Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-06-01
MANGLES FOR POULTRY---HOW
TO GROW AND FEED THEM
Best All-Round Green Food
Suitable for Old and Young
Stock.
They Serve as a Tonic and Have
Been Found to Cure Bowel
Troubles.
by J. Raymond kcsslcr
Practical puIijtryu8n

BY J. Raymond kcsslcr
| Practical Poultryman
| MangeIs are one of the best green
feeds the poultryman can use. They
are greatly rclished by hens and
chicks and the fowls do not seem
10 tire Of them. They are rs tonic
and appetizer, especially with small
chicks, and the roots are an excellent
preventive Of bowel troubles. Ere
qucntly they effect n cure In disorders
of this type.
In feeding mangels it is n mistake 10
| shred them. ms the shredded root, II not
eaten Mt once, becomes stale and foul.
| Where birds have never been fed beets
before. the roots should be cut in half and
laid on the floor Of the poultry house with
the cut side up. The hens soon learn
| to pick Mt the cut roots, then the beets
| may be fed whole. Given In this manner
the fowls obtain only small portion Mt
| "A time, which nccessitates work on the
| part of the hen Thus n twofold purpose
IL served that of supplying green feed,
and keeping the hens busy and happy.
FEEDING nErrs To CHICKS.
With chicks il is best 10 feed the roots
from the very first Small bcets should
| bc selected for Young chicks and the
|
81 as % make sharp edges for the chicks
| To pick at
| While the chicks are quite small and
| have not strength enough IN their bills
| to tear portions from the beets, 1t rs well
| to scrspe the roots with a knife, thus
| making "A pulp for the chicks tn start ON,
| However this will be necessary Tor only
few DAYS. rs the chicks soon acquire suff-
cient skill to eat from whole bccts. The
| practice of grinding beets and mixing them
with the mash is not advisable, because II
forces upon all birds equal quantities
| of the green feed Individual birds II
left 10 themselves will consume varying
quantities. and it is best To allow them
this choice in the matter of green feed
II IL inadvisahle to feed heets IN wire
holders since canker of the mouth IS
likely to result The wine makes the
membrane of the mouth sore and the cuts
become infected from the dir IN the litter
| PLANTING AND CARE OF msNGELs.
Beet seed ia exceedingly slow of ger
mination. and unless planted and cared
for in the proper manner there ~ likely
to be nothing but crop Of weeds 10
harvest. A plowcd sod fIeld - the best
ground. first. because the beets require
an abundance Of hurnus which turned
trouble IL experienced with weeds on n
turned sod field The one great trouble
in growing mangels il To secure field
where they can grow big enough for Gull
| tivation before the weeds become too
rank
The ground intended for bcets should
be plowed, manurcd and thoroughly har-
iowed a. early In the spring as possible
Hard CLAW soil should never be used
Where the ground IS inclined 10 be weedy,
IL is a good plan, after plowIng and
narrowing. to allow the weeds to sprout
and then harrow the soil again before
planting the seed
The seed should be sown about hall an
| inch deep, in rows three and hall feet
apart. About five pounds Of seed 70 the
acre is sufficient 1t Is advisable to
plant early as possible so rs to secure
an abundance Of moisture and thus en-
courage termination. Beet seed has an
exceedingly hard shell, requiring plenty
of moisture to start termination.
wheel hoe with seed drill attachment
Is one of the best device for sowing the
seed
Since the mark made by the land drill
Is soon obllterated, 1t is n good plan
TO first mark the land with a corn marker;
then If weeds become bad before the
beets sprout. the soil between the rows
can be cultivated with a wheel hoe. The
PLANTER should not become discouraged
if the seed does not sprout at once, be-
cause frequently month Is required Tor
the Young plants to show, particularly
| If the soil is dry.
When the bcets are couple of inches
high, hand howing should be started A
weeds should be hoed out and all excess
| hea fr0D
| eight TO ten inches part IN the rows.
Plenty OF room should be allowed for each
individual plant, as that Is the only
yav TO obtain roots of worthwhile size.
After the hoeing is accomplished, horse
cultivation should begin, repeated fire.
uuentIv TO keep down the weeds and
maintain a dust mulch during dry
weather.
FOR THE SMALL GARDEN.
The above methods of cultivation are
practiced in growing large quantities of
beets but the same methods can be carried
out by the small gardener who desires u
row or two of roots for the backyard
flock. The only changes necessary are
the use of a spade and rake in place
: Of the pillow and harrow. For these small
, paintings where the plants are to be work
ed by hand the rows need not be over two
feet apart, but the plants IN the row
should be at least eight inches apart
The seed should be sown the same as
table beets, and practically all cultiva-
: ton and care should be the same, with the
exception of the allowance of greater
space between plants.
HARVESTING AND STORING.
Mangels should never be harvested
until late fall, after frost has killed tender
plants, because If harvested before COO
weather sets in they do not keep well
Beets are not affected by ordinary frost
and will not be damaged until the ground
! freezes.
In harvesting, the plant should be
grasped by the leaves and pulled out oil
the ground The tops should be wrung
off. not cut, since cutting causes the beets
to lose sap and shrivel. All earth and
fine roots should be allowed 10 remain
BABY CHICKS