The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1878-01-24
Roots for Stock Feed.


Roots have become necessity, with
progressive farmers, as winter food for
stock, and their great value in this cOnnec-
ton should commend them to those who
have not essayed their cultivation.
Even the owners of work and driving
horses in the large cities, where no OPP
portunity is had to raise them, annually
buy hundreds of bushels of carrots,
mangel wurtzels, turnips, &c, to be
fed IN connection with grain food to
their horses, and they are we'll
assured of the proftableness of using
them, for the animals are always sleek,
fat, and glossy in appearance, and never
become bound or sickly.
The sheep, cattle, and swine, tNo,come
in for share of the roots in winter, and
no farmer who has right to be called
one should think of neglecting the cult
walton of roots for his different kinds of
stock. There ia scarcely farm, on
which the farmer makes living, which
is not large enough to make it profitable
to grow from one to two acres or more
of carrots, mangel wurtzels, etc. If
they have not been grown this season, by
all means purchase some. If the mar
kets are carefully noted, it is often pos
sible to buy comparatively large lots ut
very moderate figures. He who goes
without them deprives his stock of some
thing they really need, besides not realiz,
ing the same amount Of value from the
food consumed that would be obtained
if few roots were regularly fed, to tone
the system and keep the animals sound
and healthy.
In storing roots for winter feeding,
never use the house cellar for the pur-
pose, for the smell which will continually
arise from them and pervade the entire
house will not only be unpleasant, but
may lead to sickness. A barn cellar is
the most appropriate place, though we
have kept large quantities out OF doors,
for the same PURPOSE. We select a high
piece of ground, ON which we put n
light sprinkling of straw; on this the
heap of roots is put, say about fifty
bushels in Il heap, after first carefully
removing the tops or leaves. After the
pile has been nicely rounded up, spread
q light covering of straw on them and
then put on the ga, tn or soil carefully t.
the depth of six or eight inches, first
making a ''chimney" ut the extreme top,
with wisp of straw placed upright, to
afford ventilation. BY taking the soil
Immediately from around the pile for
covering the roots, better drsinage Is
afforded aud they are kept free from wet
or dampness. After the soil has all
been put ON which is necessary, go over
the heap and pat it down nicely with
the back of the spade, to make it shed
the rain without washing away any, OIL
but little. In this way We have KEEP,
carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips and man
gel wurtzels the entire winter. We al
ways took one heap at time, wher
we wanted for use, and conveyed all tt
the barn, to dark place free from frost
When this lot WAS used up, we tackled
another heap in the same way.
If roots are kept in light airy places
they will soon shrivel up or rot, and lose
much of their value as stock feed
After the heap has been finished and
packed down with the spade, it is {
good plan to cover it with a few inches
of old straw or fresh litter from the sta
bic, which will prevent heavy rains from
washing the earth down. A better sub
stance is long rye straw placed arounc
the mound and tied to the top, as this
will shed most of the rain, and if drain
agei is properly provided for, no trouble
need be experimentation. Praet cd
Farmer.