The silver star., 1897-12-23
SUGAR BEET REFUSE As FEED

Nebraska Farmer. Near Grand IsaaaA
Find 1t Very Satisfactory.
In considering the profit In the pro-
duction Of sugar beets, farmers untl
recently have overlooked the value OF
the residue of the beet after the sugar
has been extracted. While 1t contains
considerably less nutriment than the
standard coarse folders. 1t serves q
very useful purpose as food says tne
Burlington Corn Belt. One hundred
pounds of beets contain something over
q pound Of digestible. muscle-making
food, while red clover contains ABOUT
six and one-half pounds and timothy
hay nearly three pounds. The value
Of beets as a food. however, largely
lies in their influence on the digestive
organs at a time of year when stock
is usually fed on dry food. They are
diuretic In their action and the almost
universal report from practical feeders
and experimenters is that roots are
valuable as winter food for stock, and
that sugar beets lead in this respect.
The Purdue agricultural station has
demonstrated that sugar beets contain
more nutriment than do mangels, car
rots, rutabagas and common turnips.
Their sugary nature makes them espe-
cially palatable. For sheep or milk
cows no better roots can be fed. They
keep the bowels open and tend to pre-
vent impaction with cattle and sheep
and give gloss to the coat and condi-
tion to the skin not secured by dry
feed.
At the Grand Island. Nebraska, sugar
factory a flock OF $4,000 sheep and
number Of cattle are now being fed al
most exclusively upon the sliced beets,
after the juices and sugar are ex-
tracted. City delivery wagons deliver
to owners of cows or other live stock
In the city all the feed of this kind that
can be consumed for the nominal price
Of 25 cents a week. At first only one
wagon supplied the demand, but now
there are three engaged in the service.
To encourage the industry the Grand
Island factory exacts no charge for the
food. Stock feeders and farmers are
at liberty to haul away the product In
unlimited quantities. At the stock
yards near by $50 tons Of the beet
refuse are fed daily and stockmen
find that with the addition Of small
quantities Of grain cattle and sheep
are quickly placed in fine condition for
the market.
In feeding experiments conducted in
tuN ohiteN StdteS Win bukdi uVCss
these roots have been fed in connec-
tion with other foods. At the Purdue
station beets invariably have been fed
to advantage. and they have used
sugar beets for years for cattle and
sheep. At the Ohio station. where
corn silage and field beets have been
compared in feeding dairy cattle, the
beets have caused the best gains in
weight Of cows. size Of milk flow and
production Of butter fat.
The sugar beet has no quality inju-
.ious to the milk. when fed to dairy
COW, while turnips. unless fed with
great care, give an Objectionable favor
70 It
At the I,ehi, Utah, factory q feeding
company has contracted for all the
pulp for term OF years and feeds
its cattle In sheds near the factory. 1t
In said that the cattle eat from 100 to
125 pounds Of pulp day each. besides
about fifteen pounds Of hay. Analyses
by the California experiment station
show beet pulp to contain nearly as
much protein as corn silage. and some
what less OF the other food ingredi-
eutg