The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-06-06
THE FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
Root CrOnS.

hVOb OIUpSs
We cannot understand why our farmers
are so unwilling to engage extensively in>the
cultivation of root crops. Almost every one
as matter of course, has his garden beds de-.
voted to the different varieties for domestic
use; but aside from the potato, it is rare to
see or hear Of fields of beets, carrots or tur-
nips cultivated for stock feeding.
While it is the wise course to be
slow to adopt new departures from old
and well established methods of husbandry,
it indicates lack of wisdom to hesitate
about walking in ways that have been well
trodden for half century. In England, an
intelligent system of root culture has Laid the
the foundation for a new and permanent
prosperity. By its introduction, the stock
raising capacity has been doubled, the
productive power the farm and the wealth
of the farmer advanced in a corresponding
degree. By as much as England leads the
van of scientific husbandry and stands in ad-
vance of our country in progressive agricul-
ture by SO much is she indebted to a thorough
and skilled system of root cultivation.
A practical demonstration is of course the
most convincing and satisfactory kind of evil
dence; and yet we ought to give heed to all
other enlightenment. We know that bread
is the staff of life; and yet suitable admlx-
ture of other foods is required to keep the
body in health. Green grass in the summer
and dried grass in the winter will be the best
food fof ruminants so long as the earth en-
dures; and yet by the exercise of average
common sense without any practical knowl-
edge, we can decide that the dried food can
only be made equal to the green food by the
addition of some soft and juicy substances.
Ii the starch and sugar of the growing plant
which furnish so much strength and nourish-
ment are afterwards converted into woody
fibre as the plant ripens, the lack of these sue
culent qualities must be supplied from other
sources. Therefore to supplement suck def
ciencies, to furnish milk, flesh or work, to
keep the animal in health as well as crafty
the caprices of appetite, we feed out the roots
which summer has grown for winter use. 1t
Is true that oxen may be worked and COWS
may be MIXED although fed through the win
ter upon hay alone; but always by diminish
ing former aceumulations laid up in store,'
and therefore leaving smaller capital for
-snbsaa~snt drafts. me cattle which hauA
sustained such drain upon their resources
must necessarily leave the barn thin and
weak in the spring, and during the entire
summer will hardly recover from its debiitat-
ing effects.
Many farmers or dairymen who keep
number of cows, produce large quantity of
milk, or extend the season of its production,
by pursuing the stimulating system of feed
ing upon corn-meal. This like all other high
pressure methods involves a final reaction,
and is followed by abnormal disorders and
premature breaking down. All the unfavora-
BILE results from such high feeding, can be
modified if not prevented, blythe substitution
OF a root diet, while the flow of wholesome
milk will probably be continued for longer
term. On the other hand it is by no means
small consideration to remember that if our
cattle were fed largely upon roots during the
winter, the Importation of corn would be al
most entirely prevented, as enough could be
raised through the state for family use.
In selecting single variety of roots for
field cultivation, regard should be had to the
wants of the stock to be fed, the conditions of
the soil, the expense of the crop, and the sug-
gestions Of both practical and scientific men.
Some of the former class consider carrots to
be superior to all other roots for feeding
horses, and also to be the best favored roots
for the production of butter. Carrots will
also endure severe drouth, even on dry soil;
their cultivation however requires a good
deal of hard work, both in thinning and
wedding. The mangel and sugar beet are
regarded as especially valuable for the produce
ton OF milk; Swedes are used for fattening
cattle and to promote the growth of young
stock, while for sheep some stock growers as
sert that they Shave decided warming ten
dency OF winter, and also force the growth of
wool and improve its quality" Parsnips
have not yet come into general use as field
crop-the long roots require deep soil and the
seed is not sure to vegetate. The common
turnip can be raised at little cost, and is valu-
able in early winter or at any time when no
better root can be had.
IN the analytical tables of chemists we find
that the sugar beet ranks higher than the
mangel, is double the value of the carrot, and
worth more than three times as much as the
common turnip for stock feeding. We recol-
lect that some dairyman has stated that as
food for his cows, thirty pounds of sugar beets
are equal to twenty pounds of the best hay.
Can our readers make a better beginning in
root husbandry than by even now sowing a
large or small bed of sugar beets?