Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-05-17
FOR THE FARMER.
Successful Experiments in Cultivating
Sugar Bects and In Feeding them
to Cattle.
A Prospective Demand for Flax by Irish
Manufacturers-The MANAGE
tnent of Colts.
RAISING BETS FOR STOCK.

HAAoINu bEElS roh SlOCh.
Stock-raisers in this country gener-
ally decline to raise roots to feed to the
animals they keep for breeding, dairy,
and meat-producing purposes. They
think that they require too much work.
and that there is more economy in
raising corn, to feed with hay, which
they chiefly rely on for food. Mr..
Miller. of Beecher, ILL.,. stated recently
| in The breeders Gazette that he raised
last year $40 tons of beets on eighteen
acres of land at an expense of $437. rs.
The land was plowed the previous fall
and replowed in the spring. 1t was
then dragged and thrown into ridges
| with common fourteen-inch plow,
and the seed sown in drills thirty inches
apart with double seed-drill drawn
by one horse going between the ridges.
As soon as the plants were up SO as TO
show the rows small cultivator was
run between them, coming as near the
roots as possible without injuring them.
When the plants were well established
they were thinned to about eight or
ten inch apart, the dirt drawn away
| from the roots, so that the ground was
left nearly level. The subsequent cul-
ture consisted in running common
cultivator between the rows, as in the
case with corn. In regard to harvest
ing and feeding the crop, he writes:
| Early in October we commenced
harvesting the roots. They were
pulled and thrown up in piles, then the
tops taken of, and then hauled. The
hauling was done in two-wheel carts,
with single horses, to the cellar. about
three-quarters of a mile. Our cellar
is eighty feet square. The roots occti-
py about three. quarters of the space.
and are an average Of something over
six feet deep, or about that, when put
| in. The cart was drawn to the cellar,
dumped. and man there piled them
up, laying them straight with each
other. making the mass quite solid.
| This is the third season that we have
used the cellar. Previous to that time
we put them into pits. twelve to twenty
loads to pit, and opened the pit on q
mild day, hauling in the entire pit each
time to the barn for feeding during the
| winter.
In preparing roots for feeding, we
have small machine that cuts them
into small strips, say as big as the lit
|
way we use for our calves, mixing
them with corn and oats, with a little
cake and chaf put through the cutter.
This process might answer for the en-
tire stock, but for older cattle we use
what is called the pulper proper. This
last machine is driven by power, and
will pulp as fast as two men can throw
the roots into the hopper with scoop
shovels. The process is more of a
grating than cutting. leaving the par
ticles the size Of chestnut or hickory
nut This is mixed and fed with chaffed
hay, or, where meal is used, the pulped
roots, chatfed hay, and meal are all
mixed and fed together We use the
sugar beet because of its greater feed
ing quality over the mangel wurzel.
The mangel, however, improves in its
feeding quality for spring use. We in
tend these root crops to last until we
get turnips or roots again. For all Of
our young bulls that we keep up we in
tend to have roots to feed them, as we
would for any stock that is not permit
ted to 60 to pasture and get its green
food.
We have sometimes the question put
to us as to what special benefit these
roots are for feeding. In the first
place, we would reply that with roots
we can get better growth, and keep
the cattle in better condition, than on
any other food. The roots will always
keep cattle, under such feeding, in a
healthy. cool condition. Young bulls
that have liberal root feed will make
larger growth, better flesh, and be kept
healthier in all respect than on the best
OF grazing. Our entire stock this
winter will average 100 head, and all
get portion OF roots; the cows in
milk, young heifers, and young bulls,
all get good strong feed. We regu-
late the quality of feed to each accord
ing to the quality of roots we have.
We have now fed roots for ten years
a smaller quantity to begin with, but
now for two or three years we have
been feeding about the same quantity
per day that we are feeding this winter.
Our ground for roots the coming sea-
son will be about twenty acres, and in
quality much better than last year.
The ground is titled; was in corn in
1882, and well manurcd; in 1883, in
oats and seeded to clover; in 1884, was
moved for hay, commencing the last OF
June, the yield being fully three tons
to the acre. About one-half of the
field was cut the second time for green
feeding in the stall, the other half not
being cut All was plowed under in
November and early in December, and
will have a good top-dressing of man
ure this winter and spring, and may
have about two hundred barrels of
phosphates put on Immediately preced-
ing the seeding. The usual way OF
storing roots has been in pits. but where
a cellar can be had, it is profitable both
as to the expense Of storing and con-
venience of feeding
The question has beeu raised as TO
whether our 80 tons Of roots the past
year did not cost us more than we have
| given In our statement. We can say
now that we believe it cost us less than
our figures show. We do not think
our plowing cost US $4 an acre; we do
not think that the preparing of our
drills cost US $3 per day, or that the
drilling cost us " q day, or that our
hauling cost $50. We think that,
counting the use Of our land and all OF
the expenses, the cost would be less
than Sl.6O per ton delivered in the
cellar
We have considered roots necessity
Tor the growing OF young stock. Every
farmer and stOck-breeder recognizes
that toward the end of long winter
cattle kept on dry feed. whether hay or
nay and grain, are suffering for the
nrSN 81 a. 4