The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1890-03-20
RAISING MANeEL wuRzELs.

Where ensiiage is used root crops are
going out of the fashion, and it is well
that it is so, for the great use for the root
crop is principally to supply, after the
green food season is over, succulent food
of IA watery nature to restore in measure
the lack of that element in the form of
dried grass which we name hay. Now,
cornstalk ensilage supplies this food in
far cheaper way, while its nutrient value
is somewhat higher pound for pound.
Though the weight of feed that can be
raised per acre is greater from mangel
than from cornstalk, yet doubt whether
in practice the weight of the former on
an average exceeds that of the latter, In
corn raising we do about all the work up
to the gathering of the crop by ma
chinery, whereas in the raising of man
gels there is of necessity good deal of
finger work. Again, while cornstalks are
put in condition for the animal by sin
gle process for the entire mass, in feed
ing mangels we must cut or pulp each
individual lot. The home of root culture
for stock feed is England, where the
temperature does not admit of the rails
ing of Indian corn.
Low, rather moist, strong land will
grow by far greater crop of mangels
than higher and lighter soil, but those
grown on lighter soil will contain more
sugar, and will therefore be more val
liable for food, though this fact does not
make it wise to grow them on poor up
land clay soil; but if it is friable,
that is, of crumbly nature, it will
make excellent mangel soil. All land
needs deep blowing, and eight cords
of good manure TO the acre plowed in.
Besides this 500 pounds of some good
phosphate well mixed with the soil in the
drill will pay as an investment. The
drills should be as much as twenty light
inches apart to admit the use of the cult
vator, and where land is cheap they had
better be thirty to thirty-six inches apart.
Ii the land is ridged we have smooth man
gels, though have not noted any in
crease in bulk. The ovoid and globulal
varieties are the sorts | noted growing III
England and France. These have les
waste about them than the long sorts, bu
in average cultivation do not yield a
mach bulk. Seed should be used very
literally, eight to ten pounds to the acre
as the best of seed will not all terminate
owing perhaps to the want OF sutficien
moisture to saturate the spongy cover
ing, which is necessary to enable the lit
| tie seed hidden within to sprout.
never saw poorer stands of mangels thar
in France, where farmers having had but
few acres under cultivation may be as
sumed TO have taken all precautions K
insure a crop.
Sow the seed as much as an inch anc
half below the surface in soil that has
been thoroughly worked, and in non'
other should it be planted. Thin to /
,distance which has relation to the guam
tity of manure applied; with very higf
manuring fifteen inches is limit, fol
average manuring half that distance
Man9els come the nearest to rhssarb il
the rankness of the manure they will de
your. have raised heavy crops on sol
| so heavily fed with refuse salted porgie
that the straw of the oat crop which fol
| lowed them was as salt as if it had BEEF
| picked. Pull them before the occurrence
of frosts to any degree severe, otherwise
we lose the feeding value of the leave
which are worth for weight nearly a
much as the roots themselves and freez,
! that catches the exposed tops will caus,
them to turn dark and surely rot. Afte
they are harvested allow the earth adher
ing to them to dry before storing, whei
it will mostly drop off when loading int
carts.
The mangel is very easily kept. Frost
and rats are its chief enemies. If to q
in a root cellar put them in at any con
venient depth and throw covering o
waste hay over them. If to be kept il
the ground dig pit where rats do no
abound in dry spot two or three feet
deep, fill to six inches above the surface
then throw on little dry brush, then
layer of earth and cover this with bed
ding stuff, adding few rails or sap
| plings to prevent blowing away. Carrot
would surely heat up and rot if pittet
half as deep. Mangels undergo som,
change in their nature so that they ar,
not in condition to be fed before mid
4 winter. If fed earlier they are apt t,
purge the cows. Like ensilege they ar,
deficient in albuminoids and Iced to bt
supplemented by some food rich in tn,
absent element, for the sake of the COW
the milk pail and the manure heap, sucl
as cottonseed, gluten meal or linseet
meal. Before the time for feeding man
gels the COW can use the carrots, turnip
and cabbages. -Neo YORK Her ID.