Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-10-31
New Feed for Stock.

1u0 LuSllSu 1aTIucr raises man9CluS
for cattle and turnips for sheep, where
as the American farmer raises neither
only in a very limited sense. 1t is I'm.
derstood in all lands that roots are
healthy food, which should be O sutfi-
Gent inducement to raise them. The
English farmer, from sheer necessity of
making the most off from the land he
tills, learned the lesson of economy
that root feeding taught him. He
found that ten tons OF roots were worth
more to him in the health and growth
of his stock than hay or grain that
could be raised on the same ground
and he practically applied the lesson.
Now mango.ds and turnips are not
equal in value as food to carrots and
sugar beets. Why, then, does he not
raise these instead? We suppose be-
cause mangolds and turnips yield moro
to the acle and with less work, and
then the turnips are eaten by the sheep
in the field without pulling at ali.
Movable fences are used to inclose the
ground according to the number Of
sheep and they are kept there till the
turnlps are consumed without much
attention. This ground grows enor-
nous amounts of mangolds to the acre
~ cheap and abundant supply from
little lanl. AS our country grows cd
er, land higher and economy more VI.
gent, we shall follow in their footsteps,
but we expect our roots will be more
carrots than sugar beets, because there
is considerable more nutr. ment in them
than in the other, and besides, we
shall have to keep them from freezing.
But if it be more profitable to feed
roots, why do not farmers raise more
now? Roots are raised to some extent
where land is worth 500 or more
per acre, but it is far more gen.
cal, even there. 1t takes labor
to raise roots, and so 1t does everything
else grown on the farm, But the West
ern farmers laugh at US when we talk of
raising roots for stock. The truth is,
his land is yet comparatively cheap and
the great mass Vi farmers own from
100 to GAO acres. They have plenty Of
pasture, have III and oats. What
need have they of fussing among the
weeds to clean out acres of roots, SO
that Il respectable crop may be OBJ
tanned? they deem it of vastly more
consequence to devote their time and
energies to the raising OF wheat, corn
and oats, and as long as land is not
worth more than $50 per acre they will
not condescend to stoop to pull up
weeds from about tiny carrot roots
not they. They have not yet learned
the value of money in that way. Plen-
ty Of hay and grain-what more do
they need. But Western farmers are
sadly deficient in matters of economy.
as any one may see by the great num-
Der of agricultural tools turned up
against the fence to winter. This is a
last end of farming in the West which
would cause an Eastern man to wonder
how they live at all and come out with
a clean balance-sheet at the end of the
wear. But time and experience are the
great healing ointments for these I'm.
slightly sores. They will heal in time,
and a more rational economy will
s%upervene. new methods be introduced
and thousands saved which are now an
nually lost. Roots should come into
more general use, because they promote
the health Of most animals. A less
area is required to feed a given num-
Der of animals, which is SO much
gained for other crops, and the sur
plus grain raised is a clear gain from
ra,sing the roots. Then we believe
Young stock will gain more pounds OF
bone and muscle than il fed in the u.s.
ual manner, because, being healthy.
Their appetitcs are kept good. The
roots answer another good purpose,
that O: stuIling.-Practtcal Farmer.