write a treatise on root culture
here, but would refer him and the readers Of
tho FARMER to my article on root culture
printed in the issue of May s, every word OF
which will guarantee to be correct. How.
ever, will just say that if the ground is
made suitable, and no person ought to think
Of raising roots without the ground is suita'
BILE, the labor is very little more than raising
crop Of potatoes indeed no more than
raising thcm by the old fashioned mode with
the hand hoe, and would as soon harvest
an acre of roots as an acre Of potatoes
Again he says, in regard to farm stock need
ing roots to promote health, 81 have great
doubts about that"
| will admit that roots are not absolutely
necessary if stock is fed good hay, but the
experience of all the best farmers in this
country, and all the.leading agriculturists in
England, Scotland, Germany, and indeed al
other countries where root culture has beer
successful, goes to show that there is nothing
so conducive of health as roots if fed in con
junction with dry feed, so it would seem tina
they would be especially adapted for feeding
with dry feed through our long Vernon
winters.
Again he says, "a good many years ago
when my father raised crop of sugar beets
he started to winter IA calves. We boy
fed the beets to them daily, from the first o
the winter. They grew finely but one morn
ing VIC found one of them dead; in fe'
days another, and SO they died one afte
another until only six were left. The larg
est and best generally died. The diseas
was called the backlog" and further b
says, "we thought at the time the root
caused their death, so taking all things int
consideration / do not believe shall rails
roots very extensively to feed stock"
Sure enough, if he has had all those mis-
fortunes befal him that he has enumerate
in his article, would go out Of the root bui
iness if l we're him, but notice, he says th
calves grew finely; the largest and be-
generally died. For my life cannot Sc
how the calves were killed by the roots, for b
positively says the disease was called ii
black-leg, but lOath to give it up he thOugl
the roots were the cause of their death.
have no more comments to make. but woul
saw for the information of your readers th.
l have known cattle from calves up to fou
year-old steers, and sheep, kept on the tut
nip and root fields from the first Of Noven
Der to the first of May, on roots exclusvel
without a mouthful Of any kind Of dry fee
and remain in perfect health, and get so Il
as to be ripe for the butcher without an
additional feed.
WILLIAM s. THoRP.
MOrristOi0n, June 27.